Understanding Society Through Secondary Data Analysis: Quantitative Methods over the Undergraduate Life Course

In the UK we have several large and complex datasets that reveal a lot of information about the characteristics of the general population. One of the main ESRC investments is a new study called "Understanding Society", which is following around 100,000 people over time (starting in 2009). In the form in which it is usually made available to academics, only relatively experienced users are able to make the most of such datasets. We propose creating new versions of this dataset that, with appropriate teaching assistance and input, will be accessible to undergraduate students. We will also develop new teaching resources, including new lecture notes and exercises, for students to work through. This notes will be supplemented by online resources, such as videos of the lecturers conducting classes. A final element is to engage directly with employers, to emphasise to students the career advantages that are often associated with having quantitative skills.

A programme of new courses is planned, taking undergraduate students from their first year through to their final year. The first year will introduce students to secondary data, and use a spreadsheet programme (which should be familiar to them) to conduct simple analysis. A statistical programme, Stata, will then be used in the second year course to help teach statistics and the manipulation of secondary data. The final year course will look at key debates in social science, and the role of data analysis in addressing such debates. Part of that course will look at existing results, and if it is possible to reproduce them.

Students will have to take the first and second year courses, and may choose to take the third year course. At this University, the new courses will start in politics and in social policy, with a view to extending them to other parts of the social sciences. The resources will then be made available, where possible, to wider groups of students. It is likely that new data users, whilst already in academic careers, may find some of these resources to be helpful in their own research.

We will ask students for their feedback on these new courses, as a way to check they are meeting their objectives and to make improvements where there are good reaasons to make changes.

First and foremost, the main beneficiaries will be the UG students receiving the new teaching programme. This will enhance their confidence and skills in conducting empirical research using secondary data analysis. It will also have benefits in terms of their understanding of the advancement of knowledge within the social sciences. This will have very positive benefits if they go on to further academic research. Their confidence in handling numeric information is also likely to have positive outcomes in terms of their employability as it may help to make them more attractive to some employers.

Those employing these graduates will also gain from having staff with confidence in handling numeric data.

Some researchers may also find it beneficial to conduct initial analyses on a teaching version of "Understanding Society" before tackling the main datasets.

Others working in the field of teaching research methods may gain from the insights from this project, which we would disseminate through relevant conferences and papers.