Western Michigan
University
School of Public Affairs
and Administration
Course Schedule and Readings
PADM6060, Analytical Methods
Fall 2011
Session 1. Research Matters (9/8)
Singleton & Straits. (2009). Ch. 2, pp. 19-46.
Assignment:
Hand out: Problem Statement
Session 2. Nature of Applied Research (9/15)
Singleton & Straits. (2009). Ch. 4, pp. 79-114.
Gaventa, J. (1993). “The Powerful, the Powerless, and the Experts: Knowledge Struggles in an Information Age.” In Peter Park, Mary Brydon-Miller, Budd Hall, and Ted Jackson (Eds.), Voices of Change: Participatory Research in the United States and Canada. Westport, CT: Bergin and Garvey, pp. 21-40.
Hedrick, T., Bickman, L., & Rog, D. (1993). Applied Research Design: A Practical Guide (Applied Social Research Methods Series: 32), Newbury Park, Sage. Ch 1, “The Nature of Applied Research,” pp 1-14.
Weiss, C. & Bucuvalas, M. (1980). Social Science Research and Decision-Making. New York: Columbia University Press. Ch. 1, “Definitions of the Problem,” pp. 1-26.
Session 3. Concepts and Questions (9/22)
Creswell, J.W. (2009). Chs. 5 and 6, pp. 97-127.
Hedrick, T., Bickman, L., & Rog, D. (1993). Applied Research Design: A Practical Guide (Applied Social Research Methods Series: 32), Newbury Park, Sage. Ch 2, “Defining the Focus of the Research,” pp 15-37.
Leedy, P. & Ormrod, J. (2005). Practical Research: Planning and Design. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Ch. 3, “The Problem: The Heart of the Research Process?,” pp. 43-63
Wagle, U. (2002). “Rethinking Poverty: Definition and Measurement.” International Social Science Journal, 54(171), 155-65.
Assignment:
Hand out: Literature Review and Conceptual Framework
Due: Problem Statement
Session 4. Literature Review (9/29)
Creswell, J.W. (2009). Chs. 2 and 3, pp. 23-72.
Leedy, P. & Ormrod, J. (2005). Practical Research: Planning and Design. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Ch. 4, “Review of the Related Literature,” pp. 64-84.
Library Orientation: Searching and accessing materials online
Sessison 5. Operationalization: Variables, Measurement, and Relationships (10/06)
Creswell, J.W. (2009). Ch. 7, pp. 129-143.
Singleton & Straits. (2009). Ch 5, pp. 115-149.
Wagle, U. (2008). “Multidimensional Poverty: An Alternative Measurement Approach for the United States?” Social Science Research. 37(2), 559-80.
Assignment:
Session 6. Research Design I: Experimental and Quasi-experimental Approaches (10/13)
Singleton & Straits. (2009). Chs. 7 and 8, pp. 195-262.
Assignment:
Due: Literature Review and Conceptual Framework
Session 7. Research Design II: Survey Research (10/20)
Singleton & Straits. (2009). Ch. 6, pp. 150-192; Ch. 9 and Ch. 10, pp. 263-353.
Session 8. Research Design III: Qualitative Approaches (Case Study Research, Field Research, Historical Research, Content Analysis, and Key Informant Interview) (10/27)
Singleton & Straits. (2009). Ch. 11 pp. 354-392 and Ch. 12 (part) pp. 412-430.
Creswell, J.W. (2009). Ch. 9, pp. 173-202.
Yin, R. (2009). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Chs. 1 and 2, “Introduction” and “Designing Case Studies,” pp. 1-66.
Assignment:
Session 9. Research Design IV: Secondary Research and Mixed Methods (11/03)
Singleton & Straits. (2009). Ch. 12 (part), pp. 393-412 and Ch. 13, pp. 431-460.
Creswell, J.W. (2009). Ch. 10, pp. 203-225.
Stewart, D. & Kamins, M. (1993). Secondary Research: Information Sources and Methods (2nd Edition). Newbury Park: Sage. Chs. 1 and 2, “Introduction” and “Evaluating Secondary Sources,” pp. 1-32.
U.S. Census Bureau Home Page: http://www.census.gov
Current Population Survey: http://www.census.gov/cps/
General Social Survey and other Datasets: http://sda.berkeley.edu/archive.htm
Centre for Applied Social Surveys out of UK: http://www.socstats.soton.ac.uk/CASS
FBI Uniform Crime Reports: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm
FedStats, data compiled by various US government agencies: http://www.fedstats.gov.
Freedom House Rakings of Political and Economic Freedom: http://www.freedomhouse.org
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Voter turnout related data for 140 countries: http://www.idea.int/vt/index.cfm
Inter-University Consortium of Political and Social Research (ICPSR) providing access to extensive datasets from various sources: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/
International City/County Management Association: http://icma.org
State Politics and Policy Data Resources: http://www.ipsr.ku.edu/SPPQ/research.shtml
Statistical Abstract of the U.S.: http://www.census.gov/statab/www/
United Nations Development Program, Human Development Indicators starting with the 1960s (Web, CD-ROM or Print): http://hdr.undp.org/statistics/
World Bank, World Development Indicators (starting with the 1960s on the Web, CD-ROM, or Print): http://econ.worldbank.org/
World Resources Institute, Natural resource and climate data: http://www.wri.org
Session 10. Ethical Issues (11/10)
Lafollette, M. (1996). Stealing into Print: Fraud, Plagiarism, and Misconduct in Scientific Publishing. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. Ch. 2, “Classifying Violations,” pp. 32-67.
Assignment:
Hand out: Peer Review of Research Design Proposal
Due: Draft Research Design Proposal due to peer reviewers
Session 11. Writing Research Proposals and Reports (11/17)
Creswell, J.W. (2009). Ch. 4 (part), pp. 73-87.
Singleton & Straits. (2009). Ch. 17, pp. 568-582.
Leedy, P. & Ormrod, J. (2005). Practical Research: Planning and Design. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Ch. 6, “Writing the Research Proposal,” pp. 115-132.
Booth, W.C., Colomb, G.G., & Williams, J.M. (2003). Craft of Research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Ch. 7, “Making Good Arguments,” Ch. 8, “Claims,” and Ch. 9, “Reasons and Evidence,” pp. 114-150.
Hand out: Presentation
Due:
Peer Review of Research Design Proposal
Upload Draft Research Design Proposal to Turnitin (ClassID:
4267585) by 1:00 pm.
Session 12. Student Presentations (12/01)