Professional Documents
Culture Documents
001
Course Research Methods in Crime and Justice Study/Public
Administration/Sociology
Instructor Jonathan Caudill
Term Spring 2010
Meetings Tuesday 1-3:45pm / SOM2.103
This course examines methods of social science research. Topics include the
Course Description nature of scientific inquiry, framing a research problem, choosing a research
design, developing hypotheses, sampling designs, and measuring variables.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Identify the major components of analytical research within the social
Learning Outcomes sciences,
2. Identify the role of ethics in social science research, and
3. Differentiate between research components in the social sciences.
There is one required text for this course.
Required Texts & Research Methods in the Social Sciences (7th) Frankfort-Nachmias &
Materials Nachmias
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Assignments & Academic Calendar
[Topics, Reading Assignments, Due Dates, Exam Dates]
Dates, topics, and exams are listed below. Please be cognizant that although we will attempt to maintain
this schedule, these dates, topics, readings, and lectures are tentative. This being stated, students will be
informed of any schedule changes in a timely manner via class, eLearning, and/or e-mail.
Syllabus and
Orientation and Student
01/12/10 Course Special Attention
Introduction Expectations
Expectations
Conducting Academic
01/19/10 Scientific Method Read Chapter 1
Research
Foundations of Discussion on
01/26/10 Read Chapter 2
Foundations of Research Research Proposal
Empirical
Research Elements of
02/02/10 Read Chapter 3
Research
Rough Research
04/13/10 Qualitative Research Read Chapter 12
Proposal Due
Data Processing
04/20/10 Secondary Data Read Chapter 13
and Analysis
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05/06/10-
Final Final Exam
05/11/10
Course Policies
I award final grades according to the following total point scale: A+: 98-100%,
A: 94-97%, A-: 90-93%, B+:87-89%, B: 84-86%, B-: 80-83%, C+: 77-79%, C:
74-76%, C-: 70-73%, D+: 67-69%, D: 64-66%, D-: 60-63%, F: 0-59%. These
percentages are averages of the grades received on the exams and the Final
Research Proposal.
Title Points
Exam I 20
Exam II 20
Final Exam 20
Research Related Assignments 10
Final Research Proposal 20
Participation 10
Total * 100%
Class Exams: There are three class exams covering the reading materials, class
lectures, and discussions resulting from the readings and class lectures. All class
exams are multiple-choice answers and may have an extra credit question at the
Grading (credit) end. The final exam is not cumulative. Students will complete exams on
Criteria eLearning.
Final Research Proposal: The culmination of this class results in students writing
a paper, which applies research methods to a researchable topic. The paper
should have the following sections: (1) Introduction, (2) Literature Review, (3)
Research Design, (4) Data Collection, and (4) Measurement.
****Students are to use APA formatting for all aspects of this paper******
In-Class Participation:
1. This course expects students to be present for every class meeting.
Along with being in class, this class requires students to be academically
prepared to discuss the assigned readings and complete a short in-class
writing assignment.
2. Related Topic Research- Students will bring a topic-relevant research
artcile to class and be prepared to discuss it.
Extra Credit: There may be extra credit short essays at the end of each class
exams. The maximum points earned for the extra credit questions will be 5-
points each and there will only be one extra credit question per class exam.
There will be no other opportunity for extra credit during this course.
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Review of Grades: All exam and the Final Research Proposal grades will be
posted on eLearning after all students’ exams have been graded. Please be aware
that if you wish to contest a grade, you must follow the outlined procedure
dictated by the university, which you can find at:
http://www.utdallas.edu/dept/ugraddean/appeals.html.
* It is possible to have a total score of more than 100 due to Extra Credit.
This course will use eLearning for various course related items (i.e., exams,
assignment submissions, retrieval of additional reading assignments). ALL
STUDENTS MUST BE FAMILIAR WITH AND KNOW HOW TO USE
eLearning ELEARNING FOR THIS COURSE. You can find eLearning tutorials at:
http://www.utdallas.edu/oee/distance/resources/handouts/webct_handouts.html
and you can receive personalized assistance at:
http://www.utdallas.edu/oee/distance/eLearningHelpdesk.html.
There will be days that we do not meet in person and you will be expected to
Special Assignments
complete some work outside the class.
I expect students to be on time for every meeting. Please do not distract from
other students’ learning due to poor planning.
Class Attendance
Please be aware that I will not provide any student with a copy of my notes for
the class due to absence, regardless of the reason.
You should turn cell phones off or put them on silent mode while in class. If you
have a SERIOUS EMERGENCY, which may require you to interrupt the class,
it is your responsibility to inform the instructor prior to class and sit close to an
exit.
The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have
rules and regulations for the orderly and efficient conduct of their business. It is
Student Conduct
the responsibility of each student and each student organization to be
and Discipline
knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which govern student conduct and
activities. General information on student conduct and discipline is contained in
the UTD publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all registered students
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each academic year.
A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the responsibilities
of citizenship. He or she is expected to obey federal, state, and local laws as
well as the Regents’ Rules, university regulations, and administrative rules.
Students are subject to discipline for violating the standards of conduct whether
such conduct takes place on or off campus, or whether civil or criminal penalties
are also imposed for such conduct.
The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic
honesty. Because the value of an academic degree depends upon the absolute
integrity of the work done by the student for that degree, it is imperative that a
student demonstrate a high standard of individual honor in his or her scholastic
work.
Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes,
and from any other source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the
university’s policy on plagiarism (see general catalog for details). This course
will use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the web for possible
plagiarism and is over 90% effective.
The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any
college-level courses. These dates and times are published in that semester's
course catalog. Administration procedures must be followed. It is the student's
Withdrawal from
responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements from any class. In other words,
Class
I cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the proper paperwork to
ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if you choose not
to attend the class once you are enrolled.
Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the
Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in
interpreting the rules and regulations.
As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work
unavoidably missed at the semester’s end and only if 70% of the course work has
been completed. An incomplete grade must be resolved within eight (8) weeks
Incomplete Grades from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the required work to
complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the
specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of
F.
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The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)
Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those reasonable
adjustments necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability. For
example, it may be necessary to remove classroom prohibitions against tape
recorders or animals (in the case of dog guides) for students who are blind.
Occasionally an assignment requirement may be substituted (for example, a
research paper versus an oral presentation for a student who is hearing impaired).
Classes enrolled students with mobility impairments may have to be rescheduled
in accessible facilities. The college or university may need to provide special
services such as registration, note-taking, or mobility assistance.
It is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for
such an accommodation. Disability Services provides students with letters to
present to faculty members to verify that the student has a disability and needs
accommodations. Individuals requiring special accommodation should contact
the professor after class or during office hours.
The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other
required activities for the travel to and observance of a religious holy day for a
religion whose places of worship are exempt from property tax under Section
11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated.
If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for the
purpose of observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar disagreement
about whether the student has been given a reasonable time to complete any
missed assignments or examinations, either the student or the instructor may
request a ruling from the chief executive officer of the institution, or his or her
designee. The chief executive officer or designee must take into account the
legislative intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student and instructor will abide by
the decision of the chief executive officer or designee.
Off-Campus
Off-campus, out-of-state, and foreign instruction and activities are subject to
Instruction and
state law and University policies and procedures regarding travel and risk-related
Course Activities
activities. Information regarding these rules and regulations may be found at
http://www.utdallas.edu/BusinessAffairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.htm.
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Additional information is available from the office of the school dean.
These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.