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Preparing Social Science Students for Research:
Data Use Beginning Day One
Lynette Hoelter
NCUR
April 8, 2016
Asheville, NC
Presentation Outline:
• Benefits of using data
• Example assignments
– Substantive courses
– Research methods/statistics
• Sources of data
Image courtesy of jesadaphorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Which statement best describes your relationship to
quantitative data?
A. I try to keep my distance from data as much as possible (not very
comfortable).
B. We have a civil relationship, but you wouldn’t likely catch us hanging out
at the coffee shop (somewhat comfortable).
C. Data and I are the best of friends (very comfortable).
D. I wake up in the morning excited about data and all the cool ways I can
manipulate, I mean use, it that day (extremely comfortable).
Why Use Data in Teaching?
• Boosts students’ quantitative literacies
• Engages students with content on a more active level,
often translates to better recall and understanding of
substantive content
• Creates bridges between substantive courses and
“technical” methods/stats courses
• Shows how (social) scientists really work
• Might attract more quantitatively inclined students to
the major
• IT’S FUN!!!
Get Students Thinking
• Evidence is evidence, right?
• Numbers/statistics do not exist apart from people
– Who counted?
– What exactly did they count?
– Why did they count it?
• Quantitative literacy is first step, then add sociology/social
science (or vice versa)
• In the words of Mark Twain, “Facts are stubborn, but statistics
are more pliable.”
Quantitative Literacy
Skills learned and used within a context
• Reading and interpreting tables or
graphs and to calculating percentages
and the like
• Working within a scientific model
(variables, hypotheses, etc.)
• Understanding and critically evaluating
numbers presented in everyday lives
• Evaluating arguments based on data
• Knowing what kinds of data might be
useful in answering particular questions
Importance of Quantitative Literacy (QR, SL, N)
• Availability of information requires ability to make sense of information coming
from multiple sources
• Use of evidence is critical in making decisions and evaluating arguments: e.g.,
risks related to disease or treatment, political behaviors, financial matters,
costs/benefits of buying a hybrid
• Understanding information is prerequisite for fully participating in a
democratic society
But… how?!?!?!
• I don’t have time, don’t know enough, don’t care enough, have
too many students, can’t spare class time, would rather let the
people who teach stats teach that stuff, [insert your reason
here] to just do that – it’s not easy, you know!
A Few Ideas
• Substantive Courses
– Start class with data
– Tie survey data to topic of lecture
– Require evidence-based arguments
• Research Methods/Statistics
– Use real data as examples for problems or exams
– Look to documentation from secondary datasets for methods
examples
– Replicate published results
Data as Content
• Inequality, work, economics, family,
gender
• http://www.economist.com/blogs/
graphicdetail/2016/03/daily-chart-0
• Have students find their own “data”
on pay differences, job types, etc.
*Female minus male rate Male minus female median wages,
divided by male median wages No data for child-care costs,
median value given Lower or single house **Net earnings
Data as Content
• Family sociology, rates
• Rates = fairly straightforward;
# of people to whom event happened
# for whom event was possible
• US Divorce Rate – commonly reported ~ 50%
• Numerator is easy (formal divorces?)
• Denominator??
– All current marriages
– All first marriages
– All marriages in one year
• Large differences by age at first marriage, number of
previous marriages, etc.
Data as Content
• Criminology/Criminal
Justice, Public Policy,
Deviance
• Source:
http://www.bjs.gov/content/
pub/pdf/cpus12.pdf
Documentation for “Real Life Methods”
• Teaching operationalization,
sampling
• Creating a student survey
• Source: ICPSR
Search/Compare Variables
• See also: ARDA’s
Measurement Wizard,
Roper Center’s iPoll…
Clarify “Statistics Words” Used in
Everyday Language
• From: Spurious Correlations
More Surveys in Class
• Have students compare
themselves to survey
respondents
• Source:
http://www.thearda.com/
learningcenter/comparea
dult/
Documentation
• Executive summaries – good “first
step” before journal articles
and/or for replication
Replicate Published Results
• Journal archives or ICPSR replication archive
• Learning modules
Data on Exam:
EXTRA CREDIT: The charts below were part of a blog post by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (9/2/2014)
and demonstrate two ways of looking at the value of a college degree. Net Present Value represents the
additional income earned by someone with a Bachelor’s degree compared to someone without, added over a
40+ year working life. In a couple of sentences, describe the trends in each chart and then answer the question:
Is a college degree worth it? Why or why not? (5 points)
Preparing Social Science Students for Research: Data Use Beginning Day One
Preparing Social Science Students for Research: Data Use Beginning Day One
Students learn to question1
• What is the source of the statement and/or data?
• How is the information reported?
• Is the sample of adequate size and representative?
1 Adapted from Healey, Joseph E., 2013. The Essentials of Statistics: A Tool for Social Research (3rd Ed). Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Websites to Start Your Search
• Association of Religion Data Archives Learning Center
• Gapminder
• ICPSR: Resources for Instructors
– Data-driven Learning Guides
• Pew Research Center: Fact Tank, Reports, Datasets, Interactives
• Population Pyramids of the World
• Social Explorer: US mapping
• Social Science Data Analysis Network
• Spurious Correlations
• Statistic Brain
• Stats.org
• Survival Curve
• TeachingWithData.org
• Visualizing Data
• Worldometers, USA Live Stats
• Public Opinion:
– Gallup Organization
– National Opinion Research Center (GSS Explorer)
– Roper Center (iPoll)
• Government Centers such as the Census (American
FactFinder), NCES, or NCHS
• Blogs
– Data360
– Data in the News
– Equality of Opportunity Project
– Floating Sheep
– Graphic Detail (The Economist)
– ABCNews Who’s Counting (Paulos’ column)
– The UpShot (NY Times)
• Professional Development:
– Science Education Resource Center (Carleton College)
– TeachQR.org (Lehman College)
– Making Data Meaningful (United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe)
• International:
– UK Data Services Teaching with Data
– European Social Survey EduNet
– Statistics Canada
In Short:
• Get students thinking about numbers and their context as early
and often as possible and they will
– Remember content better
– Be more engaged learners
– Understand why stats/methods are important in the social
sciences (even if not going to grad school)
– Develop confidence and quantitative literacy
Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
Thank You!!!
Lynette Hoelter, PhD
Director of Instructional Resources, ICPSR
lhoelter@umich.edu

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Preparing Social Science Students for Research: Data Use Beginning Day One

  • 1. Preparing Social Science Students for Research: Data Use Beginning Day One Lynette Hoelter NCUR April 8, 2016 Asheville, NC
  • 2. Presentation Outline: • Benefits of using data • Example assignments – Substantive courses – Research methods/statistics • Sources of data Image courtesy of jesadaphorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
  • 3. Which statement best describes your relationship to quantitative data? A. I try to keep my distance from data as much as possible (not very comfortable). B. We have a civil relationship, but you wouldn’t likely catch us hanging out at the coffee shop (somewhat comfortable). C. Data and I are the best of friends (very comfortable). D. I wake up in the morning excited about data and all the cool ways I can manipulate, I mean use, it that day (extremely comfortable).
  • 4. Why Use Data in Teaching? • Boosts students’ quantitative literacies • Engages students with content on a more active level, often translates to better recall and understanding of substantive content • Creates bridges between substantive courses and “technical” methods/stats courses • Shows how (social) scientists really work • Might attract more quantitatively inclined students to the major • IT’S FUN!!!
  • 5. Get Students Thinking • Evidence is evidence, right? • Numbers/statistics do not exist apart from people – Who counted? – What exactly did they count? – Why did they count it? • Quantitative literacy is first step, then add sociology/social science (or vice versa) • In the words of Mark Twain, “Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable.”
  • 6. Quantitative Literacy Skills learned and used within a context • Reading and interpreting tables or graphs and to calculating percentages and the like • Working within a scientific model (variables, hypotheses, etc.) • Understanding and critically evaluating numbers presented in everyday lives • Evaluating arguments based on data • Knowing what kinds of data might be useful in answering particular questions
  • 7. Importance of Quantitative Literacy (QR, SL, N) • Availability of information requires ability to make sense of information coming from multiple sources • Use of evidence is critical in making decisions and evaluating arguments: e.g., risks related to disease or treatment, political behaviors, financial matters, costs/benefits of buying a hybrid • Understanding information is prerequisite for fully participating in a democratic society
  • 8. But… how?!?!?! • I don’t have time, don’t know enough, don’t care enough, have too many students, can’t spare class time, would rather let the people who teach stats teach that stuff, [insert your reason here] to just do that – it’s not easy, you know!
  • 9. A Few Ideas • Substantive Courses – Start class with data – Tie survey data to topic of lecture – Require evidence-based arguments • Research Methods/Statistics – Use real data as examples for problems or exams – Look to documentation from secondary datasets for methods examples – Replicate published results
  • 10. Data as Content • Inequality, work, economics, family, gender • http://www.economist.com/blogs/ graphicdetail/2016/03/daily-chart-0 • Have students find their own “data” on pay differences, job types, etc. *Female minus male rate Male minus female median wages, divided by male median wages No data for child-care costs, median value given Lower or single house **Net earnings
  • 11. Data as Content • Family sociology, rates • Rates = fairly straightforward; # of people to whom event happened # for whom event was possible • US Divorce Rate – commonly reported ~ 50% • Numerator is easy (formal divorces?) • Denominator?? – All current marriages – All first marriages – All marriages in one year • Large differences by age at first marriage, number of previous marriages, etc.
  • 12. Data as Content • Criminology/Criminal Justice, Public Policy, Deviance • Source: http://www.bjs.gov/content/ pub/pdf/cpus12.pdf
  • 13. Documentation for “Real Life Methods” • Teaching operationalization, sampling • Creating a student survey • Source: ICPSR Search/Compare Variables • See also: ARDA’s Measurement Wizard, Roper Center’s iPoll…
  • 14. Clarify “Statistics Words” Used in Everyday Language • From: Spurious Correlations
  • 15. More Surveys in Class • Have students compare themselves to survey respondents • Source: http://www.thearda.com/ learningcenter/comparea dult/
  • 16. Documentation • Executive summaries – good “first step” before journal articles and/or for replication
  • 17. Replicate Published Results • Journal archives or ICPSR replication archive • Learning modules
  • 18. Data on Exam: EXTRA CREDIT: The charts below were part of a blog post by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (9/2/2014) and demonstrate two ways of looking at the value of a college degree. Net Present Value represents the additional income earned by someone with a Bachelor’s degree compared to someone without, added over a 40+ year working life. In a couple of sentences, describe the trends in each chart and then answer the question: Is a college degree worth it? Why or why not? (5 points)
  • 21. Students learn to question1 • What is the source of the statement and/or data? • How is the information reported? • Is the sample of adequate size and representative? 1 Adapted from Healey, Joseph E., 2013. The Essentials of Statistics: A Tool for Social Research (3rd Ed). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
  • 22. Websites to Start Your Search • Association of Religion Data Archives Learning Center • Gapminder • ICPSR: Resources for Instructors – Data-driven Learning Guides • Pew Research Center: Fact Tank, Reports, Datasets, Interactives • Population Pyramids of the World • Social Explorer: US mapping • Social Science Data Analysis Network • Spurious Correlations • Statistic Brain • Stats.org • Survival Curve • TeachingWithData.org • Visualizing Data • Worldometers, USA Live Stats • Public Opinion: – Gallup Organization – National Opinion Research Center (GSS Explorer) – Roper Center (iPoll) • Government Centers such as the Census (American FactFinder), NCES, or NCHS • Blogs – Data360 – Data in the News – Equality of Opportunity Project – Floating Sheep – Graphic Detail (The Economist) – ABCNews Who’s Counting (Paulos’ column) – The UpShot (NY Times) • Professional Development: – Science Education Resource Center (Carleton College) – TeachQR.org (Lehman College) – Making Data Meaningful (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) • International: – UK Data Services Teaching with Data – European Social Survey EduNet – Statistics Canada
  • 23. In Short: • Get students thinking about numbers and their context as early and often as possible and they will – Remember content better – Be more engaged learners – Understand why stats/methods are important in the social sciences (even if not going to grad school) – Develop confidence and quantitative literacy
  • 24. Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Thank You!!! Lynette Hoelter, PhD Director of Instructional Resources, ICPSR lhoelter@umich.edu

Editor's Notes

  • #7: “‘Statistical literacy, quantitative literacy, numeracy – under the hood, it is what do we want people to be able to do: Read tables and graphs and understand English statements that have numbers in them. That’s a good start,’ said Milo Schield, a professor of statistics at Augsburg College and a vice president of the National Numeracy Network. Shield was dismayed to find that, in a survey of his new students, 44 percent could not read a simple 100 percent row table and about a quarter could not accurately interpret a scatter plot of adult heights and weights.” Chandler, Michael Alison. What is Quantitative Literacy?, Washington Post, Feb. 5, 2009 Critical for a democratic society (Steen 2001) Informed citizenry – must be able to make sense of information coming from multiple sources. Use of evidence in making decisions and evaluating arguments.
  • #8: Students get information from everywhere from “traditional” sources to blog posts to tweets, etc. Using data within the QL context introduces students to the need to ask questions about the conclusions they hear or read and the data upon which those conclusions are based. Understanding where data come from and thinking about credibility of the source(s) is critical to using the evidence from those data in making informed decisions.
  • #9: Doesn’t have to be a lengthy assignment or in place of other course content – can be used to make points about content. Many sources exist where work is largely already done.
  • #15: Just because one thing comes first does not mean it causes the other – need to identify theory/mechanism by which it might (in addition to relationship and time order).
  • #19: From Exam 1, SOC250L: Quantitative Applications in Sociology, Eastern Michigan University, Hoelter, Fall 2014.
  • #23: Each of these Websites has a number of different kinds of materials and might warrant some investigation. Brief descriptions are as follow: Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) has a great collection of learning activities that include “compare yourself” surveys, map-based activities, and other exercises based on the religion surveys they archive. ICPSR’s Data-driven Learning Guides (DDLGs) are self-contained exercises on a variety of topics ranging from attitudes about the environment to family relationships, to political behaviors in China. Resources for Instructors page also includes tool for creating crosstabulation tables for student use, longer modules containing multiple exercises. Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN) is the umbrella for a number of sites that include mapping activities (CensusScope) and analysis of subsets of variables (DataCounts!) all based on the US Census and American Community Survey. The exercises are created by faculty and are good examples of the kinds of things that are easily used in class. TeachingWithData.org is a repository of materials (lesson plans, exercises, datasets, etc.) from many sources tagged with metadata to simplify searching and locating appropriate materials. Also includes “Data in the News” feature that pulls from other data blogs Pew Research Center reports on surveys they’ve conducted as well as other data presented in popular media. Their site contains exercises, quick facts, datasets, and summary reports. Topic coverage is very broad. Data-based blogs: Data360, Floating Sheep (maps primarily), Graphic Detail, the UpShot. Worldometers is a fun site that gives facts related to government, demography, and things related to social environment and culture, broadly defined. It’s a great way to get students thinking about the world around them “by the numbers” and also is a way for them to gain a sense of large numbers. USA Live Stats does the same thing for the U.S. Numbers are updated in real time. Population Pyramids is a good site for teaching international demography and demographic trends. Social Explorer uses Census data to create interactive maps and tables. Some features are freely available, others require membership, but UM is a member. (Log in through the library page.) Gapminder is good for demonstrating global changes over time in things like population size and wealth distribution. Survival Curve is an interactive exercise that shows the chance of death before one’s next birthday based on a variety of demographic characteristics. Spurious Correlations is a collection of relationships (strong correlations) discovered as part of a computer science project – computer trolling data. Who’s Counting is written by John Allen Paulos – doesn’t seem to be currently updated, but still lots of great examples. Gallup Organization is good for data and reports related to public opinion issues. Roper Center Public Opinion Archives: Some free content, others member only, but UM is a member. Access through UM library page for iPoll, with search capabilities for 600,000 public opinion survey questions Government offices – Both NCES and NCHS have “quick stats” or “fast facts” and American Factfinder is good if having students compare their hometown to nation or other characteristics. Statistic Brain has all kinds of statistics broken into topic areas such as food, geographic, sports, crime, etc. Stats.org is out of George Mason Univ and their goal is for people to understand the numbers behind the news, so variety of topics, current… TeachQR.org – the Numeracy Infusion Course for Higher Education; a group at Lehman College has been working on quantitative reasoning instruction through projects funded by NSF and elsewhere. This is a great site for examples across different disciplines. More for professional development than classroom use. The Science Education Resource Center is aimed primarily at faculty for professional development, but also includes example exercises with extensive data about the context of their use. UK Data Services has teaching datasets and online analysis using NESSTAR, as well as exercises and other resources for instructors. European Social Survey site has resources about both substantive topics and methodological issues such as weighting and regression. Great for exploring data comparatively or over time.