Have you ever wondered why women earn less money than men, even when
they work in the same profession?  What about the question of
whether and how being in a fraternity or sorority affects a person's
gender role identity?  Do high-IQ kids who grow up in working-class
families have the same chances of going to college as high-IQ kids
who grow up in upper-middle class families?  If not, why not?

These are a few examples of the kinds of questions that sociologists
ask about people and the worlds around them.  In this class you will
learn how sociologists figure out which questions they need to ask
and how they then go about answering these questions.
Research Methods in Sociology provides an introduction to the
fundamental of social research.  It is, essentially, a course on how
to do sociology.  During this course we will discuss the ways that
sociologists go about asking questions; and then how they figure
out  how to go present their findings in a convincing way to
others.  We will pay attention to what sociologists do in order to
make sure that the data they gather and the answers they develop are
trustworthy and useful for developing theoretical understandings of
social life.  By the end of the course, I hope that our experience
will have stimulated our curiosities, heightened our intellectual
engagement and excitement, and enhanced our abilities to evaluate
social scientific research.

Some of the issues we will address as we provide an introduction to
the sociological research process are the issues of research design,
data collection, data analysis, and interpretation and presentation
of results.  Our investigation will include a variety of
sociological methods, including ethnography, participant
observation, interviewing, content analysis, and survey research.
The workload for this class will be considerable, and requires both
lab time (which is mandatory) and extensive time spent in the field,
working on actual research projects (generally on a topic of your
choice).  Your grade will be based on exams, lab assignments, and
outside written work.  Please come to class prepared with a sense of
curiosity and a willingness to work!