Sociology students responses to pragmatic teaching of quantitative and qualitative research methods The deficit in quantitative methods traces to undergraduate programmes in sociology, which typically require little or nothing of the students in statistics, and indeed do not even offer much in the way of statistical coursework. One explanation is that students who elect sociology are drawn from those who were not mathematically inclined in school, and hence were channelled away from math and science at age 16. (BSA, HaPS and ESRC, 2010, p23). Denise Hale and Harshad Keval Canterbury Christ Church University

Context, aims and outcomes Our Sociology Programme The L5 Research Skills Module: aims, strategies, content and assessment Student responses to the module: work patterns; specific likes and dislikes; attitudes; attainment Comparisons with some data from a control group

Factors affecting the development of the module characteristics of our Sociology Programme research interests of staff introduction of other research modules at L4 and L5 debates about the design, content and delivery of the L5 Research Skills Module (e.g. Hammersley, 2012; Byrne, 2012; Norris et al, 2012; Bryman, 2008; Matthews and Ross, 2010; Lalonde and Gardner, 1993)

Module aims understanding of the nature of quantitative and qualitative methods practical competence in obtaining and preparing social data for analysis understanding of a range of basic methods of quantitative and qualitative data analysis awareness of the role of software in analysing various types of data ability to interpret and draw conclusions from data analyses and to present findings formally, both orally and in writing. awareness of how to obtain primary and secondary data ability to read social science research papers ability to formulate a variety of social science research questions and match them to appropriate analytical techniques competence in presenting arguments based on quantitative and qualitative information, using appropriate computer systems for analysis and display ability to work independently on a small project involving the identification of research questions; data gathering; data analysis, such as correlation or thematic qualitative analysis; and the production of a brief report a clear awareness of the ethical issues and requirements of research.

Teaching strategy, content & assessment Flexibility (possible with a class of 15)Student choice of topic for quantitative and qualitative investigation Hands-on, with lectures : workshops : independent study = 2 : 4 : 1 Research questions, survey design, sampling and ethicsDescriptive statistics, Chi-sq, correlation & t-test with SPSS in weeks 1 -11Qualitative interviews and thematic analysis with NVivo in weeks Mid-point student presentations in week 12Tutor and peer review in week 12Feedforward for class test in week 15 and for project write-up in week 21Class test at week 18 and project submission in week 25

Students reactions during the module Oct 2012Trepidations about quantitative research Attrition Nov 2012Emergence of fast and slow streams Some absenteeism and disengagement Dec 2012Minimal levels of peer interaction and review High levels of dependence on tutors Jan 2013Progress & optimism for some, but others struggle Feb 2013Assessment anxieties How do you feel about studying quantitative methods? Delighted Terrible NB: The Delighted-Terrible scale was evaluated by Andrews and Withey (1976)

Students suggestions for improvement More suggestions for project topics help with project design time on qualitative analysis statistics content opportunities to practice writing Less independent study

Assessment outcomes Outcomes for the class test, project & module: Number of students by class of degree First rdFail Test (Quant) 2323 Test (Qual) Test Total 325 Project 622 Module 442

Comparisons with performance on other modules

Attitudes to quantitative methods 10 items from Williams et al (2008) survey of undergraduates Respondents are students from 2 modules within Sociology Research Skills (n=10) Social Psychology: Groups and Minds (n=10) On the whole, I am not good at maths Research Skills % Social Psych % Both % Williams et al % Agree Unsure Disagree

Research Skills: QN DNT Research Skills: QL DNT Soc Psych: QN DNT Soc Psych: QL DNT Delighted – Terrible Frequencies* How do you feel about the prospect of further study of quantitative methods? How do you feel about the prospect of further study of qualitative methods? * Original 7-point scale reduced to 3 categories: Delighted (D), Neutral (N) and Terrible (T)

Our conclusions Free choice of research topic led to student experience of anxiety and failure at the outset tutor overload student insularity, with minimal peer support/learning absence of real-world team-work Merit of traditional methods: lectures & worksheets students can work effectively at different paces there are more opportunities for review and support A greater proportion of taught sessions is needed to support students on a demanding module during the sophomore slump

References Andrews, F. M. and Withey, S. B. (1976), Social Indicators of Well-Being, New York: Plenum Press. BSA, HaPS and ESRC (2010) International Benchmarking Review of UK Sociology. Bryman, A. (2008) Social Research Methods (3 rd Edn). Oxford University Press Byrne, D. (2012) UK Sociology and Quantitative Methods: Are We as Weak as They Think? Or Are They Barking up the Wrong Tree? Sociology, 46(1), Hammersley, M. (2012) Is it possible to teach social research methods well today? HEA Social Sciences teaching and learning summit: Teaching research methods. University of Warwick, June Lalonde, R. N. and Gardner, R.C. (1993) Statistics as a Second Language? A Model for Predicting Performance in Psychology Students. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 25(1), Matthews, B. and Ross, L. (2010) Research Methods. A Practical Guide for the Social Sciences. Longman. Norris, G., Qureshi, F., Howitt, D. and Cramer, D. (2012) Introduction to Statistics with SPSS for Social Science. Pearson. Williams, M., Payne, G., Hodgkinson, L. and Poade, D. (2008) Does British Sociology Count? Sociology Students attitudes toward Quantitative Methods. Sociology, 42(5),