Course Description
Introductory course for the Social Sciences and Psychology concentrations of the Liberal and Professional Studies Major. Topics include epistemology, theory development, research ethics, study design, data collection, and data analysis. Prerequisite: Social Sciences or General Psychology concentration in LPS; junior or senior standing; or permission of the instructor.
Syllabus
Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:
Students successfully completing this course will be able to:
Learning Goal 1: Ground social research in its epistemological and ethical foundations
- Explain the dominant epistemological paradigms underlying social science research
- Explain the conceptual foundations shared across the social science disciplines
- Describe the ethical frameworks and historical cases governing research with human participants
- Apply institutional review standards to an original research design
Learning Goal 2: Construct a research question into a testable and measurable design
- Distinguish variables, research questions, and hypotheses
- Interpret correlation and causation in reported research findings
- Evaluate how research is represented in popular media
- Operationalize a research question into a testable hypothesis
- Define measurable variables and construct a survey instrument aligned to the design
Learning Goal 3: Situate original research within the existing scholarly literature
- Search scholarly databases for literature relevant to a research question
- Evaluate sources for relevance, credibility, and methodological quality
- Summarize scholarly arguments in abstract and annotation form
- Synthesize a body of literature into a coherent review
Learning Goal 4: Collect, analyze, and report quantitative data
- Field an original online survey to a target population
- Apply descriptive and inferential statistics to primary survey data
- Analyze secondary data using an established dataset
- Report quantitative findings accurately and transparently
- Integrate primary findings with existing scholarship in a comprehensive research report
Course Grading Information:
| Activity/Performance Measure | Percentage/Points |
|---|---|
| Module Discussions | 15% |
| Module Exercises | 20% |
| Research Project Milestones | 30% |
| Final Research Report | 35% |
| Total | 100% |
Grading Scale
| Percentage | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| 93–100% | A |
| 90–92% | A- |
| 87–89% | B+ |
| 83–86% | B |
| 80–82% | B- |
| 77–79% | C+ |
| 73–76% | C |
| 70–72% | C- |
| 67–69% | D+ |
| 63–66% | D |
| 60–62% | D- |
| below 60% | F |
Attendance/Participation:
This is an asynchronous online course with no scheduled class meetings. Regular engagement with the Canvas course site is expected throughout the semester and contributes directly to student success. Participation is assessed through graded discussion-board contributions, which constitute 15% of the final grade, as reflected in the table above. Students are responsible for all module material and for meeting posted deadlines regardless of when they access the course site.
Course Materials Purchased by the Students:
No course materials are required.
Scholarly Perspectives
This course engages diverse scholarly perspectives to develop critical thinking, analysis, and debate and inclusion of a reading does not imply endorsement.