North Central Sociological Association 2020 John F. Schnabel Lecture Missed Opportunities: Developing Undergraduate Students Sociological Research Skills Throughout the Curriculum

ABSTRACT

Undergraduate sociology students need more opportunities to develop their research skills while earning their degree. However, a common reaction to this assertion is that there simply is not enough time to provide students with hands-on experience doing sociology while also ensuring that “all the material” is covered in elective courses. Therefore, much of the burden of helping students develop their sociological research skills occurs in isolated methods and statistical courses. Students then reach their senior year with underdeveloped sociological research skills and lack the confidence to conduct a research project with data collection. I encountered this challenge when I began teaching our Senior Seminar course. When I turned to the literature for insight, I quickly realized that my experience was not unique nor new. In this address, I describe the challenge I faced and the scholarship I have undertaken to illuminate where challenges lie and the missed opportunities for methods instruction and practice throughout the undergraduate sociology curriculum. Helping students develop their sociological research skills is just as important as helping students develop a sociological perspective.

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge Rebekah Morgan for her research assistance on the research projects associated with this talk. Thanks to Gregory Kordsmeier, Jamie Oslawski-Lopez, and Nikki Brown for providing feedback on the survey instrument. A special thanks to Nancy A. Greenwood for her feedback on this address. Thanks to all the faculty that let us survey their students and the students for participating. An Indiana University Teaching & Learning Prototype Grant funded this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

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Stephanie Medley-Rath

Stephanie Medley-Rath is an associate professor in the Sociology Department at Indiana University Kokomo. Her research interests include the sociology of autobiography, cognitive sociology, and the teaching and learning of research methods through the sociology curriculum. Her research has appeared in The Qualitative Report, Symbolic Interaction, and Teaching & Learning Inquiry.