The Yearbook Case Study Archival research project began a progression of embedded research instruction with the Sociology courses throughout the school year. This slide deck shows not only what the expectations were for students but also how I changed the initial ideas and refocused the project in data based research.
This project involved teaching students about:
Archival care and research with archival documents- through 7 decades worth of historical yearbooks of the school
Statistical analysis- students gathered demographic data through statistical analysis and random sampling within the yearbooks to compare and create a collaborative cultural profile of the school.
Using data as evidence for observations and conclusions.
Sociology Healthcare Project- this project has evolved over time. First, utilizing library resources and LibGuide to guide students to more in depth literature reviews of the material.
Second, we decided to scaffold use of data and data analysis by changing the project to an Infographic using various data (Census data, Housing & Urban Development data, etc). This gave the students another opportunity to grapple with analyzing data and trends on a research topic to prepare for their Capstone project.
Sociology capstone project- this project utilizes all of the steps of the research lifecycle from planning and design to collecting and analyzing results, evaluate and eventually disseminate the results. Each student picked topics of their own choosing, and generated a working hypothesis as they conducted their literature review before planning their primary research through surveys. Students are instructed in creating unbiased surveys, analyzing data, looking at data trends, recognizing limitations, and presenting their findings.