Dr. Rocal

a4.docx

Sociology 3801

Assignment 4 Name____________________________________

Assignment 4 will be completed in lab today. Work in small groups of about 4-5 students per group. As a group, and in the context of group discussions, work through Questions 1-3. There are detailed instructions provided for each question. Each student should uniquely answer each question, and turn in Assignment 4 at the end of lab today. As an aside, Assignment 4 is fairly involved. So, once you have split off into small groups, it would be to your benefit to, first, read through the entire assignment before diving into Question 1.

Question 1

Introductions

20-25 minutes

Take turns introducing your research proposals in your small groups. Each person should take about 5-7 minutes to talk about their research topic, question, and hypothesis, as well as their motivation(s) for studying what they plan to study, how they will do so, and what they expect to find. Importantly, at the conclusion of each introduction, and before the next person gives their introduction, go around the group and have each person who listened to the introduction say: (a) the first thing that came to mind when listening to the introduction, (b) what they think is the most important strength/benefit/asset of the project, and (c) what they think is the most important weakness/limitation/liability of the project. As group members are responding, the person who gave the introduction should answer Question 1 below. Go around the group until all group members have had a chance to give their introduction and receive feedback from other group members. When finished, take a few minutes to let everyone finish answering Question 1 below, and then move on to Question 2.

1. On the reverse side of this sheet, answer each of the following questions. Be sure to use labels (A, B, C and D) so that it is clear to your TA exactly which question you are answering!

A. Provide a brief summary (i.e. not word for word!) of what you presented to your group.

B. What were the first things that came to mind for your fellow group members in listening to your introduction? Briefly summarize each of their reactions, and then respond to each one here in writing (e.g., “I thought this comment was interesting because I guess I never really thought about…”, etc.).

C. What did your fellow group members identify as the most important strengths/benefits/assets of the project? Briefly summary each of their reactions, and then indicate (again, here, in writing) whether you agree or disagree with each and why.

D. What did your fellow group members identify as the most important weaknesses/limitations/liabilities of the project? Briefly summary each of their reactions, and then indicate whether you agree or disagree with each and why.

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Question 2

Data Needs

20-25 minutes

Now that you have introduced your research proposal, I want you to think about what sort(s) of data you need to answer your research question. Note, this is not the same thing as asking you to think about what sort(s) of data are actually available to you to answer your research question. Instead, for the purposes of Question 2, I want you to imagine that you are unencumbered by data issues (e.g., data availability, quality, etc.). In your small groups, each person should take about 5-7 minutes to talk about what sort(s) of data they think they need to actually answer their research question. Be sure to address the following issues (among others): primary versus secondary data; data from observation versus participation versus asking questions; other issues/concerns; etc. Importantly, after each group member’s remarks, and before moving on to the next group member, go around the group and have each person respond to what they heard. Specifically, I would like each group member to comment on what they felt was missing (e.g., “I heard you say that secondary survey data on self-reported health would be ideal to answer your research question; but how can you assume that people use the same criteria for classifying themselves in one health category versus another? Maybe you should think about supplementing your survey data with interviews or focus groups where you ask people about the criteria they use to see if these are different or not.”). As group members are responding, the person who made the remarks should answer Question 2 below. Go around the group until all group members have had a chance to make their remarks and receive feedback from other group members. When finished, take a few minutes to let everyone finish answering Question 2 below, and then move on to Question 3.

2. On the reverse side of this sheet, answer each of the following questions. Be sure to use labels (A and B) so that it is clear to your TA exactly which question you are answering!

A. Provide a brief summary of what you presented to your group.

B. What were the primary critiques provided by your group members? What did they feel was missing? What suggestions did they offer? List and discuss each of these, including whether you agree or disagree with each and why.

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Question 3

Sampling and Comparison

20-25 minutes

In Question 3, I want you to tackle some of the specifics of what you will actually do in your research project. Here, I want you to focus on issues of sampling and making comparisons. In your small groups, each person should take about minutes to talk about (a) their sampling design and procedures and (b) the logic of making comparisons. When making your remarks on sampling, you should discuss the following issues: the population you wish to generalize to; the sampling frame; whether you will employ a probabilistic or non-probabilistic sampling strategy, including exactly which design(s) you will use (e.g., quota sampling); and the steps you will follow to implement what you have described. When making your remarks on comparisons, you should discuss whether and how you will incorporate multiple time points (e.g., a pre-test and a post-test) and/or groups (e.g., treatment group and control group) in your study, as well as provide some idea/justification for why doing so is important. As with Questions 1 and 2, after each group member’s remarks, and before moving on to the next group member, go around the group and have each person respond to what they heard. Specifically, each person should comment on (a) the strengths/benefits/assets of the proposed sampling and comparison procedures, and (b) the weaknesses/limitations/liabilities of the proposed sampling and comparison procedures. As group members are responding, the person who made the remarks should answer Question 3 below. Go around the group until all group members have had a chance to make their remarks and receive feedback from other group members. When finished, take a few minutes to let everyone finish answering Question 3 below.

3. On the reverse side of this sheet, answer each of the following questions. Be sure to use labels (A, B and C) so that it is clear exactly which question you are answering!

A. Provide a brief summary of what you presented to your group.

B. What were the primary reactions by group members to your sampling design and procedures? Specifically, what strengths/benefits/assets did groups members identify? Do you agree or not? Why? How about weaknesses/limitations/liabilities? Do you agree or not? Why?

C. What were the primary reactions by group members to your approach to making comparisons? Specifically, what strengths/benefits/assets did groups members identify? Do you agree or not? Why? How about weaknesses/limitations/liabilities? Do you agree or not? Why?

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