Methods II
methods.syllabus.spring.2010.word
Psychology 793
Research Methods and Ethics in Psychology II
Professor Winkel
Telephone: 212 817-8724
E-Mail: gwinkel1@juno.com
Spring Semester, 2010
Course Objectives
After completing this course, students will be able to:
– understand the ontological and epistemological foundations of
different approaches to research design and methods;
– critically evaluate published research papers in the social
sciences;
– offer substantive suggestions regarding alternative research
strategies that might be employed for various problems in the
social sciences;
– describe the development of specific research instruments
such as interviews, questionnaires, observational protocols,
and focus groups;
– describe the evaluative criteria that are employed for specific
research instruments such as interviews, questionnaires,
observational protocols, and focus groups;
`
Course Requirements
For the final assignment, each of you are to select two research papers in YOUR area of research interest. One of these papers will employ a qualitative methodology or methodologies and the other paper will use quantitative techniques or a mixture of both approaches. In this assignment, you will again be asked to summarize: 1) the overall research question(s); 2) the research strategy or strategies selected; 3) the research procedures that were used; 4) the findings; 5) a critique of each paper; and
6) suggestions for improvements. This assignment is due on or before May 18th, 2010.
COURSE SYLLABUS
February 2 Introduction
February 9 Review of Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research I. Validity
Required Reading:
Bernard Chapter 5.
Bryman Chapters 2 and 3. bryman_chapter_3
Shadish, W.R., Cook, T.D., and Campbell, D.T. (2002).
Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized
causal inference. Boston, MA: Houghton-Mifflin Company.
Chapters 2 and 3. shadish-chapter.2 shadish-chapter.3
February 16 – Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research II. Non-Equivalent Control Group Designs.
Required Reading:
Shadish, W.R., Cook, T.D., and Campbell, D.T. (2002).
Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized
causal inference. Boston, MA: Houghton-Mifflin Company.
Chapters 4 and 5. shadish.chapter.4 shadish.chapter.5
Assignment: Personal Commentary
Feb 23 – continuation of Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research II. Non-Equivalent Control Group Designs.
March 2 – Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research III. Randomized Experiments.
Required Reading:
Shadish, W.R., Cook, T.D., and Campbell, D.T. (2002).
Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized
causal inference. Boston, MA: Houghton-Mifflin Company.
Chapters 8-10. shadish.chapter.8 shadish.chapter.9 shadish.chapter.10
Assignment: Personal Commentary
March 2 – Examples of Experimental and Quasi-Experimental
Research
Required Reading:
Leventhal, T. & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2003). Moving to Opportunity:
An experimental study of neighborhood effects on mental health.
American Journal of Public Health, 93, 1576-1582.
Fauth, R.C., Leventhal, T., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2004). Short-term
effects of moving from public housing in poor to middle-class
neighborhoods on low-income, minority adults= outcomes.
Social Science and Medicine, 59, 2271-2284.
Clampet-Lundquist, S., Edin, K., Kling, J.R., & Duncan, G.J. (2006). Moving at-risk teenagers out of high-risk neighborhoods: Why girls fare better than boys. Princeton University Industrial Relations Section Working Paper #509.
Assignment: Personal Commentary
March 9 Research in Cultural and Cross-Cultural
Psychology
Professor Stetsenko
Developmental Psychology Program
1. Three approaches to the psychology of culture: Where do they come from? Where can they go? Greenfield, Patricia M.; Asian Journal of Social Psychology, Vol 3(3), Dec, 2000. Special issue: Indigenous, cultural, and cross-cultural psychologies. pp. 223-240.
2. Investigating the coordinated functioning of multifaceted cultural practices in human development. Rogoff, Barbara; Angelillo, Cathy; Human Development, Vol 45(4), Jul-Aug, 2002. pp. 211-225.
3. Adding culture to studies of development: Toward changes in procedure and theory. Goodnow, Jacqueline J.; Human Development, Vol 45(4), Jul-Aug, 2002. pp. 237-245.
Additional readings:
Cliffor Geertz. Thick description: toward an interpretive theory of culture. In: The interpretation of cultures: selected essays. New-York/N.Y./USA etc. 1973: Basic Books, pp. 3-30
The neglected 95%: Why American psychology needs to become less American. Arnett, Jeffrey; American Psychologist, Vol 63(7), Oct, 2008. pp. 602-614.
Cultural psychology: Implications for basic psychological theory. Miller, Joan G.; Psychological Science, Vol 10(2), Mar, 1999. pp. 85-91.
Assignment: Personal Commentary
March 16 Alternatives to Parametric Statistical Analysis
Professor Vietze
Developmental Psychology Program
Readings will be sent prior to this class.
Assignment: Personal Commentary
March 23 Focus Groups
Professor Glick
Developmental Psychology Program
Required Reading:
Bryman: Chapter 16
Assignment: Personal Commentary
March 30 NO CLASS – SPRING BREAK
April 6 Unstructured, Semi-Structured, and Structured
Interviews
Required Reading:
Bernard: Chapter 9
Bryman: Chapter 5
Bryman: Chapter 15
Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Chapter 7: Qualitative Interviewing pp. 277-368.
Assignment: Personal Commentary
April 13 Questionnaire Construction – The Importance
of a Conceptual Model
Required Reading:
Bernard: Chapters 10 and 12
Bryman: Chapters 6 and 7
Assignment: Personal Commentary
April 20 Psychometrics of Questionnaire Construction
Professor Revenson
Readings will sent prior to this class.
Assignment: Personal Commentary
April 27 Choosing a Sample – Random, Stratified, Quota,
and Theoretical
Required Reading:
Bernard: Chapters 6, 7, and 8.
Bryman: Chapter 4
Assignment: Personal Commentary
May 4 Participant Observation
Required Reading:
Bernard: Chapter 13
Bryman: Chapter 14
Assignment: Personal Commentary
May 11 Observational Data – Behavioral Tracking and
Mapping
Required Reading:
Bernard: Chapter 15
Bryman: Chapter 8
Assignment: Personal Commentary
