ESRC: Technology boost for maths skills

The demand from employers for employees with skills and confidence in using quantitative methods (QM) is high and growing. The internet, advances in computing power and the growing 'data deluge' have made it more important than ever to ensure that all social science undergraduates receive the best teaching possible to develop these skills. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), in partnership with Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the British Academy, are delighted to announce twenty new and innovative projects that aim to develop skills in this area.

The twenty projects include a range of activities including the development of online and interactive teaching resources, videos, and podcasts using the best available technology in innovative ways. The use of technology, the web and computing power have not only revolutionised the amount and quality of data available, but have made analysis simpler and faster. By exploring how to use these tools with students and sharing experiences of best practice through a programme of seminars and workshops student understanding of the value and need for QM should increase. As well as raising student interests, undergraduate skills in this area will improve, resulting in more post graduate students developing more advanced methods. As graduates with quantitative skills are increasingly sought by employers across all sectors – academia, government, charities and business – this will also help fill that gap.

The aims of the projects are to facilitate QM curriculum development, to further embed QM into the undergraduate timetable, and to expand the number and quality of QM teachers in universities. The awards form part of a wider initiative to build capacity in quantitative methods in the social sciences at undergraduate level, and contribute to the development of science, technology, engineering and maths skills across the social sciences. These projects involve sixty-seven people across twenty-seven universities and learned societies:

Dr Ailsa Henderson, University of Edinburgh, A blended learning course in quantitative methods for UK sociology, social policy and political science undergraduates
Dr Andrew Channon, University of Southampton, Enhancing Undergraduate Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences through Curriculum Change and Increasing Researcher Use of Large Scale Social Surveys in the Social Sciences through Teaching and Support
Dr Emily Clough, Newcastle University, Integrating Quantitative Methods into the Politics Curriculum: a seminar-based approach
Dr John Chamberlain, Loughborough University, An investigation into the impact of mapping technology on undergraduate student's self-reported experience of quantitative research methods teaching
Dr Julie Scott-Jones, Manchester Metropolitan, 'No More Pointy-Clicking, Numbers Stuff: Building Staff Quantitative Skills.'
Dr Kandy Woodfield, NatCen, Building capacity in quantitative methods for social science – Survey Skills Quantitative Methods Lecturer Programme (SSQMLP)
Dr Karen Bullock, University of Surrey, Curriculum Innovation: Integrating Quantitative Methods and Substantive Teaching for HE Level One Sociology Students
Dr Mark Brown, University of Manchester, Teaching quantitative methods in disciplinary context: integrating quantitative method and evidence into the Social Science undergraduate curriculum.
Dr Richard Harris, University of Bristol, Supporting undergraduate teaching in quantitative geography: making the connections between schools, universities and the workplace and Understanding data, understanding society: using quantitative narratives to embed evidence, argument and data within the undergraduate curriculum
Dr Sin Yi Cheung, Cardiff University, Training Quantitative Social Science Teachers in the UK: Developing an International Pedagogic Collaborative Network for Quantitative Methods
Dr Stephen Fisher, University of Oxford, Workshops for Teachers of Quantitative Methods for Social Science Undergraduates
Dr Timothy Grant, Aston University, Curriculum Innovation: Integrating QM into undergraduate programmes in Linguistics in the School of Languages and Social Sciences, Aston University
Dr Wendy Olsen, University of Manchester, Patterns in Politics & Society: Promoting the Enrichment of Undergraduate Teaching with Quantitative Methods
Professor Donald Forrester, University of Bedfordshire, Increasing the Capacity for Quantitative Teaching in Social Work Undergraduate Courses; and Making Social Work Count: A National Curriculum Development Programme Pioneered in Three Universities
Professor Malcolm Williams, Cardiff University, Embedding QM in Social Science Teaching
Professor Stephen Gorard, University of Birmingham, The Research Design Basis for Undergraduate Quantitative Methods (QM) Teaching
Professor Stephen McKay, University of Birmingham, Understanding Society Through Secondary Data Analysis: Quantitative Methods over the Undergraduate Life Course