Welcome! SSCI-S 100a Lecture 1

Today’s agenda Introduce myself Introduce the course Introduce some of the key terms

Who am I? Evan Kleiman, Ph.D. Office hours: By appointment

Goals of the course Develop a comprehensive understanding of how research is conducted in social science.

What types of things will I learn? All parts of the research process from development of a research question to execution of a research project to dissemination of scientific findings. In addition: – controversies and debates – becoming an exceptional presenter – how to effectively present their findings in both spoken and written media.

Structure of the course Primarily a seminar course – This will mirror graduate school First part will involve instruction, second part discussion

Structure of the course Part IV: Presentations, exams, and wrapping up. This will be the conclusion of the course. Part I: Basics of research methods, philosophy and ethics. This part will cover the introductory material that is needed to understand the basic concepts of research in social science. Part II: The nuts and bolts of research design, statistics, and writing. The finer mechanics that are needed to understand how studies are designed and manuscripts are written. We will begin to explore the philosophy of social science here. Part III: Beyond nuts and bolts. This part will cover the other skills that are necessary for success as a beginning social scientist. We will continue to explore the philosophy of social science here.

Important parts of the course

Reaction papers Five total, 2% each Due the day before class – i.e., before 12:01am Wednesday Can be on course readings or any other topic – Except when otherwise noted Between 1 and 2 pages double spaced

Quizzes/final Quizzes – Five total – Multiple choice – Given near beginning of class Final exam – Similar content and format to quizzes – More items

Research proposal Will be a research proposal for a study – You won’t actually do the study (but could for a thesis) Will have several components – Outline – Draft – Presentation – Final paper

Why study research methods at all? Very important first step in conducting your own research Will help with theses, graduate school, and in the future. To become skilled producers of research.

Even if you don’t become a researcher, Even if you don’t ever read a journal, You are still a consumer of research. Main goal as a consumer = distinguish science from psuedoscience

Science and Pseudoscience Scientific research is our most trustworthy source of knowledge. – But people sometimes have trouble distinguishing science from pseudoscience. Pseudoscience – claims of evidence that masquerade as science but violate the basic criteria of scientific investigation

Characteristics of science Systematic Empiricism -- rely on systematically- obtained observations to draw conclusions about the world Public Verification -- findings must be observed, replicated, and verified by other researchers Solvable Problems -- must study questions that are potentially answerable through systematic empiricism

Characteristics of pseudoscience Nonsystematic and Nonempirical Evidence Evidence based on myths, untested beliefs, anecdotes, opinions, or poorly designed studies that do not measure up to scientific standards No Public Verification Unsolvable Questions and Irrefutable Hypotheses

How do we do this science stuff? Hypotheses – specific predictions generated by theories – are testable (i.e., falsifiable) – are directional – cannot be proven; only supported – posit an association between 2 or more variables Can be causal or correlational Formulating hypotheses

Where does this stuff all go? Empirical Research Reports – “Journal Articles” – Empirical = scientific

Journal Articles Introduction Method Results Discussion

Introduction Serves as the body of the paper Introduces the problem Frames past research – How does it fit into the big picture? – Research all fits together and builds upon itself State the hypothesis – Prediction, testable, and directional.

Method How was the study ran? – Participants – Measures – Treatments – Procedures Goals of the method section – Inform understanding of the study – Replication

Results What did the study find? Summary and statistical interpretation of the data Tell how the data were interpreted Statistics tell a story

Discussion What do the results of the study mean? How does this fit into the big picture? Limitations Future directions

What do printed articles look like?

See you next class! What to do now? – Think about some broad topic areas for your final paper.