Business Administration 3008: RESEARCH DESIGN

Business Administration 3008: RESEARCH DESIGN

Spring 2003

Wednesdays: 1 to 3:45pm in 280 Mervis Hall

Instructor:�� Dr. Irene Frieze

Office:�� 3329 Sennott Square. 412-624-4336.

e-mail:�� frieze@pitt.edu

Overview.� This course provides students with practical experience in using one or more social science methods of research by designing, administering, analyzing, and writing up data on a topic of their choice.� Topics addressed will include discussion of hypothesis development, study design, sampling, written and telephone surveys, field observation, and experimentation.� Students will also learn how to code data and develop a computer database for testing their hypothesis.� Many students find this course helpful for pre-testing and doing pilot studies for their dissertation.� Grading will be based on written and oral assignments (70%) and class attendance and participation (30%).

Required Text:

�� Babbie, E. (2001). The practice of social research. (Ninth Edition).� Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.� ISBN: 0-534-57474-2

Course Requirements:

1. Regular class attendance and participation. (30% grade)

2. Design, administer, analyze and orally present an exploratory or descriptive study. (20% grade).� Due February 26.

3. Design a study to test a hypothesis.� Present this plan to the class (10%).�

4. Write a research proposal. (10% grade).� Due March 26.

5. ��Run and write up the proposed study to test a simple hypothesis. (30% grade). Due April 23, 4 pm.

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Tentative Lecture Topics and Reading Assignments

January 8.� Course overview.� Everyday observation and formal research.

�� Readings:

�� Babbie.� Chapter 1. Human inquiry and science.

January 15 - 22.� Use of theory in research.� Independent and dependent variables and the research question.� Stages of research.� Exploration, description, and hypothesis testing.� Methods used for exploratory research.

Readings:

�� Babbie.� Chapter 2. Paradigms, theory, and research.��

�� Chapter 3. The idea of causation in social research.�

� � Chapter 4. Research design.

January 29 - February 5. Conceptualizing and operationalizing the research question.� Discussion of research questions to be tested by class members.� Matching of research methods to research questions.� Design of the initial exploratory study to be done for the first paper.

�� Readings:

�� Babbie.� Chapter 5. Conceptualization, operationalization, and measurement.

February 12.� Begin oral reports in class on exploratory study results. �Exploratory report must be done by February 26.

February 12-February 19.� Using standardized scales.

Readings:

� Babbie.� Chapter 6. Indexes, scales, and typologies.

�Appendix D. GSS Household Enumeration Questionnaire.

February 26.� Who should be tested?� Defining the study population.� Sampling procedures.

Readings:

Babbie.� Chapter 7. The logic of sampling.

March 12 - 19.� Methods of formal data collection.� Discussion of student research project ideas for explanatory study.

�� Readings:

�� Babbie.�� Chapter 8.� Experiments.

�� Chapter� 9. ��Survey research.

�� Chapter� 10.� Qualitative Field research.

�� Chapter� 11.� Unobtrusive research.

�� Chapter� 12.� Evaluation research.

�� Babbie.� Appendix C.� The research report.

March 26.� Research proposals due in class.

March 26.� Ethical issues in research.� Providing feedback to study participants.� Reviews by Institutional Review Board.

Readings:

�� Babbie.� Chapter 18.� The ethics and politics of social research.

April 2. Turning observations or interviews into numbers.� Quantifying data.

�� Readings:

Babbie.� Chapter 13.� Qualitative data analysis

Chapter 14.� Quantifying data.

Chapter 15. �Elementary quantitative analyses

Chapter 17. �Social statistics

�� Appendix I.�� A learner's guide to SPSS 8.0

April 9 - 16.� Comparison of research methods.� Discussion of research questions tested by the class members.� Discussion of alternatives to methods used.� Using research for formulating policy.� Development of theory.

Readings-

�� Babbie.� Chapter 19.� The uses of social research.

�� Chapter 16.� The elaboration model

Fiske, D. & Fogg, L. (1990).� But the reviewers are making different criticisms of my paper! American Psychologist, 45, 591-598.

April 23.� Final paper, a test of a hypotheses, due April 23, by 4 pm in 3329 Sennott Square.

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Supplemental Readings

�� Anderson, J. C. & Gerbing, D. W. (1988).� Structural equation modeling in practice:� Review and recommended two-step approach.� Psychological Bulletin, 103, 411-423.

�� Baron, R. M. & Kenny, D. A. (1986).� The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations.� Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182

Bartunek, J. M., Bobko, P., & Venkatraman, N. V. (1993).� Toward innovation and diversity in management research methods.� Academy of Management Journal., 36, 1362-1373.

Bernstein, I. H. & Teng, G. (1989).� Factoring items and factoring scales are different: Spurious evidence for multidimensionality due to item categorization.� Psychological Bulletin, 105, 467-477.

Beyer, J. M., Chanove, R. G., & Fox, W. B.� (1995).� The review process and the fates of manuscripts submitted to AMJ. Academy of Management Journal, 38, 1219-1260.

�� Chow, S. L. (1988).� Significance test or effect size?� Psychological Bulletin, 103, 105-110.

Cohen, J. (1990).� Things I have learned (so far).� American Psychologist, 45, 1304-1312.

Cohen, J. (1992).� Statistical power analysis.� Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1, 98-101.

Cohen, J.� (1994).� The earth is round (p<.05).� American Psychologist, 49, 997-1003.

Converse, J. M. & Presser, S. (1986).� Survey questions: Handcrafting the standardized questionnaire.� Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

Cortina, J. M., & Dunlap, W. P.� (1997).� On the logic and purpose of significance testing.� Psychological Methods, 2, 161-172.

DeVellis, R. F. (1991).� Scale development: Theories and applications.� Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Dillman, D. A. (1978).� Mail and telephone surveys: The total design method.� New York:� Wiley

Dillman, D. A. (1991).� The design and administration of mail surveys.� Annual Review of Sociology, 17, 225-249.

Fiske, D. W. & Fogg, L. (1990).� But the reviewers are making different criticisms of my paper!� American Psychologist, 45, 591-598.

Floyd, S. W., Schroeder, D. M., & Finn, D. M.� (1994).� "Only if I'm first author":� Conflict over credit in management scholarship.� Academy of Management Journal, 37, 734-747.

Freedland, K. E. & Carney, R. M. (1992).� Data management and accountability in behavioral and biomedical research.� American Psychologist, 47, 640-645.

Gatsonis, C. & Sampson, A. R. (1989).� Multiple correlation: Exact power and sample size calculations.� Psychological Bulletin, 106, 516-524.

Hippler, H., Schwartz, N., & Sudman, S. (Eds.). (1987). Social information processing and survey methodology.� New York: Springer-Veriag.

Kalton, G. (1983).� Introduction to survey sampling.� Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

Labaw, P. (1985).� Advanced questionnaire design.� Cambridge, MA: Abt Books.

Langley, A.� (1999).� Strategies for theorizing from process data.� Academy of Management Review, 24, 691-712.

Maxwell, S. E., Cole, D. A., Arvey, R. D., & Salas, E. (1991).� A comparison of methods for increasing power in randomized between-subjects designs.� Psychological Bulletin, 110, 328-337.

Murphy, K. R. & Pardaffy, V. A. (1989).� Bias in behaviorally anchored rating scales: Global or scale-specific?� Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 343-346.

Rasmussen, J. L. (1989).� Analysis of likert-scale data: A reinterpretation of Gregoire and Driver.� Psychological Bulletin, 105, 167-170.

Sternberg, R. J., & Gordeeva, T.� (1996).� The anatomy of impact:� What makes an article influential?� Psychological Science, 7, 69-75.

Tsang, E. E. K., & Kwan, K.� (1999).� Replication and theory development in organizational science:� A critical realist perspective.� Academy of Management Review, 24, 759-780.

Wedell, D. H. & Parducci, A. (1988).� The category effect in social judgment: Experimental ratings of happiness.� Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 341-356.

Wilcox, R. R. (1992).� Why can methods for comparing means have relatively low power, and what can you do to correct the problem?� Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1,101-105.