Department
of Sociology
Graduate
Student Handbook
(including
introduction to the
Integrated
Data and Instructional System IDIS
and
department database holdings)
(version 5 11/00)
1.
GREETING FROM THE GRADUATE COORDINATOR:
On behalf of the Department of Sociology, I
welcome you to the Sociology Graduate Student Handbook. The information below is provided for both
currently enrolled graduate students and individuals who would like more
information about graduate studies in the Sociology Department. As Graduate
Coordinator, I am responsible for screening applicants for admissions,
recruiting of new students, academic advising, assigning Graduate Assistantships
(GA), and arbitrating any general problems that involve graduate students. So if you have any questions about our
program, please feel free to contact me (see below for contact methods).
The Department of Sociology offers a Master of Arts
degree with both a thesis and non-thesis option. Listed below is information on the application process for
admission and the program requirements.
The department also offers seven to nine Graduate Assistantships (GA)
that provide a stipend and partial wavier of tuition. On average, the department has about thirty full-time graduate
students enrolled every year.
The department recently has instituted several
changes that will make obtaining a Masters degree in Sociology more
accommodating to students. The creation
of the Integrated Data and Instructional System (IDIS) streamlines the
thesis/non-thesis process allowing most of our graduates to complete their
degrees easily within two years. IDIS
allows students to pursue nearly unlimited areas of specialization with the
availability of data for thesis and non-thesis projects. Equally exciting is
the recent expansion of faculty. In the
last two years the department has hired four new faculty members and will
possibly be hiring one more in the next year.
This new group of faculty expands the areas of teaching and research
available to graduate students, bringing new ideas and methods to those already
established in the program. Finally,
several improvements have been made to the departments graduate student PC lab
that will ease access to the IDIS data and the writing/completion of thesis and
non-thesis projects.
If you have any questions, you may contact me
through any of the methods below:
Voice: 316-978-7157
Fax:
316-978-3281
email: David.Wright@Wichita.edu
web: http://www.twsu.edu./~socwww
or http://www.wichita.edu/
U.S. mail:
Dr. David W. Wright,
Graduate Coordinator
Wichita State University
Department of Sociology,
Campus Box 25
1845 Fairmount
Wichita, KS 67260-0025
2.
FACULTY AND AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION:
Graduate
Faculty
Twyla J.
Hill (Ph.D.,
University of California-Irvine). Sociology of Aging, Sociology of Families, Sociology of Law, Asian-American Sociology, Research Methods.
Charles S.
Koeber
(Ph.D., State University of New York, Binghamton). Work, Labor Markets,
Stratification and Inequality, Qualitative Research Methods.
Ron Matson
(Ph.D.,
University of Colorado). Department Chair, Undergraduate Program Coordinator.
Gender, American Male, Intimacy, Parenting.
Kathleen
M. O'Flaherty Perez
(Ph.D., Purdue University). Research Methods, Family, Urban, Demography.
David
W.Wright
(Ph.D., Purdue University). Graduate Coordinator. Stratification and Class
Analysis, Marxism, Industrial Sociology, Gender Analysis, Theory.
Tor Wynn (Ph.D., University of
Iowa) Class Structures, Post-Industrial Change, Labor Markets, Skills, Unions,
Social Mobility, Social Inequality, Political Sociology.
3.
APPLICATION PROCESS:
Students who wish to pursue graduate education in
the department of Sociology must apply for admissions through the Wichita State
University (WSU) Graduate School. This
application is then forwarded to and screened by the graduate coordinator in
the department of Sociology.
3.1.
Graduate School Application and Requirements:
To apply for enrollment as a graduate student,
individuals must contact the WSU Graduate School and request an Application for
Admission form to be completed by the applicant and returned to the Graduate
School. The form asks for general
demographic information as well as the department or program in which graduate
studies are to be pursued. Each
applicant also must submit two copies of their academic transcripts. The minimum graduate school requirements
are:
Bachelors degree from a
regionally accredited institution.
Grade point average
(GPA) of at least 2.75 based upon the last 60 hours of course work.
No more than nine hours
of background deficiencies in the major field of graduate study.
The Graduate School offers both degree and
non-degree status. See the WSU Graduate
Bulletin for more complete information on the above requirements and the degree
level options.
3.2.
Department of Sociology Graduate Admission Requirements:
In addition to the Graduate School requirements
for admission, the Department of Sociology requires:
1) one
college algebra course and at least 15 hours in sociology including an
introductory sociology course, one descriptive and inferential statistics
course, two research methods courses, and one theory course (similar courses in
other fields of study may be substituted at the discretion of the graduate
coordinator)
2) three
letters of reference from professors who are familiar with the students
academic course work
3) a typed, double-spaced statement of purpose
(approximately 500 words) articulating the students area of research interests
and academic/career goals.
3.3.
Department of Sociology Graduate Degree Options and Requirements:
The department offers both a thesis and non-thesis
option. Unique among most graduate
programs, the thesis and non-thesis options in the Department of Sociology are
identical in required course work, level of difficulty, content and written
structure. Both options require the
completion of the Integrated Data and Instructional System Document ( IDIS_DOC,
see below) unless you secure an exception through sponsorship with a designated
faculty member. The major difference
between the two options is that the thesis option requires you to form a thesis
committee (two members from the sociology department and one outside member),
an oral proposal defense, an oral thesis defense, and the binding of the thesis
based on Graduate School thesis format requirements. While the non-thesis final project will be similar to the thesis
in content and structure, the non-thesis option does not require the creation
of a committee, an oral defense, or the formatting and binding requirements of
the Graduate School.
Thesis option:
Pro-Seminar
(860)
.1
Seminar
in Sociological Theory (845)
..3
Application
of Advanced Statistics Techniques (801)
...3
Advanced
Research Methods (812)
3
800
level seminar
3
Thesis
(875 and 876)
..3 or 6
Electives
.13
or 16
Total
...32
Non-thesis option:
Pro-Seminar
(860)
1
Seminar
in Sociological Theory (845)
3
Application
of Advanced Statistics Techniques (801)
.3
Advanced
Research Methods (812)
..3
800
level seminar
..3
Directed
Research (851)(up to 6 hours)
.3 or 6
Electives
17
or 20
Total
..36
3.4.
Dismissal and Transfer to Non-Degree Status:
A Sociology graduate student may be dismissed
from the program for any of the following reasons:
students g.p.a. drops below 2.00.
student does not make satisfactory progress toward degree completion.
student
enters the program on probationary status and fails to achieve a cumulative
g.p.a. of 3.00 after nine hours of course work.
student
is placed on probation and fails to achieve a cumulative g.p.a. of 3.00 after
nine hours of course work.
student
violates any of the classroom standards listed in the Graduate Bulletin under
the section entitled Academic Honesty and Classroom Integrity.
A Sociology graduate student in full-standing
may be transferred to non-degree status for any of the following reasons:
student does not enroll in any sociology course work for more than 12 months.
student fails to enroll within 12 months after admission into the program.
student fails
to receive consent of the instructor for any Independent/Directed Study course.
student fails to receive their advisors expressed approval for course
enrollment.
student
does not exhibit satisfactory progress in their program as evidenced by low
g.p.a. (under 3.00), excessive incompletes, insufficient class attendance,
and/or failure to meet the six year completion limit.
4.
INTEGRATED DATA AND INSTRUCTIONAL SYSTEM (IDIS)
DOING
SOCIOLOGY: Graduate Education and the
Integrated
Data and Instructional System (IDIS)
4.1
Justification/Purpose:
In general, Master-level programs in sociology
should provide a solid foundation in methodological processes, statistical
practices and theoretical paradigms.
This foundation provides equally for students who desire to pursue a
Ph.D. and those who will seek employment in the private/government sector. In either scenario, the student must possess
methodological and statistical skills as well as an understanding of how these
skills are framed by discourse (theory).
Thus, it could be argued that the purpose of a masters program is to
provide instruction and access to the development of these skills. Creative expression, on the other hand, is a
secondary outcome and may best be characterized by a Masters/Ph.D. tier where
skill acquisition occurs at the masters-level and independent creative
expression occurs at the Ph.D. level.
This emphasis on skills is even more important
in programs that have limited resources.
When faculty, library and computer resources are limited, a program
predicated on individual creative expression harms both faculty and
students. This is not to say that
creative expression is unimportant, but that given limited resources and the
need to have a solid foundation in basic skills, the best long-term investment,
even for those who desire less structured environments of instruction, is to
provide fundamental skills with the opportunity
for creative expression. This mix of
skills versus creativity is justified when it is understood that Master
degree programs serve as gatekeepers both to the private/government sector and
Ph.D. programs. In the final analysis,
a sociologists should be trained to have the capability to pursue any topic of inquiry.
In order to accomplish this objective, the
department has developed the Integrated
Data and Instructional System (IDIS)
that provides the opportunity to streamline instruction and the acquisition of
skills. An IDIS is predicated on access
to data for the development of methodological and statistical skills and the
application of theoretical perspectives.
Such a system of instruction allows for the "doing of
sociology". Graduate students have
access to data for development of their thesis/non-thesis projects. Course instruction at the graduate level is
tied to the use of the data as the mechanism of instruction or practice. Such a system allows the program curriculum
to merge content and theme, assist students in making decisions about thesis/non-thesis
projects, and to provide the opportunity for creativity by allowing research
questions to arise from or be within the scope of the data.
4.2
Process/Implementation:
Graduate students are encouraged to develop and
commit to an area of research interest in their first semester. Additionally, students are expected to
determine which departmental dataset(s) are suitable to their thesis/non-thesis
projects or whether they will collect their own data. In their second year, students will access these data to produce
the empirical results for their thesis/non-thesis projects.
Graduate students are expected to follow and
reproduce a standardized document structure for thesis/non-thesis projects
(unless students have secured a faculty sponsor). This document serves 1)
to provide continuity across required course work and 2) as the primary
assessment mechanism for completion of the thesis/non-thesis projects. The Integrated Data and Instructional System
Document (IDIS-DOC) is a guideline for the narrative structure. The content of each section may vary across
students and subjects. See section 4.4
below for the outline of the IDIS-DOC.
4.3 The
Components of IDIS--Data, Instruction, and Technology:
The IDIS is composed of a triangulation of three
sub-systems: data, instruction, and technology. These three elements are integrated
by the scientific model of research.
4.3.1. Data:
The central component of the IDIS are data that
are accessible for both instruction and research. Student have the option to utilized departmental data or collect
their own data. Regardless of which
option is chosen, data still remains the central element which is examined via
the scientific method to explore theoretical discourses.
For students electing to use the departmental
databases, the department has acquired several national-probability databases
and routinely updates and searches for similar data to add to this growing
database. Many of these databases are
large in scope and size such as the Current Population Surveys that sample the
entire United States and yields information on a multitude of questions. Given the current collection of data, it
would be hard to find a research question that could not be addressed by one or
more of these databases (see section 4.7 below for a description of currently
stored databases). The availability of
these data is beneficial for graduate students, faculty and the
department. For the graduate student,
IDIS means that the completion time of thesis and non-thesis projects is
shortened since students are not hindered by collecting their own data. Since the databases have national
recognition and are often used in academic research, it also means that
publication of thesis and non-thesis projects is enhanced. For faculty, IDIS similarly shortens the
completion of research projects and enhances the likelihood of
publication. Furthermore, given the
scope of data, the IDIS provides faculty members with greater flexibility and
opportunity to expand their research agendas.
This is especially helpful when pursuing grants and contract related
research in which having the data available is often necessary and increases
the chances of receiving funding. Finally, the IDIS enhances the departments
ability to attract and retain quality faculty and graduate students which
benefits students, faculty, the department and university.
For students electing to collect their own data
several methods exist to acquire data.
Students, in consultation with their major advisor, may identify their
own data collection methods which may include surveys, experiments,
participatory analysis, or case studies to name a few. Students may also elect to utilize data from
internships or cooperative education assignments. In addition, students may elect to work jointly with faculty on
data collection projects that faculty are currently undertaking.
4.3.2. Instruction:
At an instructional-level, the IDIS is designed
to integrate the required course work including the completion of
thesis/non-thesis projects. All the required
graduate courses are tied together in both content and output with each course
addressing a different component of the final thesis or non-thesis
document. The sequence of the
curriculum including course content and output is predicated on the structure
of the standard journal article: identification of the research problem (SOC
860; SOC 845), a literature review of the scholarly work and alternative
theoretical models (SOC 845), documentation of the data and methodology (SOC
801; SOC 812), and the presentation of the findings and implication for future
research (SOC 851; SOC 875-876) (see section 4.5 below for a brief description
and sequence of each required graduate course). The organizational and written
structure of the thesis and non-thesis final document is prescribed by the IDIS
and is outlined in the IDIS-DOC (see
section 4.4 below for a detailed description of this document outline). The IDIS-DOC is, of course, to be seen as a
guide to the document structure and is expected to be modified to fit the
students specific thesis or non-thesis project. The requirements of IDIS-DOC are 1) meant to enhance the
opportunities for publication since the document is predicated on the standard
journal article format, and 2) since the IDIS-DOC is required of both thesis
and non-thesis students, it allows non-thesis students to have a document
similar to that of thesis students without the thesis committee requirements.
4.3.3. Technology:
The IDIS provides access to data and the
completion of thesis and non-thesis projects through both mainframe and PC
interfaces. Due to the size of many of
the databases, PC storage and data analysis are both impractical and
costly. As a result, most of the IDIS
data are stored and accessed through the WSU mainframe system. Graduate students (and faculty) are assigned
mainframe computer accounts and provided instruction on how to access the
specific data for their research.
Access to the mainframe accounts can be achieved in numerous ways
including university computing labs, the Graduate Student Sociology PC lab, and
dialup from modem based systems. The
Graduate Student Sociology PC lab provides PCs that are equipped with
wordprocessing and spreadsheet software that students can use to write their
course work and final documents. Access
to these systems is restricted and requires passwords.
4.4. Integrated Data and Instructional System
Document (IDIS_DOC)
For both the thesis and non-thesis option,
students are expected to organize their final written document along the lines
of a typical research journal article which replicates the scientific method:
an introduction, literature review, alternative model and hypotheses,
methodology statement, results of analysis, and a conclusion. Listed below is an example of a detailed
outline that follows this organizational structure which is referred to as the
Integrated Data and Instructional System Document (IDIS_DOC). Students who
desire not to follow the IDIS_DOC must secure a faculty sponsor.
(The content of the outline below is for
illustration purposes only; your document may vary)
A. Significance of
topic
B. Operationalization
of topic
C. Brief review of
literature & alternative
D. Organizational
layout of study
A. Introduction
(typology of theory/method)
B. Paradigms/theories:
1. Paradigm/theory
#1
2. Paradigm/theory
#2
3. Paradigm/theory
#3
4. Conclusion
C. Alternative
theory
1. Introduction
2. Weakness of
current focus
3. Alternative
4. Conclusion
A. Introduction
B. Data
1. Source of data
2. Type of
data/sampling parameters
3. Original
sample size
4. Sample for
study
C. Variables
1. Dependent
variable
2. Independent
variables
D. Methodology
1. Introduction
2. Univariate
analysis
3. Bivariate
analysis
4. Multi-variate
analysis
A. Introduction
B. Univariate
analysis
1. establish
sample characteristics
2. identification
of control groups
C. Bivariate
analysis
1. establish
statistically significant differences across groups
2. e.g., means
comparison tests & anova
D. Multivariate
analysis
1. identify which
factors have an independent effect
2. between
control groups
3. within control
groups
4. e.g., multiple
regression, logistic regression
A. Introduction
B. Overview of
findings
1. Summary of
significant findings