Welcome to Sociology 302

Claude Oscar Monet: Water Lilies (1906)

Changing the World for the Better

1. Approaches to Reducing Social Problems• Give money.• Volunteer.• Public sociology: Working on the front lines.

2. The Scientific Approach• Discover cause and effect.• Suggest programs and policies to direct public

sociology.• Help implement programs and policies.• Evaluate programs and policies.

Changing the World for the Better

3. Elements of the Scientific Approach • Theory.• Method.

4. The Goal of Sociology 302• Learn how to discover cause and effect.• Translate our passion for making the world a

better place into effective action, by learning how to discover how society really works.

Outline of the Course

1. An Introduction to Inquiry • The scientific method.• Hypothesis construction.• Standard error and research methods.• Science and intelligent design.

2. Measurement of Abstract Concepts• Measurement of abstract concepts.• Indexes, scales, and typologies.• Validity and reliability.

Outline of the Course

3. Observation, Sampling• Experiments.• Survey research.• Question wording.• The logic of sampling.• Evaluation research.

4. Quantitative Design and Analysis • The elaboration model.• Research design.• Social statistics.• Quantitative data analysis.

Outline of the Course

5. Qualitative Design and Analysis • Qualitative methods.• Qualitative data analysis.• The ethics and politics of social research.• Reading and writing sociological research.

Sociology and Common Sense

1. Cause and Common Sense • All human behavior can be explained with a

common sense explanation.

2. Common Sense and Reality• Not all common sense explanations are correct.

3. Reality and Interpretation• Sociology is the science of discovering which

common sense explanation happens to be the correct one.

• Or maybe we just make it up (postmodernism).

The Structure of Sociology 302

1. The Course • http://www.soc.iastate.edu/sapp/soc302.html• Recommended textbook.• Course packet at ISU Bookstore.• Dr. Sapp’s office hours.

2. Exams• Five exams.• Two short-answer questions each.• Help sheets are provided on the web site.

The Structure of Sociology 302

3. Quizzes • Ten quizzes at 10 points each.• 5 multiple-choice questions at 2 points each.• Instructions are posted on the web site.

4. Papers• Three papers at 20 points each.• Instructions are posted on the web site.

5. Attendance• Four points deduction for each unexcused

absence after three.

The Instructor: Dr. Steve Sapp

1. Has Experience In…• Laboratory experiments.• Field experiments.• Survey research.• Case studies.• In-depth interviewing.• Focus groups.• Content analysis.• Unobtrusive research.

The Instructor: Dr. Steve Sapp

2. Does Not Have Experience In…• Ethnographies.• Participatory action research.• Evaluation research.

The Instructor: Dr. Steve Sapp

1. Office Hours• MWF, 9-10.• When you arrive at my door.• Best to make an appointment.

2. Help Sessions• At 5:00 p.m. prior to each exam.

3. Grading• Standard curve.

4. Extra Credit• Nope.

The Instructor: Dr. Steve Sapp

Class Decorum• On time.• Newspapers, laptops, cell-phones.• Studying, napping, texting.