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Increasing the Use of Large Scale Surveys in Undergraduate Dissertations in the Social Sciences

Increasing the Use of Large Scale Surveys in Undergraduate Dissertations in the Social Sciences. Mark Brown and Jo Wathan Centre for Census and Survey Research School of Social Science University of Manchester jo.wathan@manchester.ac.uk Mark.brown@manchester.ac.uk. Manchester experience….

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Increasing the Use of Large Scale Surveys in Undergraduate Dissertations in the Social Sciences

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  1. Increasing the Use of Large Scale Surveys in Undergraduate Dissertations in the Social Sciences Mark Brown and Jo Wathan Centre for Census and Survey Research School of Social Science University of Manchester jo.wathan@manchester.ac.uk Mark.brown@manchester.ac.uk

  2. Manchester experience… Very few undergraduate dissertations in Sociology use quantitative methods …despite training in data analysis (SPSS) …despite superb range of very accessible social survey data

  3. Manchester – the norm rather than exception ‘British students are usually encouraged to collect their own data for final year undergraduate projects…This contrasts with the USA where most sociology students conduct secondary analysis of large-scale survey data… The lack of use of secondary analysis in Britain is surprising given that such a large number of high quality national surveys are readily available and that expertise in the analysis and data management of large surveys is in great demand by employers.’ Sara Arber in Nigel Gilbert (2001)Researching Social Life

  4. The (presumed) constraints? • Lack of motivation • No confidence in quantitative skills • Find it boring and lacking relevance AND (or because of) • Lack of knowledge about the resources available

  5. Project philosophy…Let the resources speak for themselves • Don’t start with ‘what’s a standard deviation?’ or ‘how to do a cross-tab’ • First engage students – showcase the resources …. make the links between topics students are interested in and relevant surveys …. then equip them with the skills to operationalise a research question for secondary data analysis …. learning that is personalised, hands-on, and using real data

  6. Training programme structure..Mimic the research process • Research topics/questions • Search for Data • Data evaluation: is it fit for purpose? • Operationalisation • Data Analysis • Interpretation • PILOT • 5 Workshops • Sociology students at end of Year 2 • (financial incentives)

  7. 3 themed workbooks:www.esds.ac.uk/government/resources/sass/

  8. Manchester Sociology (BSocSc) 2nd year methods training (before) Research Design compulsory Qualitative Analysis Survey Research and Quantitative Analysis Life Stories and Biographical research

  9. Manchester Sociology (BSocSc) 2nd year methods training (after) Research Design compulsory Qualitative Analysis Survey Research and Quantitative Analysis Life Stories and Biographical research Secondary Analysis of Social Surveys options

  10. Encouraging statistics • First year: 6 students • Last year: 21 students (1/3 of compulsory class) • Follow through to a quantitative dissertation?

  11. In conclusion Why do so few students do quantitative dissertations? Data analysis (SPSS) Real questions Real data Just this is not enough Where’s the relevance?

  12. In conclusion Q. How to make it relevant? A. Help students make the connections Data analysis (SPSS) Real questions Real data Is there data on my topic? A suitable question for secondary analysis? How do I access it? How do I operationalise my research question?

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