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Syllabus
26:010:557 / 26:620:557
Social Science
Research Methods
Spring 2006
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MEMORANDUM
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Social Science Research Methods Students
January 18, 2006
The syllabus for this course is attached to
this memorandum. It contains information about
grading, assignments, examinations, and my course
philosophy and policies. A separate document
contains the detailed timetable for the semester.
You
may, of course, contact me by e-mail or by
telephone either to discuss problems and issues
arising from the course, or to fix a mutually
convenient time for us to meet outside office
hours.
This is a course offering primarily designed for
Accounting, Accounting Information Systems, Organization Management
and International Business majors in the Ph. D. in
Management program. This course is a research-level course.
The various
policies and procedures for the course will be
followed strictly and without exception. Every
effort will be made to grade participation, projects
and examinations promptly and accurately. Grades
will be posted anonymously on Blackboard.
My goal is that
if you make the effort required to succeed in
this class, you will develop a good understanding
of basic philosophy of science and social science research
methods, especially as applied in accounting and organization
management. This will require hard work on all
sides. I am sure you will expect me to be
prepared for every class, and I intend to be. In
return, I expect you to be both present and
prepared. In addition, I expect you to
participate in classroom activities to the
fullest extent possible given the number of
people present. Remembering and understanding the
material are both necessary; they will take time,
and will require regular study. It is most
unlikely that pre-examination cramming will be
successful as a study technique.
I will be giving
this course my best effort throughout the
semester, and I need you to do the same if I am
to achieve my goal. I am looking forward to
working with you. You will see that I
take a serious view of the commitment we will all
need to make if the course is to be a success.
However, nothing in this memorandum is meant to
suggest that we should not enjoy our semester
together. Studying can be both rewarding and fun
in itself, but if you see opportunities for
adding fun to our class that I have missed,
please do not hesitate to draw them to my
attention. I wish you every success in studying Social Science
Research Methods this semester.
Yours sincerely
Peter R Gillett
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| Room:
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ENG 301
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| Time: |
Thursday 2:30 - 5:20
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| Instructor: |
Professor Peter R. Gillett
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| Office: |
Levin 231
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| Telephone: |
(732) 445 4765
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| Fax: |
(732) 445 3201
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| E-mail: |
gillett@everest.rutgers.edu
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| Office Hours: |
Thursday 2:00 - 2:30, 5:20 - 5:50 or at other times
by appointment
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| Texts: |
Required:
John Losee. 2001. "A Historical
Introduction to the Philosophy of Science". Fourth
Edition: Oxford University Press Inc., NY.
Alan F. Chalmers. 1999. "What is this thing called
Science". Third Edition: Hackett Publishing Co. Inc.,
Indianapolis, IN.
Fred N. Kerlinger and Howard B. Lee. 2000.
"Foundations of Behavioral Research". Fourth
Edition: International Thomson Publishing.
Highly Recommended Supplementary Readings:
Martin Curd and J.A. Cover. 1998. Philosophy of Science. W.
W. Norton.
Rothbart, Daniel. 1998. Science, Reason and reality: Issues
in the Philosophy of Science. HArcourt Brace College
Publishers
Robert Audi (Ed.). 1999. The Cambridge Dictionary of
Philosophy. Second Edition: Cambridge University Press.
Recommended Supplementary Readings:
Moti Ben-Ari. 2005. Just a Theory: Exploring the Nature of
Science. Prometheus Books.
Alexander Rosenberg. 2000. "Philosophy of Science - a
contemporary introduction". Routledge.
Anthony O'Hear. 1989. "An Introduction to the
Philosophy of Science". Oxford University Press.
Rom Harre. 1985. "The Philosophies of Science".
Oxford University Press.
Alan Ryan. 1970. "The Philosophy of the Social
Sciences". Macmillan.
Peter Winch. 1990. "The Idea of a Social Science and
its Relation to Philosophy". Routledge
Alexander Rosenberg. 1995. "The Philosophy of Social
Science". Second Edition. Westview Press, Inc.
Michael Martin and Lee C. McIntyre (Editors). 1994.
"Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science". The
MIT Press.
John R. Searle. 1995. "The Construction of
Social Reality." The Free Press.
Finn Collin. 1997. "Social Reality." Routledge.
Ian Hacking. 2000. "The Social Construction of
What?" Harvard University Press.
Robert Dubin. 1978. "Theory Building." Revised
Edition. The Free Press.
Thomas D. Cook and Donald T. Campbell. 1979. "Quasi_experimentation:
Design and Analysis Issues for Field Settings". Houghton
Mifflin Company.
Thomas D. Cook, Donald T. Campbell, and William Shadish.
2002. "Experimental
and Quasi Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal
Inference". Houghton Mifflin Company.
Edwin E. Ghiselli, John P, Campbell, and Sheldon Zedeck.
1981. "Measurement Theory for the Behavioral
Sciences." W.H. Freeman and Company.
Elazar J. Pedhazur and Liora Pedhazur Schmelkin. 1991.
"Measurement, Design and Analysis: An Integrated
Approach." Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Jum C. Nunally and Ira Bernstein. 1994. Psychometric
Theory. Third Edition: McGraw-Hill.
Yvonna S. Lincoln and Egon Guba. 1985. "Naturalistic
Inquiry". Sage Publications.
For additional required shorter readings, see the References
appended to the Timetable.
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OBJECTIVES
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At the conclusion of
this course, students should have gained:
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familiarity with the main historical and
contemporary issues in the philosophy of science
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an enhanced awareness of business research as a
social science
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familiarity with the main problems of theory
development and testing
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an understand of scientific method as applied
in business research
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exposure to various research methodologies and
paradigms prevalent in the accounting and organization
management research literatures
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familiarity with a number of classic research papers
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skills to be a successful consumer of business research in the future
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practice in developing proposals for accounting
or organization management research.
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BACKGROUND
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The course is designed assuming
that students have previously taken at least an undergraduate course in
statistics. Students should expect
classes to be a mixture of some lecture, and much class
discussion, and should anticipate
the need to make in-class presentations and to
write a research proposal.
Prior preparation for class is expected.
Attendance and active participation are strongly
encouraged.
Students are required to
participate in their departmental research seminars, and are expected
to ask questions of the presenters. If relevant, papers presented in these forums may also be discussed in
our subsequent classes.
Any students who
consider themselves disabled should communicate
directly with the Dean's Office early in the
semester so that the nature of their disability
and any necessary accommodations can be
determined.
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GRADING
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Total
Possible Points:
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Participation |
250
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Essay
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250
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Research Proposal |
750
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Final Examination |
250
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TOTAL |
1500
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ASSIGNMENTS, ETC.
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Most classes will be based on discussion of
assigned readings from the textbooks or from a
number of published research papers.
Although
individuals must perform their own preparation, which
should be the result of their own efforts,
students are encouraged to seek assistance from
each other and from the instructor if necessary
prior to class. These
assignments are primarily designed as learning
opportunities rather than evaluation tools.
Collaboration and co-operative learning are here
regarded as positive aspects of scholarly
endeavor. The Blackboard Discussion Boards should be used to
facilitate this.
Each week students are required to email to the
instructor by midnight of the day before class at
least three questions arising from the assigned readings.
Failure to do so will reduce the grade for class
participation.
In lieu of a Mid-Term examination, students will
write an essay on an assigned philosophical question that will
require research beyond the material covered in class.
The final paper
should be a research proposal for a paper intended to be of a publishable nature
and quality. In exceptional circumstances, co-authored papers will be
accepted (with advance approval by the
instructor) provided that students can show that
the topic addressed is commensurately more
complex, broader, or more time-consuming than an
individual paper would otherwise be. The paper
will be due at the commencement of the final class period, although it may be
turned in earlier. You should plan on developing
the paper as part of normal course work as the
semester progresses; it will be presented in the final class. It is not my practice to allow incompletes
for coursework not finished, except in the case
of medical or other serious problems.
Needless to say, the
examination must be the result of unaided
individual efforts: it is primarily intended for you to practice
questions typical of those that might be asked in a Qualifying
examination.
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PARTICIPATION
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Participation grades will be assigned based
on my assessment of how consistently and how
effectively you contribute to the learning
experiences of the class by your active participation, whether
as presenter, discussant, or class participant. Factors assessed will include, but
will not necessarily be limited to, demonstrated
preparation of assigned discussion textbook readings, papers or questions, posing or answering
questions during class, student-lead
discussions and presentations, submitted questions, and
Blackboard Discussion Boards, etc. A pre-condition of
your participation, of course, will be your
physical presence in class.
Although late
arrival for class cannot always be avoided,
persistent lateness is a discourtesy to me and to
your fellow students, and will be penalized as
part of the class participation grade along with
absence. It is my policy to teach with the
classroom doors closed; if you arrive late please
close the door again quietly and avoid disturbing
those of us who are already at work. You are
expected to behave in class in a manner
appropriate for professional accounting students.
Quality of
participation is more important than quantity;
too much is no better than too little; the
ability or intention to participate is not a
substitute for actually doing so. Be adventurous:
wrong answers will gain you nothing - but they
will not lose you points you have already gained!
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EXAMINATIONS
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You must take
the Final Examination in order to pass the
course.
A single make-up
examination will be given if necessary for
students unable to take the Final Examination
during its scheduled period due to documented
medical problems, participation in other
university-sanctioned activities, or required
religious observances.
Examinations
will be closed book. Examination questions will
be a mixture of essay questions and problems, and
may cover any material in assigned
materials (whether or
not they surfaced in class discussions), any
matters discussed in class (assigned materials), and matters
arising from assignments and projects.
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ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
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University policy on academic
integrity will be strictly enforced; penalties
for cheating are severe. All suspected violations
will be pursued and maximum penalties may be
expected to be imposed. Academic dishonesty is
always unacceptable, and never more so than in a
professional school.
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WITHDRAWAL POLICY
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A student may withdraw from a course through
the eleventh week of classes. Courses dropped during the first
two weeks of class are deleted from the student's record;
courses dropped from the third to eleventh week result in a W
grade.
Withdrawal forms may be
obtained from the Program Office. The form requires the
adviser's signature. If the course is required for the
qualifying examination for the major, the doctoral coordinator
must also approve the withdrawal. If dropping the course
implies a delay in the student's qualifying examination beyond the date required by
program rules, the permission of the Program Director is also
required.
Late withdrawals will be given the appropriate
letter grade based on the actual number of points
accumulated at the time of withdrawal.
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UNIVERSITY
CLOSINGS
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The class will meet as scheduled
if the University is open. Should the University
close for any reason, any assignments due that
day will be accepted at the next class meeting,
but subsequent assignments will not be postponed.
If the University is closed on a day that an
examination is scheduled, then the examination
will be deferred until the next class meeting.
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ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
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Peter R. Gillett is an Associate Professor in
the Department of Accounting and Information Systems of the
Rutgers Business School - Newark and New Brunswick. He holds
B.A. and M.A. degrees in Mathematics and Philosophy from the
University of Oxford, and a Ph. D. in Business from the
University of Kansas, where he was the Ronald G. Harper
Doctoral Fellow in the School of Business, and held the Ernst
& Young Doctoral Fellowship in the Ernst & Young
Center for Auditing Research and Advanced Technology.
Prior to
joining Kansas, he spent from 1975 to 1992 in professional
practice as an auditor, EDP auditor, and management
consultant. After nine years with Price Waterhouse in London,
he joined Grant Thornton's National office as National
Computer Audit Partner, and subsequently assumed roles as
Partner in charge of Advanced Audit Techniques, and European
Director of Audit Methods. He is a Fellow of the Institute of
Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, a Member of the
British Computer Society, a Member of the Institute for the
Management of Information Systems, and a Fellow of the
Institute of Management. In addition, he belongs to the
American Accounting Association, where he has been active in
the Auditing and Artificial Intelligence/ Emerging
Technologies sections, and to the American Statistical
Association.
Dr.
Gillett has taught courses on Managerial Information Systems,
Accounting Information Systems, Auditing, Advanced Auditing,
Expert Systems, Internet Technologies and Electronic Business,
and Social Science Research Methods. He is a member of the
Editorial Board of several academic journals, including Auditing:
A Journal of Practice & Theory, in which he has also
published. He has published in a number of other academic
journals, including the International Journal of
Approximate Reasoning, and the Annals of Mathematics
and Artificial Intelligence. In addition to numerous
articles in professional journals in the U.K., he has
contributed a chapter on audit judgment to a monograph on Auditing
Practice, Research and Education published by the AICPA,
and to a recent book on Belief Functions in Business
Decisions.
His
dissertation "A Comparative Study of Audit Evidence and
Audit Planning Models Using Uncertain Reasoning" won the
1997 Outstanding Dissertation Award at the University of
Kansas. His current research is studying the use of uncertain
reasoning techniques in audit planning models, the
representation of causality in auditing using event spaces,
and the foundations of subjective probability and lower and
upper previsions.
Dr. Gillett is the Ph.D. Coordinator for the
Accounting and Information Systems Department, serves on the
University Senate and the New Brunswick Faculty Council, is a
Rutgers College Fellow and Honors Program Faculty Mentor, and is
the Faculty Advisor to the Rutgers University Glee Club and the
Catholic Students Association. He also
sings with the Rutgers University Kirkpatrick Choir, as well as the Riverside Choral
Society in Manhattan.
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