Please note that the Survey Research Minor is currently not accepting students until further notice.
This minor complements the Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs major by helping undergraduates to develop and analyze surveys through questionnaire creation, data evaluation and research, and comprehension of public opinion. In it, students learn how to use surveys to market products and understand employee performance in everything from small businesses to large corporations. An education in survey research provides excellent preparation for careers in communications, education, finance, management, marketing, and public affairs.
You can also apply your knowledge and gain practical experience by working with the faculty and staff of Baruch College’s Survey Research Center.
Curriculum and Degree Requirement
The minor requires the completion of two required courses, PAF 3105 Principles of Survey Research and PAF 4402 Survey Research Practicum, and an elective from the courses listed below. To learn more, contact the Baruch College Office of Undergraduate Admissions or email MSPIA.BSPA@baruch.cuny.edu
Click on individual class links below for a full description.
PAF 3105 Principles of Survey Research
3 hours; 3 credits
The course explores the history and fundamentals of survey research, including the survey research process and its uses by government, business, nonprofits, and the media. Different methodologies are covered, including telephone and web surveys. It reviews how to evaluate questionnaires, put research findings to use, and get hands-on experience designing, executing, and analyzing an online survey.
Prerequisite: ENG 2150
PAF 3106 Public Opinion Polling
3 hours; 3 credits
This course is an examination of public opinion in the American constitutional and political framework. The emphasis is on the public’s capacity for expressing its political views, the place of attitudinal research in the social sciences, and the uses of opinion polls in public, nonprofit, and private decisionmaking. The class will learn about the role of public opinion in the advocacy and analysis of public policy.
Prerequisite: ENG 2150
PAF 3401 Quantitative Methods for Policy and Practice
3 hours; 3 credits
This course focuses on the use of quantitative information and analysis to understand, interpret, promote, critique, and inform the implementation of programs and policies. Real world cases are examined throughout. A statistical software package will be employed to analyze selected data using various methods, such as simple regression.
Prerequisite: ENG 2150 and either STA 2100 or PSY 2100
POL 3310 Political Opinion
3 hours: 3 credits
This course introduces the student to the nature and role of public opinion in contemporary America. It focuses on the formation and measurement of opinion, the distribution of opinion among key social groups, and the linkages between public opinion and government action.
Prerequisite: ENG 2100 or equivalent, and one of the following: POL 1101, 2321, 2332, or 2353
PSY 3056 Social Psychology
3 hours; 3 credits
This course focuses upon the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another, with an emphasis on theory and research. The major areas examined are the formation of attitudes, attitude change, and persuasion; interpersonal perception, attraction, and conformity; affiliation and loneliness; aggression and interpersonal conflict; altruism, behavior of groups, interpersonal behavior, and leadership; sex differences in social behavior; and prejudice and discrimination.
Prerequisite: PSY 1001
MKT 3600 Marketing Research
3 hours; 3 credits
Training in the basic techniques of research in marketing, including problems definition, research design, questionnaire construction, sampling, and data collection and analysis, and report preparation. The student will design and will analyze cases based on real-world business problems and provide a written report for each.
Prerequisites: MKT 3000 AND STA 2000 and Sophomore status or above, ENG 2150 or COM 1010 AND must be part of these student groups (ZICK or ZKTP or ZKWP).
SOC 4110 Research Methods in Sociology and Anthropology
3 hours; 3 credits
This course is an introduction to qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis used by sociologists and anthropologists as well as other social scientists.The course introduces the research process, examines the interplay between methods and theory, and reviews research methods, including field work and ethnography, interviews and questionnaires, and secondary analysis. This course is equivalent to ANT 4110. Students may receive credit for either SOC 4110 or ANT 4110. These courses may not substitute for each other in the F grade replacement policy.
Prerequisites: ENG 2150 and 6 credits at the 3000-level in Sociology or Anthropology OR permission of the instructor.
SOC 4111 Social Statistics
3 hours; 3 credits
This course provides an introduction to statistics as a tool for analyzing and understanding data related to social life. It covers the application of elementary statistical techniques and introduces statistical inference and sampling theory.
Prerequisite: ANT 1001 or SOC 1005, and ENG 2100.
PAF 4402 Survey Research Practicum
3 hours; 3 credits
Combining the knowledge and methods learned in prior classes with hands-on interviewing experience in the telephone/CATI lab, the course will give students the opportunity to conduct their own survey research project. The class will design, administer, analyze, and present the results of a survey.
Prerequisite or co-requisite: PAF 3105 and PAF 3106
