Week 1: Introduction to the Course
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Week 1: Introduction to the Course
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Welcome to Week 1 of Sociology 201 online. In this
unit of the course, we are going to take a first look at the topic of social research design, some of the key topics
to follow in the course, and what's expected of you. You should come
away from this unit with a pretty clear understanding of what the course
will be like.
The discussions and activities of this first unit are linked to Chapter One of The Practice of Social Research. To preview the topics contained in Chapter One, click here. You can click on any of the major headings for a brief overview of that topic. You might want to read the overview prior to reading that section of the chapter and/or read the overview again after reading the book to make sure you got what you were supposed to get from it.
Your tasks for completing this unit of the course are to:
(1) Preview and read Chapter 1 of The Practice of Social Research
(2) View the online modules provided below
Once again, welcome to the course and good luck with it.
Online Modules
Depending on your modem and the level of traffic when you log on, these modules may take a few minutes to download. The modules I've created in HTML will move very quickly, but those done in Shockwave (with voice and/or more display possibilities) take longer. Patience is your best ally. Your browser should estimate how long the download will take and update you on how it's going. If you launch a module before it is completely loaded, it may perform strangely. But don't worry, just use the back arrow to move back a step and start over. If you start downloading again, you will get credit for what has already downloaded.
Some of the modules have sound, some don't. If there's a scroll bar to the right of the window (as in this one), that means you should scroll down the page to get all the materials.
In the case of Shockwave files (like slide shows), clicking your mouse will move you to the next slide. When you get to the end, just use the back arrow on your browser to return here.
If you have a scroll bar with Shockwave files, that simply means you can adjust the picture up or down a little on your screen, since your monitor and/or browser may be different from mine.
Idiographic and Nomothetic Explanations This Shockwave presentation will explain the difference between these two approaches to explanation and understanding.Attributes and Variables These are two of the key concepts in social research. This Shockwave presentation will explain what they are, give lots of examples, and show how they figure into social science research.
Click here for a shorter alternative to the Attributes and Variables module. (If you watched the first one, you are, of course, welcomed to this one also.)