Professor: Soyeon Park
                      Email:  sypark@scils.rutgers.edu
                      Phone:  932-3747
                      Fax: 932-6916
                      Room:   330 SCILS

An introduction to systematic inquiry using quantitative research methods to assess user and organizational needs. Uses of evaluative methods as an essential component of planning. Students perform data analyses and interpretations using quantitative research methods. Computer laboratory sessions are used to facilitate statis-ti-cal analyses of data. Published research papers are critically evaluated.

II.  Pre- and/or Co-requisites: None

III.  Course Objectives

Students will gain a knowledge and understanding of the concepts and terminology of empirical methods used in social science, especially the library and information studies field. A principal aim of this course is to integrate a basic understanding of research methods with the practical reality of conducting and analyzing research. This course will be focused on the relationship among theory, design, measurement, statistics, and on practical applications of data analysis. Emphasis throughout the course will be on theory development with attention to concept formation and confirmation in a research program. Various research methods such as experimental designs and survey research methods will be covered as they relate to problems in library and information studies research. Selection of a particular research method will be determined based on the problem under investigation and its theoretical model. Students will gain introductory knowledge of topics in descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Computer packages will be used to facilitate data analyses. Application of concepts learned will be demonstrated in papers, examinations, and in critical evaluations of published research papers.
 

IV.  Organization of the Course

A.  INTRODUCTION TO COURSE(class 1)

 B.  DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS (classes 1-5)

• Frequency distributions, central tendency, dispersion, graphic displays (histograms, scattergrams), and descriptive models.
• Computer aided data analyses (laboratory exercises).

• Hypothesis testing
• Tests of difference: chi-square, t-test, analysis of variance
• Tests of relation: correlation
• Introduction to simple linear regression, and multiple regression.
• Computer aided data analyses (laboratory exercises).

• Reliability, validity, generality, confirmation
• Sources of error and bias
• Critical evaluation of published research

• Experimental design
• Survey research
• Other methods (from Babbie text)

• Random selection and assignment
• Types of samples
• Sample size considerations
• Applications of sampling to actual research
• Representativeness and generality

V.  Major Assignments

A.  Required textbooks:
 

• Williams, Frederick.  Reasoning with Statistics; How to Read Quantitative Research. 4th edition.  Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992.
• Katzer, Jeffrey; Cook, Kenneth H.; Crouch, Wayne W.  Evaluating Information:  A Guide for Users of Social Science Research.  4th edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1998. 297p.
• Babbie, Earl. The Practice of Social Research. 8th Edition. Blemont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1998.

• Paper using descriptive statistics due 6th class. (This paper is more fully described in Appendix A of this syllabus.)
• Paper using inferential statistics due 11th class. (This paper is more fully described in Appendix B of this syllabus.)
• Paper evaluating published research article (Due 14th class, see Appendix C.)
• Two exams: These exams will be based on:  (a) class lectures; (b) the papers prepared for the class; and, (c) information contained in the textbook readings. They are combinations of short answer, multiple choices, and interpretations of statistical results.

VI.  Methods of Assessment

A. Paper 1. Descriptive Statistics:  25% of final grade.

B. Paper 2. Inferential Statistics: 25% of final grade.

C.  Paper 3.  Evaluation of Published Research:  25% of final grade.

D.  Exams (two times): 25% of final grade.

E.  Extra credits for participation, general sunny disposition, spontaneous knowledge of the    readings, contributions, and attendance.

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 SPSS, Calculators, etc
   You can use any computer-based program to help you in your analyses.  The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) is a good program for our course and handouts on its use is appended at the end of this syllabus. The use of SPSS Window is highly recommended, but not a mandate for class assignments.

 Laboratory sessions will be scheduled to introduce you to SPSS.

 Spreadsheet programs such as Excel has been used in the past--but with some difficulty and limitations.

 You can also use any program you have access to at home or work. You can also do your assignment with a hand calculator (Texas Instruments Models TI 30X or TI 30X Solar are good for this course). In such cases your charts will be hand-drawn.

Descriptive Statistics Paper

The purposes of this requirement in the course are (1) to provide you with the oppor-tun-ity to analyze a set of data to produce inter-est-ing descriptive statistics and graphic displays, and (2) to have you go through the steps and processes of a real research study which uses quantita-tive methods. However, you have a number of res-tric-tions placed on you and, at best, your research will approxi-mate a pilot study. Remember, this paper is a learning exercise from start to finish.

There are two options for completing this paper described below.

Option 1: Create a data set of your interest.
You may create any data set you wish for this assignment as long as it falls within the general areas of communication, in-for-ma-tion or library studies (i.e., library user studies). The problem set uses a data matrix based on simulated data. Approximate the range of data for each variable and create (i.e., simulate) realistic estimates of scores for each case. If you create the data set then you should plan to have about 30 cases as your sample size.

Option 2: Use a real data set provided to you by me or a data set found by you (and approved by me). For example, you can use the data taken from “New Jersey Public Library Statistics for 1996” compiled by Bob Fortenbaugh.

There is flexibility in how you do this assignment so be sure to read the des-crip--tion below carefully. Feel free to check with your instructor if you wish to try other possi-bilities within this general area.

The goal of this assignment is to perform descriptive statistical analyses. You will be analyzing the data to report on measures of central tendency and dispersion. You will also be creat-ing graphic displays, or pictures of your data.

________________________

The unit of analysis should be clearly stated (such as a per-son, a group, a community or town, an organi-za-tion, an object such as a discipline or even an indi-vid-ual book). Your data can have an individ-ual person as the unit of analysis if your simulated study were a user study. It could have an organization as the unit of analysis if you were to compare libraries. Other units of analysis are also acceptable.

Whether you create your own data set or use existing data set, there should be at least about four variables in all. One dependent vari-able which is measured continuously is ap-pro-priate. Two continuous --independent vari-ables and one categorical variable would complete the matrix. This array allows for display of distributions (as in the numerical vari-ables) and the creation of sub-groups (where the one variable is divided into two sub-groups by a categorical vari-able.)

There are three major restrictions placed on this research. First, do not collect real data! You are not to bother anyone. This means no question-naires or interviews unless you use the members of our class as respondents. Second, you are not to do anything which results in me or the Uni-ver-sity getting phone calls that "someone is con-duct-ing an unauthorized study and I hear you are the professor responsible for this." Third, you do not need to have a repre-sentative sample since you will only be analyzing a limited data set (about 30 cases).

It will be explained in class how you set this study up and how you can create repre-sen-ta-tive data for various studies.

Your paper should be divided into the following sections:

Section 1 -- Theory

• Introduce your theory. Why is it interesting and important?  (If you are using real data set, imagine that you are a researcher conducting that study)
• Discuss central concepts and how they relate to each other.
• Also discuss how your variables derive from your concepts, and why you selected your variables, and how they are measured.
• Identify your unit of analysis.
• Identify your dependent variable (DV, continuous) and independent variables (IV, two continuous variables and one categorical variable).

Section 2: Methodology

• Discuss overall study design, the development of data collection instrument, and sampling method.
• Explain how and from whom the data were collected.

 Section 3: Descriptive Statistics

 The purpose of analyzing and inter-pret-ing descriptive statistics is to convey the inherent mean-ing of a set of data. This is independent of hypothe-sis testing using infer-en-tial statistics.

 Univariate level
 Report and interpret the descriptive statistics and graphic displays for each vari-able taken one at a time. The text of the paper will contain para-graphs explaining what it means. The text is needed to confirm how the mean or standard deviation is interpreted by you. Your picture for this univariate por-tion of the paper will be such dis-plays as a histogram for a continuous vari-able, a bar chart or pie diagram for the categorical variable.

 Bivariate level
 Report and interpret the descriptive sta-tis-tics and graphic dis-plays for the vari-ables taken two or more at a time. This part looks to your sub-groups and uses bar charts and similar methods to display results. One continuous variable can be divided into two sub-groups by a categorical variable. Of course, sub-groups using a numerical variable will have sub-group means and standard devia-tions. Again, the text of the paper will give the reader a full interpretation of what it all means. Be sure to explain each and every statistic and each and every graphic display.

Inferential Statistics Paper

The purpose of the second paper is to formulate and test hypotheses, and to interpret the results of inferential statistics.

 Section 4 – Hypotheses Testing

 Propose and state two sets of hypotheses: one using t-test and another one using correlation. Provide rationales for formulating these hypotheses. Establish statistical significance levels for testing your hypotheses. Discuss assumptions for each statistical test, when relevant.

 Test of difference: t-test
 T-test is used to determine whether the means of two groups differ from one another. Based on your data, formulate a hypothesis about mean differences between two groups. Make sure you have one continuous dependent variable and one categorical independent variable (IV3). Think about whether your hypothesis is one- or two-tailed.

 Test of relationship: simple-correlation
 Test of relationship is typically used when a researcher believes that there is a relationship between two variables. Formulate one hypothesis about the relationship between DV and IV1 (continuous), and another hypothesis about the relationship between DV and IV2 (continuous). The hypothesis about the relationship between IV1 and IV2 is optional.

For the brave and ambitious, you might also consider using more complicated methods such as one-way Analysis of Variance, simple linear regression or even multiple regression (as an option). But note the principle here: it is pre-ferred that you do a good job with very few simple tests than a mediocre job with many com-pli-cated tests.

 Section 5 -- Results
 Describe and interpret the results of each and every finding. Your results should include the actual (calculated) value of the statistic, the degrees of freedom, and the significance level. Be sure to report whether the result is statistically significant, and how much variability you have explained when it is appropriate to do so. Report descriptive statistics and graphic displays when relevant. If you haven’t got significant results, explain why that happened.

 Section 6 -- Discussion

• Revisit the theory
• Discuss the implications of your findings (or lack thereof): What are the implications of the results to your sample?; Are these results generalizable to population?
• Suggest new or revised hypotheses for the next study in this area.
• What improvements might you suggest relative to measurement or study design that would be helpful for your particular investigation?

 Review of a Published Research Paper

  For this paper you are to simulate the activities of a referee for one of our major journals. You are to assume that a published journal article is still an un-solicited manuscript and that the journal editor has selected you to evaluate its appro-priateness for publication. Two published articles from library and information science journals will be distributed. Choose and read one of them. You are refereeing the manuscript blind and the identity of the author (or authors) is not known by you. Your critique will build on the statistics and social science  methods you learned earlier in this course. This is why this paper is due at the end of the class session.

   Please focus your critique on the following issues:

• theory proposed
• the relevant links between theory and method  (the appropriateness of the method for the problem at hand)
• data collection
• operationalization of concepts; discussion of the variables and how they are measured
• data analyses:
• appropriateness of hypotheses formation and testing;
• appropriate use of statistical tests; adequacy of the interpretations, inferences, and conclusions.

The Katzer text deals with many of the issues relevant to this paper and you will want to apply Katzer's thinking to your critique. Representativeness of the sample, reliability, validity, and generality are four major topics that will need to be addressed. At the end of your critique, indicate if the manuscript is acceptable for pub-lica-tion (with or without changes) or if it has been rejected.

It is recommended that you complete all readings for 572 as early as you can. The schedule below spreads the readings across most of the course but you are encour-aged to complete these readings ahead of this proposed schedule. This sequence gives some logical order to the readings and it takes into account the complexity of the material. You should be sure to build in some overlap so that the more technical readings get read at least twice. More readings will be distributed, when relevant. [Please note that doctoral students are expected to read the entire Williams text.]

Class      Text       Chapters    Pages

1-2      Katzer      1-2             1-22
           Williams   1-3               3-31
            Babbie  Front matter; Part 1

3-4     Katzer  3,4,5             23-52
           Williams  3,4             23-50
           Babbie   Part 2, Chapters 4-7  86-190

5         Katzer  6,7     55-72
            Babbie  Part 4, Chapters 14, 15 356-387

6-7      Williams  5,6,7     51-89
            Babbie  Part 4, Chapter 16  388-403

8-9      Williams  10(part);    117-121
                          11     131-146
            Katzer  8,9, 10-13    73-107, 108-162

10        Williams  8     90-100
            Katzer  14-15     163-184
            Babbie   Part 4, Chapter 17  404-433

11-12  Williams  11,12     131-157
               Newman   1-6     1-115
              Babbie  Part 3    230-355

13-14  Katzer  16-end    187-end
              Newman  Appendices – end   81-216
              Babbie   Part 2, Chapter 8  191-229
              Part 5; Appendix J  434-465; A139-A144