Statistics Education for Undergraduate Sociology Majors: Survey Findings across Institutions

Abstract

The need to close the quantitative literacy gap for sociology majors is a perennial topic in discussions of undergraduate sociological training. More and better statistical education with a greater focus on active research and engaged analysis is recommended by the major disciplinary association, as well as virtually all pedagogical agencies. This project explores these differences in the implementation of these recommendations, employing a survey (n=90) to report on the structure of quantitative training for undergraduates majoring in sociology. It finds that the type and extent of this education available to, and required for, sociology majors varies widely across not only institutions but by type of institutional context. The pedagogical resources and tools employed also vary widely. It explores the curricular elements that departments view as the strengths and weaknesses of their quantitative programs in terms of perceived student outcomes and competencies.

Avoiding Over-Diagnosis: Exploring the Role of Gender in Changes over Time in Statistics Anxiety and Attitudes

“…The literature identifies various causes and effects of "statistics anxiety," generally defined as "a feeling of anxiety when taking a statistics course or doing statistical analysis; that is gathering, processing, and interpreting data" (Cruise et al 1985, 92). The empirical evidence, however, does not seem to match instructors' anecdotal accounts who perceive statistics anxiety to be universal among students and develop pedagogical strategies to address it accordingly (DeCesare 2007;Deckard 2017).…”

The State of Statistics Education Research in Client Disciplines: Themes and Trends Across the University

“…While there is no concrete data available on how many students are taking statistics courses outside of mathematics and statistics departments, some recent articles have made rough estimations. A survey of sociology department chairs at fouryear colleges and universities in the United States estimated that 66% of departments taught their own introductory statistics courses (Delia Deckard 2017). In a study of statistical literacy skills at a large Canadian university, 15 of the available 43 courses covering statistical content were offered by the Faculty of Mathematics (McLauchlan and Schonlau 2017).…”

Use of the R Commander in the Introductory Social Statistics Course: A Case Study

“…The authors are with the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Health Administration and Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250 USA (e-mail: yamtaka@umbc.edu, needed in our data-rich society [4], [7]. Third, growing volume and complexity in social science data suggest a greater importance for academics to develop the ability to understand and speak complex statistical information.…”

“…Takashi Yamashita and Rachel Caitlyn Crane instance, IBM SPSS [23] and STATA [24] feature user-friendly GUI. Meanwhile, other predominantly syntax-based software [e.g., SAS [25] and R [26]] are most likely too challenging for use in undergraduate social science students due to the necessary syntax and programming skills [7], [10]. Also, it is widely known that the cost of commercial statistical software (e.g., institutional and individual license) is of a concern not only to the educational institutions but also to the students.…”