Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn: Presentation for PSA 2018 conference

1. Tell me and I forget, teach me
and I remember, involve me
and I learn
Understanding quantitative
social research through
applied, work-placed learning

2. What do these men have in common?
1706-1790
www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/tell_me_and_i_forget_teach_me_a
nd_i_may_remember_involve_me_and_i_will_lear/

3. University of Manchester
Q-Step Centre – developing a pipeline of social
researchers by training them in the workplace
@UoMQStep @JackieCarter

4. Q-Step paid (living wage) internships
• 8-weeks long, summer
of 2nd year
• We administer
• Host organisation
– A data-driven, research
project
– A mentor/line manager
– Optional financial
support
• 150 students in 4 years
• 50+ in 2018 including 4
international
• Politics & International
Relations, PPE,
Sociology, Criminology,
Linguistics
• All studied introductory
statistics modules

5. http://iase-web.org/documents/SERJ/SERJ16(1)_Carter.pdf
Q-Step Centre – internships 2014 - 2016

6. Statistics and Data Analysis modules
• Making numbers a
normal part of the
social science
curriculum
• Getting critical about
numerical data
(statistics, graphs,
charts, risk,
probabilities etc.)
•
• Is it a duck or a rabbit?

7. Where do they go?

9. What do they do?

14. Government Departments
Home Office, DFID, FSA, DfE

15. What do they do next?

17. Q-Step is just four years old
• From the classroom to
the workplace: how
social science students
are learning to do data
analysis for real
(Carter, Brown and
Simpson, 2016)
• Academic papers
• Black, K., Geary, R.,
French, R., Leefe, N.,
Mercer, C., Glasier, A.,
Macdowall, W., Gibson, L.,
Datta, J., Palmer, M., et al
(2016). Trends in the use
of emergency
contraception in Britain:
evidence from the second
and third National Surveys
of Sexual Attitudes and
Lifestyles. BJOG, 123(10),
1600-1607. <a
href="http://dx.doi.org/10
.1111/1471-
0528.14131">[More
Information]</a>
• GSS and GSR
Government
Social
Statistics/Research
Careers

18. Challenges

19. How to evaluate?
Who pays?
Equality of access?

20. Dissertation supervision
Postgraduate degree opportunities

21. Women in UK polling industry

22. Contact details
• Prof Jackie Carter j.carter@manchester.ac.uk
• www.manchester.ac.uk/q-step/internships/