Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

Does British sociology count? Sociology students' attitudes toward quantitative methods

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Geoff Payne

Downloads

Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.


Abstract

The research reported here is from the first national survey of British undergraduate attitudes to the methodological character of the discipline and specifically to quantitative methods.The study found that most sociology students saw their subject as closer to the humanities than the sciences. However, whilst as anticipated many students expressed anxiety about quantitative methods and 'number', a slight majority nevertheless expressed no such anxiety. The methodological issue for sociology is perhaps less to do with a numeric deficit and more to do with a lack of student interest in the use of quantitative methods. It may be concluded that the views held by present undergraduates do not augur well for a methodologically pluralist discipline in the future, or more generally for key numeric and analytic skills sociology graduates can bring to other professions and occupations. Copyright © 2008 BSA Publications Ltd®.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Williams M, Payne G, Hodgkinson L, Poade D

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Sociology

Year: 2008

Volume: 42

Issue: 5

Pages: 1003-1021

Print publication date: 01/10/2008

ISSN (print): 0038-0385

ISSN (electronic): 1469-8684

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0038038508094576

DOI: 10.1177/0038038508094576


Altmetrics

Altmetrics provided by Altmetric


Share