Course Description
This course will explore quantitative research methodology, introductory statistics, survey design, and quantitative database construction.
Knowledge, Value, and Skill Learning Objectives of the Course
Students will:
Knowledge
- Gain knowledge of basic quantitative research methodology
- Understand research design and database construction
- Learn about descriptive and inferential statistical analyses
Value
- Discuss potential biases in quantitative research
- Explore implications of questionnaire design
- Recognize the value and power of statistics
Skills
- Perform descriptive and inferential statistical analyses
- Become proficient in basic research interviewing and questionnaire design
- Construct SPSS databases
Required Texts*
1. Huff, D. (1993). How to lie with statistics. New York: W.W.Norton & Company.
2. Weinbach, R. W., & Grinnell Jr., R. M. (2004). Statistics for social workers. (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
*Any edition is acceptable as long as the student locates the correct readings.
Required Software
SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Services) Grad Pack
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Accommodations will be made for students with disabilities. Students needing accommodations for any type of disability must do the following:
1. Go to the ICSW Office of Disability Services to obtain confidential verification of the disability and a statement of accommodations recommended by that office.
2. Show the ICSW Office of Disability Services accommodation letter to the instructor of the class for which the student requests accommodation.
3. Show the accommodation letter to the instructor at the beginning of the course or before the start of the course (preferable).
Grading
A
90-100 pts |
Superior Work evidenced by assignments and class participation that reflect outstanding understanding of class materials, consistent demonstration of critical and analytical skills, and creativity. |
B
80-89 pts |
Satisfactory Work evidenced by assignments and class participation that reflect essential understanding of class materials and frequent demonstration of critical and analytical skills. |
C
70-79 pts |
Marginal Work evidenced by assignments and class participation that reflect some understanding of class materials and occasional demonstration of critical and analytical skills. |
F
< 60 pts |
Failure evidenced by assignments and class participation that reflect insufficient understanding of class materials and limited critical and analytical skills. |
Assignments
- All assignments should be formatted according to the ICSW Style Manual (located in the ICSW website: Academic Resources, Resources for Students, Informational Documents). Assignments must be formatted according to the latest APA citation style and formatting guidelines. Papers should be: double spaced, written in 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font, with 1” margin, numbered pages, and cover page. Points will be deducted from assignments that are not formatted according to the latest APA citation style and formatting guidelines. Papers should also make ample use of headings and subheadings.
- Students are responsible for fully discussing the required content for each assignment; however, there are no page number requirements for assignments in this class. The instructor will provide a range of pages that previous students have submitted for each assignment, but this does not mean students must submit their assignment within that range. Rather, students should review the grading criteria and aim to successfully achieve the criteria for the highest grade using their individual writing style (i.e. short and concise, long and multifaceted, etc.). Additionally, students should include no more than 3 to 5 quotes from other sources in their papers.
- It is recommended to submit assignments electronically over email; however, assignments can be submitted in paper form at the beginning of the class held on the due date. Additionally, assignments can be submitted to the instructor up to one week after the due date without penalty. Students must inform the instructor prior to taking this extra week. The specific reason why is not necessary to provide. Late assignments will be dropped one letter grade every subsequent week after the initial grace period.
- If the class topic has not been fully covered in the lecture, the assignment due date may be pushed back. Students will be informed by the instructor if this occurs. For example, if the lecture in Class 5 is concluded in Class 6 instead of Class 5, then the assignment will be due on Class 6 rather than Class 5.
Class attendance and participation |
20 points |
|
Examples of statistics |
15 points |
Due Class 2 |
Survey |
15 points |
Due Class 4 |
Database |
15 points |
Due Class 5 |
Final Project |
35 points |
Due Class 7 |
Class attendance and participation is defined as regularly and promptly attending class with a willingness to engage in a thoughtful discussion and ask questions about the assigned readings and class topics. Students must obtain instructor approval prior to missing a class. Missing a class will negatively affect the class attendance and participation grade. A missed class cannot be made up.
The Examples of statics assignment entails providing an overview of three statistics found on the Internet, in newspaper articles, commercials, etc. that students have found to be of interest. Be prepared to provide a 10 minute oral presentation discussing: background information, the statistics used, questions or concerns you have about the statistics, and how the statistics could potentially be used.
The Survey assignment requires surveying classmates using 10 questions with a minimum of 3 demographic variables. Be prepared to talk about your survey experience in class, including what did or did not work when introducing the survey and asking your questions.
Submit a paper that includes:
¨ Cover Page that identifies student name and credentials, affiliation with ICSW, title of survey, and image representing content of survey
¨ Introduction (including student name, affiliation with ICSW, and purpose of survey). The introduction should be placed under the heading “Introduction”.
¨ Instructions for respondents and/or interviewers to answer questions. The instructions should be placed under the heading “Instructions”.
¨ 10 questions with a minimum of 3 demographic variables
¨ Formatting according to the best practices reviewed in class
¨ Thank You Message
¨ Instructions on Returning Survey
¨ Discussion on how you recruited your sample, the data collection location, the variables, response categories, and level of measurement for each question.
The Database assignment involves creating a SPSS database using the completed surveys from the Survey assignment. This includes creating and labeling variables, entering data, and conducting data cleaning (by following the steps outlined in class). Be prepared to discuss your experience in class.
Submit a paper that includes:
¨ Title page
¨ Introduction
¨ Description of the steps taken to create and clean the database, the types of statistics that could be used to analyze the data, and the potential graphs and charts that could be used to depict the data.
¨ Conclusion
¨ Submit complete database
The Final Project combines the knowledge and skills learned in class and the other assignments. Classmates will be interviewed using 5 demographic questions and 10 substantive questions. Your survey can include the same sample used in the Survey assignment. If you choose to include the same sample, potential implications of interviewing respondents more than once should be discussed in the paper. Additionally, questions from the Survey assignment (with instructor suggested revisions included) may be utilized and the database previously created (with instructor suggested revisions included) may be enlarged as part of the Final Project. The completed surveys should be entered into a SPSS database and analyzed. The SPSS output depicts the results of the statistics used to analyze the survey data. The SPSS output should be interpreted in the paper as well. Submit the survey, database, and paper.
Submit a paper that includes:
¨ Title page
¨ Introduction
¨ Purpose of survey
¨ Description of sample recruitment
¨ Location of the interview
¨ Variables created from survey questions
¨ Level of measurement for each variable variables
¨ Steps taken to create and clean the database
¨ Statistics used to analyze the data
¨ Graphs/Charts
¨ Interpretation of SPSS output
¨ Conclusion
¨ Submit complete survey
¨ Submit complete database
¨ SPSS output pasted into MS Word
Topical Outline, Required Readings, and Discussion Questions
Class One: Introduction and Overview
- Class Overview
- Quantitative Research Methodology
- Quantitative versus Qualitative Research
- Databases and Statistics
- Quantitative Dissertations
Required Readings:
Huff, D. (1993). Introduction. In How to lie with statistics. New York: W.W.Norton & Company.
Class Two: Quantitative Research Methodology
- Statistical and Research Terminology
- Variable Operationalization
- Research Questions and Hypotheses
- Levels of Measurement
- Sampling
- Class Exercises and SPSS data sets
Required Readings:
Huff, D. (1993). Chapter 1: The sample with built-in bias. In How to lie with statistics. New York: W.W.Norton & Company.
Weinbach, R. W., & Grinnell Jr., R. M. (2004). Chapter 1: Introduction. In Statistics for social workers. (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Class Three: Research Design
- Basic Survey/Questionnaire Design
- Demographic Questions
- Choosing Response Categories
- Coding
- Quantifying Qualitative Data
Required Readings:
There are no required readings for this class; however, it is advisable to read ahead for Classes 5 and 6.
Class Four: SPSS Database Design
- Creating Databases
- Cleaning Databases
- Sample Analysis
- Class Exercises and SPSS data sets
Required Readings:
There are no required readings for this class.
Class Five: Descriptive Statistics
- Frequency Distributions
- Central Tendency
- Variability
- Normal Distributions
- Class Exercises and SPSS data sets
- Discussion of Statistics Examples
Required Readings:
Huff, D. (1993). Chapter 2: The well-chosen average. In How to lie with statistics. New York: W.W.Norton & Company.
Weinbach, R. W., & Grinnell Jr., R. M. (2004). Chapter 2: Frequency distributions and graphs. In Statistics for social workers. (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Weinbach, R. W., & Grinnell Jr., R. M. (2004). Chapter 3: Measures of central tendency and variability. In Statistics for social workers. (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Weinbach, R. W., & Grinnell Jr., R. M. (2004). Chapter 4: The normal distribution. In Statistics for social workers. (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Class Six: Inferential Statistics
- Correlation
- Cross-Tabulation
- t -Tests
- Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
- Class Exercises and SPSS data sets
Required Readings:
Weinbach, R. W., & Grinnell Jr., R. M. (2004). Chapter 8: Correlation. In Statistics for social workers. (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Weinbach, R. W., & Grinnell Jr., R. M. (2004). Chapter 10: Cross tabulation. In Statistics for social workers. (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Weinbach, R. W., & Grinnell Jr., R. M. (2004). Chapter 11: t tests and analysis of variance. In Statistics for social workers. (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Supplemental Readings:
Huff, D. (1993). Chapter 3: The little figures that are not there. In How to lie with statistics. New York: W.W.Norton & Company.
Huff, D. (1993). Chapter 4: Much ado about practically nothing. In How to lie with statistics. New York: W.W.Norton & Company.
Huff, D. (1993). Chapter 8: Post hoc rides again. In How to lie with statistics. New York: W.W.Norton & Company.
Class Seven: Analysis and Interpreting Results
- Analysis Strategies for Survey Data
- Critical Examination of Charts and Graphs
- Ways Statistics can be Misleading or Deceptive
- Ethical Implications of Research and Statistics
- Class Exercises and SPSS data sets
- Discussion of Quantitative Methods for Dissertations
Required Readings:
Huff, D. (1993). Chapter 5: The gee-whiz graph. In How to lie with statistics. New York: W.W.Norton & Company.
Huff, D. (1993). Chapter 6: The one-dimensional picture. In How to lie with statistics. New York: W.W.Norton & Company.
Huff, D. (1993). Chapter 10: How to Talk Back to Statistics. In How to lie with statistics. New York: W.W.Norton & Company
Supplemental Readings:
Huff, D. (1993). Chapter 7: The semiattached figure. In How to lie with statistics. New York: W.W.Norton & Company.
Huff, D. (1993). Chapter 9: How to Statisticulate. In How to lie with statistics. New York: W.W.Norton & Company.