Funded as part of the HEA Social Sciences strategic project 2012 – 13

Introduction to new teaching datasets and associated resources

Emma Calvert and Paula Devine

Queen’s University Belfast

Overview

• Introduce ARK and its resources and how these can facilitate the teaching of quantitative methods (QM)

• Highlight the new teaching datasets and discuss issues in creating them/utilisation in teaching QM

Background to ARK

• Joint QUB/UU initiative, established 2000

• Aim: To make material on the social and political life of Northern Ireland available to the widest possible audience

• Provides access, research and knowledge

ARK resources (www.ark.ac.uk)

• Background facts and figures on N Ireland

• Extensive and varied material on the conflict

• Tables of results from surveys

• Raw data from ARK surveys

• Questionnaires

• Bibliographies and summaries

• Audio-visual and qualitative data

• Election results

• Critical policy unit .................and much more!

ARK activities

Guide to ARK

• Conflict and Politics

• Policy Research

• Surveys

Outreach, Dissemination & Training

• Seminar series – view these online

• Critical social policy round tables

• Lay-friendly Research Updates, occasional papers and fact sheets

Introduction to ARK

Surveys

Kids Life & Times

Primary 7

Young Life & Times

16 year olds

Northern Ireland Life

& Times

Adults 18+

ISSP

Global

Why?

Through our surveys we provide time-series attitudinal data to inform policy development and provide a public voice

These three annual surveys monitor the attitudes of people of different ages in Northern Ireland to a wide range of social and political issues

Overview of ARK surveys

While the samples and methods of data collection vary, all 3 surveys have common features:

• ‘Modular’ construction (discrete, topic-based sets of questions)

• Completely free and easy access to the data shortly after fieldwork is completed, including tables of results, dataset, questionnaires, technical report

NI Life and Times

• Annual survey, began in 1998

• Monitor the attitudes and behaviour of people in Northern Ireland

• Time-series and public record of attitudes and behaviour

• Descendent of Northern Ireland Social Attitudes Survey 1989-1996

• Modular format : 4-5 per year, but always community relations

Young Life and Times

• Annual survey of young people

1998-2000: 12-17 year olds living in household of NILT respondent

2003 onwards: 16 year olds

• 6-7 modules per year

YLT topics Community Relations - asked in 2003 - 2012

Cross Community Contact - asked in 2003 - 2012

Education - asked in 2003 - 2010, 2012

Environment and global issues - asked in 2006

Family - asked in 2006 - 2012

Health (including mental health) - asked in 2004 - 2008, 2011

Identity - asked in 2003 - 2012

Leisure and Play - asked in 2007 and 2010

Mental Health and Self-harm - asked in 2008 and 2009

Minority Ethnic Groups - asked in 2004 and 2007 - 2012

Politics - asked in 2004 - 2007, 2010, 2011

Poverty - asked in 2007

Pressures and Influences - asked in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008

Rights and Perceptions - asked in 2007, 2009 - 2012

Sexual Health - asked in 2011

Sexual Risks - asked in 2010

Social Capital - asked in 2003 - 2012

Background - asked in 2003 - 2012

Volunteering - asked in 2009

Young Carers - asked in 2010

Teaching datasets

• Provide concise and comprehensive datasets to aid teaching and learning QM

• Complete number of respondents, reduced set of variables

• Focus on particular module – NILT 2006 & 2008, Good Relations

– NILT 2012, Good Relations New!

– NILT 2012, LGBT New!

– YLT 2003-2012 New!

Supported by HEA

HEA project overview New resources

• Development of new resources for teaching QM:

– Teaching datasets

– Accessible technical report/codebooks

– Teaching workbook

Project objectives

• Support student learning

• Up-to-date “real world” data

• Interesting research questions

• Minimise complicated data manipulation

• Reflection on data production

• Exercises for independent study

Teaching QM

ASA Guidelines

• Real-world data

• Conceptual understanding vs knowledge of procedures

• Foster active learning

• Technology to aid understanding & data analysis

• Assessments to improve and evaluate student learning

Developments in teaching QM

• Push from traditional lectures to more activity-based formats (Scott & Green 2012)

• What helps learning: group work in/out of class, explaining and communicating, frequent rapid feedback, problem

formulation (Moore 1997)

Anxiety

Anxiety which occurs when a student

encounters statistics in any form

and at any level

(Onwuegbuzie and Wilson

2003)

Confidence

Perceived lack of

confidence/ability?

(Ruggeri et

al. 2008)

Surprise

46% of students surveyed

were aware of

the statistical content of

their psychology

degree

(Ruggeri et al. 2008)

Relevance

Do I need research

skills?

(Murtonen et al. 2008)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Strongly agree Agree Neither agreenor disagree

Disagree Stronglydisagree

Acquiring quantitative research skills is an essential element of a social sciences degree

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Strongly agree Agree Neither agreenor disagree

Disagree Stronglydisagree

The idea of learning statistics makes me feel anxious

Creating QM resources

For teaching

• Structure/set-up

• Enabling range of data analysis

• New variables (scale)

• Simplification of variables

• Data cleaning to remove “difficult” responses

• Basic workbook

For research

• “Real-life” dataset

– range of topics/limited duplication

– all survey respondents

• Documentation:

– Accessible technical report

– Codebook

intuitive

variable

names

detailed

information from

questionnaire

value labels

set up

following

conventions correct level of

measurement

Structure

Creating new variables (scales)

Simplification of variables

Data cleaning (2006)

Accessible documentation (codebook)

Teaching workbook

• Research questions

• Same variables

• Basic descriptive analysis

• Instructions/SPSS screenshots

• Questions for reflection/further analysis

QM @ QUB

• Core module

• Secondary data analysis

• Approx. 100 Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy students – Large group teaching

– Small group teaching (SPSS)

Researching

perceptions

about

neighbourhood

“neutrality”

Researching

sexuality

“Real-world” research

Research sexual orientation and attitudes to sexuality in NI:

– Issues of measurement

– Sensitive questions

– Attitudinal research

“Real-world” research

Data manipulation (recoding)

Missing values

Compare final results

Further analysis

Possible research questions

research

Minority ethnic communities/

culture/economy

Young people’s views on

community relations

(2003-12)

Recent riots/

community relations

Sexuality and family

Resources online @ ARK

NILT 2012

• Teaching datasets – Good Relations

– LGBT

• Accessible documentation

YLT 2002-12

• Merged teaching dataset

• Accessible documentation

Teaching workbooks available via email

Embedding QM

1. Very safe

2. Fairly safe

3. A bit unsafe

4. Very unsafe

5. Don’t know

1 2 3 4 5

20% 20%20%20%20%

1. Discussion on researching/measuring “fear of crime” 2. Use Personal Response System: How safe do you feel walking alone in this area after dark?

Embedding QM

Queen’s Q-Step Centre