Dollars and Sense: Convincing Students that They Can Learn and Want to Learn Statistics

Quantitative methods are an integral part of much sociological research. For that reason, many sociology departments require a course in statistics as part of an undergraduate major in sociology, and most faculty view the undergraduate statistics course as a valuable part of an undergraduate student's training in sociology. Unfortunately, most undergraduate do not feel the same. In this paper, the author presents a teaching technique designed to motivate students to learn statistics, from the very first class period. In this technique, the author gives students a list of common first occupations for people with a BA in sociology, their starting salaries, and whether the occupation uses statistics or not. The goals of the technique are threefold: (1) to convince students that statistics is a worthwhile subject to learn; (2) to reduce student anxiety by having students demonstrate to themselves that they can "do" statistics, even before a single lecture is completed; and (3) to provide an example that can be used throughout the semester to illustrate multiple statistical techniques. (Contains 1 table.)