Soci–316
SOCIAL RESEARCH
Course Description
This course introduces students to the range of methods that sociologists use to understand humans as social beings. It explores the strengths and weaknesses of these methods, emphasizing the general logic of social inquiry and research design rather than narrowly defined techniques and statistical proofs. With this knowledge in hand, students will design an original research project by the end of term.
Figure 1 (Panel C) in Brady et al. (2025)Structure
This course is designed to provide a streamlined overview of the logic of sociological inquiry and familiarize students with the range of research methods used by sociologists today. The course itself can be partitioned into four major1 modules or units:
| Unit I will provide a high-level overview of quantitative approaches to sociological inquiry and briefly address their epistemological foundations. Specifically, we will cover survey research, social statistics, experiments, causal inference, computational text analysis, and more. |
| Unit II shifts focus to qualitative methods in sociology and cognate fields. This section will include a brief discussion of the craftsmanship required for good qualitative research (cognitive empathy, palpability, etc.) and feature a series of guest lectures from researchers with expertise in ethnography, in-depth interviews, content analysis, and other qualitative techniques. |
| Unit III spans two weeks and will provide an opportunity for students to refine their research proposals, share updates on their progress, and offer constructive feedback to peers as they develop projects of their own. We will only meet once per week during this unit. |
| Unit IV will feature a series of in-class presentations related to your research proposals. |
Units I and II of the class—as well as our prelude and interlude—will follow a simple structure. On most days, I will begin with a basic lecture informed by the week’s readings. Then, students (i.e., all of you) will take centre stage. Working in small groups, you will respond to the questions or prompts I provide. These prompts will encourage you to connect lecture material to the research proposal you are developing throughout the term. Each synchronous session will conclude with a plenary discussion, where we will explore the themes that emerged during small group conversations.
Readings
| The Art and Science of Social Research (Carr et al. 2020) |
| Data Analysis for Social Science: A Friendly and Practical Introduction (Llaudet and Imai 2023) |
| Qualitative Literacy: A Guide to Evaluating Ethnographic and Interview Research (Small and Calarco 2022) |
Supplemental readings are available through the mystifying power of Moodle. As you plan for the semester, it may be useful to bookmark the eReserves page on our course website. New readings may be introduced as the world around us evolves, whether via the incremental march of science or in response to social, economic and political shocks that warrant further reflection.
Optional Readings
As a forewarning: readings underlined in the Weekly Schedule section are optional.
Evaluations
A Bird’s Eye View
| Task | Description | Weight | Deadline or Evaluative Time Horizon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participation | This is a small research seminar. Ergo, class participation is vital. Students must actively engage in class discussions—sharing their thoughts, providing feedback to peers, asking clarifying questions, and keeping me (i.e., the course instructor) abreast of any developments vis-à-vis their research proposal. | 20% | Evaluated during class sessions throughout the term. |
| Memo on Research Interests |
Students are required to submit a concise, 500-word reflection detailing their research interests. In this reflection, students should specify the kinds of social phenomena they would like to scrutinize in their final proposal—fertility behaviour, sexuality, affective polarization, ethnic boundaries, artificial intelligence, cultural consumption, international migration, economic inequality, carceral policy and so on. | 5% | Friday, February 13th at 8:00 PM. |
| Qualtrics Survey | In pairs, students will design a 10-minute Qualtrics survey on a topic that meaningfully blends or integrates their research interests. The survey will be evaluated on both substance (e.g., how well survey items capture the latent constructs of interest) and design (e.g., clarity, avoidance of clutter, and appropriate use of forking sequences). More guidelines will be posted online later in the term. | 15% | Friday, February 27th at 8:00 PM. |
| Annotated Bibliography | Students must submit an annotated bibliography before spring break. This annotated bibliography will, in principle, directly inform—or serve as the foundation for—the literature review they include in their final research proposal. In the bibliography, students must identify at least 10 sources germane to their topic of interest. For each source, students must provide a 100–150-word summary of the key argument(s) proffered by the author(s). Detailed guidelines will be uploaded online later this term. | 10% | Friday, March 13th at 8:00 PM. |
| Essay on Proposed Methodology | Students must submit a brief, 1000-word paper outlining how they will subject the theoretical propositions motivating their proposed study—that is, their main arguments or claims—to empirical scrutiny. A concrete overview of expectations will be provided during a lecture session later this term. | 10% | Friday, April 17th at 8:00 PM. |
| Final Presentation | In Unit IV of the class, students will deliver a 10–12-minute presentation on the research project they have developed over the term. A rubric with evaluation criteria will be uploaded later this semester. | 10% | During Unit IV. |
| Final Research Proposal | Students are required to submit a detailed, 15-25 page research proposal (double spaced) on a topic of their choice, subject to the approval of the course instructor. The chosen topic must be related to the study of human societies and fall within sociology’s broad intellectual mandate. A detailed set of expectations will be provided later this semester. | 30% | Monday, May 11th at 8:00 PM. |
Guidelines for key deliverables will be gradually rolled out—or uploaded online—as deadlines come into focus.
Norms, Rules & Regulations
Please review the Amherst College Honor Code, which can be accessed in its entirety here.
Violations of the Honor Code will be promptly reported to the Dean of Students. As Section 1.1 of the Honor Code indicates, plagiarism is a serious offense. In most cases, students who plagiarize the work of others will fail this class and may face additional disciplinary penalties. Moreover, as detailed in Sections 1.2 to 1.4 of the Honor Code, students must respect others in the classroom, including those whose views deviate from their own. Failure to do so will prompt disciplinary action.
There is no reason to pretend like generative artificial intelligence (GAI) does not exist in the world out there. These systems have arrived, and they may revolutionize how higher education “works.” With this in mind, you are free to use ChatGPT and its analogues for class assignments—but you have to cite the GAI you are using. Failure to do so amounts to plagiarism.
To reiterate:
If you use a GAI tool (like ChatGPT or Claude) and do not cite it, it is a form of plagiarism.
You are expected to attend each and every class. If you do not, you will lose points for participation. That said, I am aware that you are all human beings whose lives are often fraught with uncertainty. If something comes up, please let me know and I will do my best to be as accommodating as possible. Extended absences may, however, require additional documentation (e.g., note from a physician).
Provisionally, I have decided to allow students to use laptops and tablets in class. This is, however, highly conditional. If I observe students using their electronic devices for non-academic pursuits (e.g., shopping, consuming social media and so on), I will institute a sweeping ban on electronics.
Do not be the one to contravene our social contract.
On weekdays, I will respond to e-mails within two days. If I fail to meet this standard, please send me a follow-up message with a gentle reminder. On weekends2 and breaks, I will not respond to e-mails unless you have an emergency. If you do, please remember to include EMERGENCY in the subject line.
2 Concretely, Friday at 5:00 PM to Monday at 8:00 AM.
Assignments must be submitted on time. A late submission will result in a penalty of 5% for each day beyond the deadline.3 However, as noted, I am well aware that life can present unexpected challenges. If you anticipate missing a deadline or have an emergency, please let me know soon as you can. Extensions may be granted on a case-by-case basis.
3 If an assignment is due at 8:00 PM and you submit it at 8:01 PM, you will be considered a day late and lose 5%.
A Note On Office Hours
I will hold my in-person office hours on Fridays from 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM in Morgan Hall (Room 306), although students can also schedule meetings during an Open Meeting Slot.4 All meetings—even during office hours—must be scheduled in advance via Google Calendar. To reiterate:
4 Generally via Zoom.
All meetings, even during office hours, must be scheduled in advance via Google Calendar.
Need Directions? (Click to Expand and/or Close)
Accessibility and Accommodations
If you require accommodations, please contact Student Accessibility Services as soon as possible and submit an application through the AIM Portal. More generally, if you have any suggestions about how this class can be more accessible and inclusive, please let me know.
Weekly Schedule
As noted, supplementary readings can be accessed via the eReserves page on our course website.
Readings underlined below are optional.
Dates highlighted below mark scheduled guest lectures.
Hover your pointer over the highlighted date for more information.
Prelude
Week 2: Theory and Practice
February 3rd & February 5th
The Art and Science of Social Research (Carr et al. 2020)
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 4
Transcending General Linear Reality (Abbott 1988)
How Does Culture Matter for Attainment, and How Would We Know If It Did?
(Brady, Luft, and Zuckerman Sivan 2025)
Inequality without Groups: Contemporary Theories of Categories, Intersectional Typicality, and the Disaggregation of Difference (Monk 2022)
No Assigned Readings.
Unit I: Quantitative Social Research
Week 3: Surveys
February 10th & February 12th
The Art and Science of Social Research (Carr et al. 2020)
- Chapter 6
Data Analysis for Social Science: A Friendly and Practical Introduction (Llaudet and Imai 2023)
- Chapter 3—Sections 3.1 to 3.22
The Art and Science of Social Research (Carr et al. 2020)
- Chapter 7
Memos are due by 8:00 PM on Friday, February 13th.
Week 4: Causality
February 17th & February 19th
Data Analysis for Social Science: A Friendly and Practical Introduction (Llaudet and Imai 2023)
- Chapter 2
The Art and Science of Social Research (Carr et al. 2020)
- Chapter 7
Week 5: Data Analysis
[ February 24th & February 26th
Data Analysis for Social Science: A Friendly and Practical Introduction (Llaudet and Imai 2023)
- Chapter 3—Sections 3.3 to 3.6
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
Researcher Reasoning Meets Computational Capacity: Machine Learning for Social Science
(Lundberg, Brand, and Jeon 2022)
Machine Learning for Sociology (Molina and Garip 2019)
Survey instruments are due by 8:00 PM on Friday, February 27th.
Week 6: Computational Text Analysis
[ March 3rd & March 5th
Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences
(Grimmer, Roberts, and Stewart 2022)
- Chapter 2
From Ends to Means: The Promise of Computational Text Analysis for Theoretically Driven Sociological Research (Bonikowski and Nelson 2022)
The Geometry of Culture: Analyzing the Meanings of Class Through Word Embeddings
(Kozlowski, Taddy, and Evans 2019)
Start Generating: Harnessing Generative Artificial Intelligence for Sociological Research
(Davidson 2024)
Integrating Generative Artificial Intelligence into Social Science Research: Measurement, Prompting, and Simulation (Davidson and Karell 2025)
Interlude
Week 8: Spring Break
March 17th & March 19th
Unit II: Qualitative Social Research
Week 9: Qualitative Literacy
March 24th & March 26th
Qualitative Literacy: A Guide to Evaluating Ethnographic and Interview Research
(Small and Calarco 2022)
- Chapter 1
Note (Click to Expand/Close)
The chapter on Cognitive Empathy, not the Introduction. - Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
Qualitative Literacy: A Guide to Evaluating Ethnographic and Interview Research
(Small and Calarco 2022)
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
Week 10: Insights From Experts
March 31st & April 2nd
To Be Determined.
From the Bedroom to the Streets: Exploring the Organizational Mechanisms That Explain White Supremacists’ Engagement in High-Risk Activism (Drago 2026)
Week 11: Insights From Experts (cont.)
April 7th & April 9th
Making South Africa Safe: The Gendered Production of Black Place on the Global Stage
(Hikido 2021)
Meanings of Mobility: Family, Education, and Immigration in the Lives of Latino Youth
(Schmalzbauer 2023)
- Introduction
- Appendix B: A Methodological Roadmap
Unit III: Independent Work
Week 12: Independent Work Session
April 16th
No Assigned Readings.
Essays are due by 8:00 PM on Friday, April 17th.
Week 13: Independent Work Session (cont.)
April 23rd
No Assigned Readings.
Unit IV: Final Presentations
Week 14: Presentations
April 28th & April 30th
No Assigned Readings.
Week 15: Presentations
May 5th
No Assigned Readings.
Final proposals are due by 8:00 PM on Monday, May 11th.
Should be available within 24 hours of a class session.
Prelude
Week 1
Week 2
Optional Readings
Just to drive the point home: underlined readings are optional, not required.