SOCIOL 20
Introduction to Sociological Research Methods
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Introduction to methods used in contemporary sociological research, with focus on issues of research design, data collection, and analysis of data. Fieldwork may be required. Letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2024 - This was overall a good class. If you put in effort into the work, an A is very possible. Be CAUTIOUS of group chats, Professor Rossi does not allow collaboration with classmates on Homework assignments and will give you a 0 on the assignment if he finds out! The grades for this class were distributed equally. There are 4 homework assignments and each are worth 5% (totaling to 20% of your overall grade). There are two group projects, you form a group with the peers in your discussion section, each group project is worth 20% of your grade. And there is a midterm and final in-person exam, which consisted of multiple-choice questions only, each exam was worth 20% of your grade as well (so the final is not cumulative!). Professor Rossi is a kind person, and is definitely helpful when you ask him questions. I think he is a great professor to take this course with. Although it says on his syllabus you need a required textbook, you really don't. Exams are not based on that, but it can be helpful to supplement ideas from lectures. TA's are also really kind and are a great resource for homework check-in's and project questions, so make sure to visit their office hours or just ask questions!
Spring 2024 - This was overall a good class. If you put in effort into the work, an A is very possible. Be CAUTIOUS of group chats, Professor Rossi does not allow collaboration with classmates on Homework assignments and will give you a 0 on the assignment if he finds out! The grades for this class were distributed equally. There are 4 homework assignments and each are worth 5% (totaling to 20% of your overall grade). There are two group projects, you form a group with the peers in your discussion section, each group project is worth 20% of your grade. And there is a midterm and final in-person exam, which consisted of multiple-choice questions only, each exam was worth 20% of your grade as well (so the final is not cumulative!). Professor Rossi is a kind person, and is definitely helpful when you ask him questions. I think he is a great professor to take this course with. Although it says on his syllabus you need a required textbook, you really don't. Exams are not based on that, but it can be helpful to supplement ideas from lectures. TA's are also really kind and are a great resource for homework check-in's and project questions, so make sure to visit their office hours or just ask questions!
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Most Helpful Review
All I learned from taking a class taught by Tanya Stivers was: 1) How to cram without actually learning material. 2) How to take verbal abuse from a professor. 3) Acceptance that no work completed is good enough. Shes on a power trip and it wouldn't surprise me to later learn she was secretly a psychopath. Judging from the other evaluations, I think its safe to say Tanya and her family have employed self rating.
All I learned from taking a class taught by Tanya Stivers was: 1) How to cram without actually learning material. 2) How to take verbal abuse from a professor. 3) Acceptance that no work completed is good enough. Shes on a power trip and it wouldn't surprise me to later learn she was secretly a psychopath. Judging from the other evaluations, I think its safe to say Tanya and her family have employed self rating.
Most Helpful Review
A very disorganized lecturer and assignment giver. Her lectures have almost nothing to do with the four research papers which you have to write for the class. For the first few weeks she would teach us various social theories by DuBois and Weber, and we would innocently take notes on them, only to realize weeks later that what she has taught have absolutely nothing to do with the papers. Very easy class, as long as you know how to read the instructions of the assignments. Make note of the following though - the last paper requires us to make use of SPSS and this other random program she found online, which she has NEGLECTED to teach us about until a mass number of complaints came from students about not knowing how access information on those programs! If you know SPSS then this class would be even easier for you.
A very disorganized lecturer and assignment giver. Her lectures have almost nothing to do with the four research papers which you have to write for the class. For the first few weeks she would teach us various social theories by DuBois and Weber, and we would innocently take notes on them, only to realize weeks later that what she has taught have absolutely nothing to do with the papers. Very easy class, as long as you know how to read the instructions of the assignments. Make note of the following though - the last paper requires us to make use of SPSS and this other random program she found online, which she has NEGLECTED to teach us about until a mass number of complaints came from students about not knowing how access information on those programs! If you know SPSS then this class would be even easier for you.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2020 - This class was great and it converted me from a bus econ into a sociology major by the end of it. The professor was very simple and to the point. I liked her teaching style. She used slides that basically covered all the material you'll be tested on. She wasn't really good at responding to emails though, so just stick to keeping communication with your TA. I suggest taking this class right after statistics or alongside statistics. There is A LOT of statistics and needing to know how to read and analyze them. It's lot of fun and they teach you how so don't worry. Easy class and super fun. You even get to conduct your own research with some peers. Also, DO EVERY SINGLE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT. There are only like 6 assignments and you only need to pass 4 of them, so do all of them to make sure you can make up for any you don't pass. Have fun!
Winter 2020 - This class was great and it converted me from a bus econ into a sociology major by the end of it. The professor was very simple and to the point. I liked her teaching style. She used slides that basically covered all the material you'll be tested on. She wasn't really good at responding to emails though, so just stick to keeping communication with your TA. I suggest taking this class right after statistics or alongside statistics. There is A LOT of statistics and needing to know how to read and analyze them. It's lot of fun and they teach you how so don't worry. Easy class and super fun. You even get to conduct your own research with some peers. Also, DO EVERY SINGLE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT. There are only like 6 assignments and you only need to pass 4 of them, so do all of them to make sure you can make up for any you don't pass. Have fun!
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2020 - One of the worst professors/TA's I've EVER had. Lectures are boring and long and not engaging at all. You basically have to teach yourself everything. She gives weekly quizzes that are about 22 questions but only gives 20 minutes for you to complete them, and the questions are very long and complicated. For our discussion section, my TA was not helpful at all. The TA or the professor does not grade your essays. They are graded by some random "grader" who is soooooo harsh and will take points off for absolutely anything. You meet once a week for your discussion section, but you do not review any of the week's readings. You are put into breakout groups and are assigned some stupid group work that you don't really learn anything from. I had to make this class a Pass/No pass because there was no way I would get anything higher than a C. considering this course is a lower division course, it is much harder than it needs to be, and if you need to take this course and you have other options available please do yourself a favor and don't take this course with this professor.
Fall 2020 - One of the worst professors/TA's I've EVER had. Lectures are boring and long and not engaging at all. You basically have to teach yourself everything. She gives weekly quizzes that are about 22 questions but only gives 20 minutes for you to complete them, and the questions are very long and complicated. For our discussion section, my TA was not helpful at all. The TA or the professor does not grade your essays. They are graded by some random "grader" who is soooooo harsh and will take points off for absolutely anything. You meet once a week for your discussion section, but you do not review any of the week's readings. You are put into breakout groups and are assigned some stupid group work that you don't really learn anything from. I had to make this class a Pass/No pass because there was no way I would get anything higher than a C. considering this course is a lower division course, it is much harder than it needs to be, and if you need to take this course and you have other options available please do yourself a favor and don't take this course with this professor.
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