Focus on Teaching Data Analysis Skills
The Methodspace focus for July, August, and September is on data analysis. In September we are looking specifically at ways to guide and teach researchers in this challenging phase of the inquiry. You can find the unfolding series here. We have two Mentors in Residence to help us think about the skills new researchers need:
Charlotte Brookfield is a senior lecturer of social sciences at Cardiff University. Charlotte is based in the Cardiff Q-Step Centre of Excellence in Quantitative Methods Teaching and Learning. The Centre is one of eighteen across the UK which aim to enhance the quantitative research methods training experience for social science students. The pedagogic activities of the Centre have influenced Charlotte’s research interests and in particular, she is interested in exploring the extent to which British sociology engages with quantitative approaches and the possible factors that may contribute toward sociology students’ resistance to study and use quantitative techniques.
Professor Rhys Christopher Jones is the Associate Dean of Education at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, at the University of Surrey. Prior to this, he was based in the Department of Statistics at the University of Auckland. Over his career he has taught a variety of subjects, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, which include statistics, quantitative methods, and mathematics for science. He has also taught a variety of science-based subjects in FE colleges, which include GCSE, BTEC, Access and A levels. His primary research contributions are in the areas of curriculum development and the role of context in statistics education. Rhys’s research interests also focus on mathematical and statistical anxiety, helping to inform strategies to engage and motivate people in these subjects.
Brookfield and Jones have new books from SAGE Publishing: Essential Math Skills for Exploring Social Data, and Using Excel for Social Research. Use the code SAGE30 for a 30% discount when you order the books from SAGE Publishing.
