This course introduces the student to the essentials of conducting social science research. Students will be introduced to the different dimensions of social research: ethics, theory, hypothesis testing, research design, sampling, measurement, and quantitative data analysis. Students will also become familiar with using SPSS, a common statistical software package. By the end of the course students will possess the foundation to begin applying this knowledge to real world applications- in academia, government, non-profit, or private industry. Prerequisite: PSCI 3301, SOCI 3305, or similar undergraduate coursework in social scientific research methods, or permission of instructor.