Course Introduction

Instructor: Dr. Lance Freeman
Office Hours: R 11:15-12:15 p.m. or by appointment
Office: 305A Buell Hall
Phone:  212-854-8495
Email: [email protected]

Course Objective: To learn the basic principles of social science research and to develop a research proposal for the Master’s thesis.

 The Master’s thesis provides the student the opportunity to demonstrate her/his ability to independently answer a research question in depth.  The objective of this course is to facilitate the student’s completion of the thesis in a timely fashion by guiding her/him through the initial stages of thesis preparation.  To this end, each student will develop the following for their thesis:

1. Selection
2. Literature review of the chosen topic.
3. Research question of appropriate scope.
4. Conceptual framework.
5. Selection of appropriate data and methodology to answer research question.
6. The potential implications of the anticipated findings.
7. Timeline for completing thesis in a timely manner.

Course Format: The course will be a combination of lectures and seminars.  The lectures will be used to introduce students to new concepts, whereas the seminars are designed to give students practice exercising the knowledge they acquired in the course.  During the course, students will critique research articles and others’ research.  Because research is an activity that invariably benefits from the perspectives of others, feedback from other students, in addition to the instructor, will assist the student in preparing a better thesis.  In addition, through the process of critiquing other theses and studies students will gain valuable insight regarding the overall research process.