Note: The due dates for the assignments are noted in the Course Schedule section of this syllabus, below. Deadlines will be defined as 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the last day of the lesson timeframe, unless noted differently.
Lesson 1: Introduction to Research Methods
| Readings: |
- O'Sullivan et al., Chapter 1
- Lesson 1 commentary
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| Activities |
- Complete Basic Steps in the Getting Started lesson.
- Participate in the course map activity.
- Participate in the Meet and Greet Discussion.
- Work on Self-Study Activity (Note: This activity is not graded, but it is important that you complete it to ensure you have mastered the concepts in this lesson).
- Begin working through the SPSS training modules at Lynda.com. These tutorials must be completed by the end of Lesson 4
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Lesson 2: Protection of Human Subjects and Other Ethical Issues
| Readings: |
- O'Sullivan et al., Chapters 1 & 8
- Lesson 2 commentary
- Visit and explore the contents of the Office for Research Protections (ORP) website (http://www.research.psu.edu/orp)
- Visit and explore the Institutional Review Board (IRB) website
(https://www.research.psu.edu/irb)
- Kent E. Vrana, Ethics in Science: Responsible Conduct of Research (PSU ORP Slides)
- Michelle Stickler, The Ethics of Human Participant Research (PSU ORP Slides)
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| Activities: |
- Complete the CITI training:
- CITI test results (certificates) must be uploaded to Lesson 2 CITI Certificate Submission.
- Email your CITI completion reports to Brooke Plasterer.
- Continue working through the SPSS tutorials at Lynda.com. These tutorials must be completed by the end of Lesson 4.
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Lesson 3: Designs for Explanation and Description
| Readings: |
- O'Sullivan et al., Chapters 2 & 3
- Lesson 3 commentary
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| Activities: |
- Continue working on the SPSS training modules .
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Lesson 4: Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Measurement
| Readings: |
- O'Sullivan et al., Chapters 4 & 10
- Lesson 4 commentary
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| Activities: |
- Take Quiz 1.
- SPSS training must be completed by the end of this week.
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Lesson 5: Hypothesis Formulation, Secondary Data Analysis and Paper Writing
| Readings: |
- O'Sullivan et al., Chapters 9 & 15
- Lesson 5 commentary
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| Activities: |
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Lesson 6: Surveys & Questionnaire Design
| Readings: |
- O'Sullivan et al., Chapters 6 & 7
- Lesson 6 commentary
- Study the document Penn State Sustainability Survey for Faculty and Staff Members
- Study the Belle County Example document
- Study the Mail Survey Example
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| Activities: |
- Begin working on the Survey Design Paper. It is due at the end of Lesson 9.
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Lesson 7: Sampling
| Readings: |
- O'Sullivan et al., Chapter 5
- Lesson 7 commentary
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| Activities: |
- Clarify your understanding of the terms provided in the “Terms for Review” section at the end of the sampling chapter in your textbook.
- Take Quiz 2.
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Lesson 8: Univariate Analyses
| Readings: |
- O'Sullivan et al., Chapter 11
- Lesson 8 commentary
Note: On the commentary, you will find the instructions for conducting the analyses and examples. Follow these instructions and conduct all the analyses, as shown in the examples. Do not skip any examples, although it may look redundant and tedious to do them all. Conducting these exercises repetitively will help build up your skills of using SPSS. This skill will be useful for the following lessons and when you conduct analyses in the future.
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| Activities: |
- Work on Self-Study Activity (Note: This activity is not graded, but it is important that you complete it to ensure you have mastered the concepts in this lesson).
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Lesson 9: Bivariate Analyses
| Readings: |
- O'Sullivan et al., Chapter 12
- Lesson 9 commentary
Note: On the commentary, you will find the instructions for conducting the analyses and examples. Follow these instructions and conduct all the analyses, as shown in the examples. Do not skip any examples, although it may look redundant and tedious to do them all. Conducting these exercises repetitively will help build up your skills of using SPSS. This skill will be useful for the following lessons and when you conduct analyses in the future.
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| Activities: |
- Work on Self-Study activity (Note: This activity is not graded, but it is important that you complete it to ensure you have mastered the concepts in this lesson).
- The Survey Design Assignment is due this week. Submit it through Turnitin.com or Survey Design Paper Submission in Canvas based on your instructor's preference.
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Lesson 10: T-Test and ANOVA
| Readings: |
- O'Sullivan et al., Reread t-Test in Chapter 12 (pp. 378-380), Chapter 13 (pp. 413 - 418 only)
- Lesson 10 commentary
Note: On the commentary, you will find the instructions for conducting the analyses and examples. Follow these instructions and conduct all the analyses, as shown in the examples. Do not skip any examples, although it may look redundant and tedious to do them all. Conducting these exercises repetitively will help build up your skills of using SPSS. This skill will be useful for the following lessons and when you conduct analyses in the future. |
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| Activities: |
- Work on Self Study activity (Note: This activity is not graded, but it is important that you complete it to ensure you have mastered the concepts in this lesson).
- Take Quiz 3.
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Lesson 11: Chi-Square Analysis and other Nonparametric Tests
| Readings: |
- O'Sullivan et al., reread Chapter 12 (pp. 376 - 378 only)
- O'Sullivan et al., Chapter 13 (pp. 396 - 401 only)
- Lesson 11 commentary
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| Activities: |
- Work on the Self Study activity (Note: This activity is not graded, but it is important that you complete it to ensure you have mastered the concepts in this lesson).
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Lesson 12: Measures of Association
| Readings: |
- O'Sullivan et al., Chapter 13 (pp. 401 - 413 only)
- Lesson 12 commentary
Note: On the commentary, you will find the instructions for conducting the analyses and examples. Follow these instructions and conduct all the analyses, as shown in the examples. Do not skip any examples, although it may look redundant and tedious to do them all. Conducting these exercises repetitively will help build up your skills of using SPSS. This skill will be useful for the following lessons and when you conduct analyses in the future.
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| Activities: |
- Work on Self Study activity (Note: This activity is not graded, but it is important that you complete it to ensure you have mastered the concepts in this lesson).
- Begin working on the final class paper.
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Lesson 13: Regression Analysis
| Readings: |
- O'Sullivan et al., Chapter 14
- Lesson 13 Commentary.
Note: On the commentary, you will find the instructions for conducting the analyses and examples. Follow these instructions and conduct all the analyses, as shown in the examples. Do not skip any examples, although it may look redundant and tedious to do them all. Conducting these exercises repetitively will help build up your skills of using SPSS. This skill will be useful for the following lessons and when you conduct analyses in the future. |
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| Activities: |
- Work on Self Study activity (Note: This activity is not graded, but it is important that you complete it to ensure you have mastered the concepts in this lesson).
- Continue to work on the final class paper.
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Class Paper Writing
| Readings: |
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| Activities: |
- Class paper is due by the end of the week. Submit it through Turnitin.com or Class Paper Submission in Canvas based on your instructor's preference.
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