California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Department of Urban and Regional Planning
URP 331/ URP 331L Research Design for Planning, Fall 2009

Gwen Urey, PhD
Office: 7-204, (909) 869-2725
email: gurey@csupomona.edu
Office hours:* 
Mon 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Tues 8-9 a.m., 11 a.m.-12 p.m.
Weds 11a.m.-12 p.m.
Richard Zimmer, AICP
Office: 94-368, (909) 869-4943
email: RZimmer000@aol.com
Office hours:
MONDAY 3:00 – 5:00 PM
TUESDAY 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
WEDNESDAY 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM 
*Dr. Urey will hold no office hours on her furlough days:
Mondays--28 Sep. and 16 Nov.
Tuesday--20 Oct.
Wednesday--14 Oct.
Thursday--12 Nov.
Friday--4 Dec.

I.  CATALOG DESCRIPTION:  Quantitative methods in the context of planning and decision-making. Review of probability and descriptive statistics. Types and sources of basic planning data. Collection and organization of data in tables graphs and figures. Analysis and interpretation of quantitative information. Concurrent enrollment in 331 and 331L required. Prerequisites: URP 102, URP 120 and completion of GE Math requirement.         
       URP 331 (CRN 70025) meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in 3-2870. URP 331L has three sections, with meeting times and locations as follows. The sections will occasionally meet in a community setting:

Section & Instructor

CRN

Day

Time

Room

1-Gwen Urey

70027

W

12:00PM-02:50PM

7-217

2-Rick Zimmer

70028

W

08:00AM-10:50AM

3-1122

3-Gwen Urey

70030

W

08:00AM-10:50AM

3-1008


II. COURSE OBJECTIVES: On successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

  1. Competently apply basic principles of probability and descriptive statistics.
  2. Understand the role of quantitative methods and data analysis in urban planning activities.
  3. Communicate the meaning of data to a lay audience in oral, written, and graphic modes.
  4. Employ computers in quantitative analysis.
  5. Working collaboratively with others as part of a team.
  6. Appreciate and participate meaningfully in community-based research as a form of community service.

III. COURSE REQUIREMENTS
  1. Attendance at all lectures and assigned lab sessions. Be aware that class activities will involve field research.
  2. Timely completion and submission of all laboratory projects. Late lab assignments will not be accepted unless specifically and individually allowed by the laboratory instructor.
  3. Timely completion and submission of weekly homework assignments based on the text and lecture material. Assignments will be distributed each Thursday and will be due the following Thursday at the beginning of class. Each assignment may consist of two parts--a part that must be submitted online using the Bb "drop box" and /or a Bb Quiz, and another part that must be submitted as hard copy. The assignments will clearly specify which portion should be submitted online, which in hard copy. Late assignments will receive no credit. Assignments submitted after the beginning of class on the day they are due will be considered late. Bring two copies of your homework to class on the due date; we will go over it in class that day. Absolutely do not email or fax assignments unless specifically requested to do so. Unsolicited emailed or faxed assignments will not be acknowledged.
  4. Students will work in teams to complete assignments and class activities throughout the quarter. Students will develop and be expected to abide by a code of conduct both as members of teams and as members of the class.
  5. URP 331/L is designated as a service-learning course. Service will be provided to a local community by the class as a whole, in the course of doing field research. Most of this will occur during the lab, but certain aspects--especially activities relating to reflecting on your experience within the community--may be associated with the lecture portion of the class. A commitment to serving the community is a core value in planning and is also a value articulated at the institutional level by both Cal Poly Pomona and the California State University. Thus the lab activity involves "learning by doing" as a way to learn about service and as a way to learn about conducting research.


IV. EXAMINATIONS
Two examinations will be given, the first on 28 and 30 October and the second on 9 December. Each will cover 5 weeks of material and each will count for 15 percent of the final grade. Students may use books, class notes, and calculators during each exam.

V. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
One text is required: Daniel F. Chambliss and Russell K. Schutt's Making sense of the social world 3d ed. (2009). It may be purchased at Bronco Bookstore. Additional materials and data will be made available as photocopies and when possible, on the web. The class website will be managed through "Blackboard 9 pilot." Students must use their Cal Poly USERIDs to log into Blackboard. Please note that Blackboard 9 is running as a pilot. If you log into Blackboard 7, you will not find URP 101 listed. See the Blackboard page for further instruction and for information about Blackboard workshops for students. Log on to the Blackboard 9 web page at Cal Poly Pomona at: blackboard.csupomona.edu. Choose the Blackboard 9 button:During specified hours of the early morning, Blackboard may be down for maintenance. Consult the log-in page to see if this is the case. When Blackboard is down, you cannot take quizzes or submit assignments. Please plan accordingly. For assistance in getting access to your Blackboard account, visit the I&IT help desk in Building 1:100. Their office hours are Monday through Thursday: 7:30 AM - 6:00 PM and Friday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (excluding state holidays and state furlough Fridays). A calendar of university furlough days can be found here: http://www.csupomona.edu/~ehelp/pdf/2009-2010_calendar.pdf


VI. MINIMUM STUDENT MATERIALS
Students will be expected to have access to computers in their homes or in University labs; word-processing and spreadsheet software will be used, and access to the world wide web will be required at times. Students will need simple calculators--they must have a square root function.

Students should have an email account, either through the University (free) or a private provider. Responses to questions about current homework that are posed via email will be posted on the class web page (anonymously).


VII. BASIS FOR GRADES

  1. 10 % Class attendance and participation
  2. 35 % Laboratory projects and field work
Lab I (learning about research) = 5%
Lab II (survey preparation) = 8%
Lab III (survey implementation) = 12%
Lab IV (survey tabulation) = 10%
  1. 25 % Weekly homework assignments (eight, each 3.125 %--roughly half online, half hard copy)
  2. 30 % Examinations (two, each 15 %)

Total 100 %

VIII. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Be aware of University guidelines regarding academic integrity ("Policies and Regulations" section of the 2009-11 University Catalog, especially pages 56-57): All forms of academic dishonesty at Cal Poly are a violation of University policy and will be considered a serious offense. That is, violations will be referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs and will result in failing grades on the assignment in question. Violations of #5 will result in a failing grade in the class. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to:

  1. "Plagiarism, falsification, fabrication is intentionally or knowingly presenting words, ideas or work of others as one’s own work.. . . .
  2. Cheating during exams. . .
  3. Use of unauthorized study aids . . .
  4. Falsifying any University document--this includes . . .falsifying prerequisite requirements."
  5. Academic dishonesty also includes presenting fabricated data, such as field notes, as authentic.

IX. ACCESSIBILITY
Students with special needs of which the instructor should be aware should advise the instructor as soon as possible.

X. SCHEDULE of ACTIVITIES

Week

Topic and assigned reading

Due

0

Introduction to Research Methods
Chapter 1

24 Sept. Assignment 1 out
Cohen et al
Michael et al
Ji and Cheng
quiz

1

Introduction to Research Methods and the ethics of research
Chapter 2-3

1 Oct. Assignment 1 in, Assignment 2 out.
30 Sept. Lab I out.

2

Conceptualization and Measurement
Chapter 4

8 Oct. Assignment 2 in, Assignment 3 out.
7 Oct. Lab I in.

3

Sampling
Chapter 5

15 Oct. Assignment 3 in, Assignment 4 out.
14 Lab II out.
NB: UREY labs will not meet on Weds., 14 October, Dr. Urey's furlough day

4

Survey Research
Chapter 7

22 Oct. Assignment 4 in, Assignment 5 out (A5 is due the week after the midterm)
NB: no class on Tues., 20 October, Dr. Urey's furlough day

5

MIDTERM exam, 27 & 29 Oct.

28 Oct. Lab II in.

6

Data Analysis
Chapter 8

5 Nov. Assignment 5 in, Assignment 6 out.
4 Nov.Lab III-IV out.

7

Causation and Experimental Research Design
Chapter 6
VETERANS DAY HOLIDAY .
Labs do not meet on 11 Nov.

12 Nov. Assignment 6 in, Assignment 7 out.
NB: no class on Thurs., 12 November, Dr. Urey's furlough day

8

Reporting Research Results
Chapter 12

19 Nov. Assignment 7 in, Assignment 8 out.

9

Qualitative Methods Chapter 9-10
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY .
class does not meet on 27 Nov.

  

10

Wrap up and Review

1 Dec. Assignment 8 in--note this is TUESDAY
2 Dec. --Lab III in.

Final

FINAL exam Tuesday, 8 December 9:10-
11:10 a.m. In addition, students will be expected to attend the lab final presentation from 11:30 a.m-1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, 9 December.

9 Dec --Lab IV in.

Note:

CSU Employee Furloughs – Impact on Classes

This year across this campus and around the CSU system some class days will be cancelled because of furloughs. A furlough is mandatory un-paid time off; faculty and staff on each CSU campus are being “furloughed” two days per month.

These cancelled class days are marked on the schedule in the above syllabus. It is important to recognize that these days off are not holidays. Instead, they are concrete examples of how massive state budget cuts have consequences for you as students and for me as a faculty member.

The CSU has suffered chronic underfunding for at least 10 years. This year the budget cuts are the worst in the history of our university system — $584 million or 20% of our budget. The CSU administration is attempting to deal with these cuts with huge increases in your student fees (32%), eliminations of your classes, non-reappointment and lay-offs of faculty and other university employees.

In addition to paying higher fees, you will be affected by reduced services and classes. The library will have shorter hours. Many campus support services will be decreased or eliminated. It will be more difficult to get signatures to meet deadlines. Classes you need may have been cut from the class schedule or filled before you could get in.

If you would like to take action, or simply learn more, I strongly recommend you contact the CSU Students for Quality Education on this campus using this email: yourvoice_calpoly@yahoo.com or by visiting their Facebook page.

last updated on Thursday, 24 September, 2009