Using ICPSR Resources to Teach Sociology

Abstract

The focus on quantitative literacy has been increasingly outside the realm of mathematics. The social sciences are well suited to including quantitative elements throughout the curriculum but doing so can mean challenges in preparation and presentation of material for instructors and increased anxiety for students. This paper describes tools and resources available through the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) that will aid students and instructors engaging in quantitative literacy across the curriculum. The Online Learning Center is a source of empirical activities aimed at undergraduates in lower-division substantive courses and Exploring Data through Research Literature presents an alternative to traditional research methods assignments. Searching and browsing tools, archive structures, and extended online-analysis tools make it easier for students in upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses to engage in exercises that increase quantitative literacy, and paper competitions reward them for doing so.

ASA’s Bachelor’s and Beyond Survey

“…Instead, as stressed in the Liberal Learning document (McKinney et al 2004), integrating data analysis throughout the curriculum should lead to enhanced learning and an enhanced perception on students’ part that the statistics and methods skills learned have applicability across content areas. Recent initiatives have provided resources for faculty interested in such integration (see the Social Science Data Analysis Network at http://www.ssdan.net; Hoelter et al 2008; Howery and Rodriguez 2006).…”

What Should Activist Scholars Teach in the Social Problems Classroom? Social Problems Literacy for Civic Engagement

“…Ideally, however, the exercises will provide exposure both to data sources as well as information about problematic societal conditions (e.g., Sweet and Baker 2011). Upper-level students may benefit by work with The Online Learning Center hosted by the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) that aims to promote quantitative literacy (Hoelter et al 2008). Any of these exercises may be described to students as practice for future situations in which they find a need to locate and use data about a problem of interest to themselves and community.…”