The Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research

USING THE SARS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

Developing the Collection of Historical and Contemporary Census Data and Materials into a Major Learning and Teaching Resource

CCSR is a partner in an £800k project funded by Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) to deliver census-based learning and teaching to the UK Higher Education sector.

project site

Background
The strategic importance of the Census means that a working knowledge of how to access and analyse the Census of Population statistics is of enormous benefit to students from a wide variety of academic disciplines. Not only does such practical knowledge help teach them how research is actually conducted, it also provides students with a tangible and marketable skill that they can use after graduation.

Project Objectives
This project will increase use of historical and contemporary census data (CHCC) in learning and teaching by:

  • improving accessibility to the primary data resources.
  • developing an integrated set of learning and teaching materials.
  • improving awareness about the contexts in which Census data can be used in learning and teaching.
  • integrating contextual materials; providing access to web-based data exploration/visualisation tools and developing resource discovery tools.

Teaching and Learning Materials
CCSR will develop teaching and learning materials specifically for the SARs as well as contributing to a set of inter-disciplinary modules that will draw on the full spectrum of census data.

Modules developed specifically for the SARs will comprise a set of tutorials, with a range of different pathways, providing basic analysis skills followed by topics relevant to specific disciplines. Teachers and students will be able to use the tutorials on-line or download them onto their PC. They will be designed for use with customised subsets of the SARs using SPSS (on the students’ PC).

Examples of the modules planned include:

  • Exploratory data analysis.
  • Basic statistical analysis
  • Using hierarchical data in the SARs

In addition a series of topic-based modules will be developed around specific substantive areas. Examples include:

  • Ethnic differences
  • Employment and unemployment
  • Gender differences

Two inter-disciplinary learning and teaching modules will also be developed to combine aspects of historical and current census microdata and also individual and aggregate census data. For example, the availability of Census data for 1881 and 1991 provides an opportunity to explore comparative social structures from these two time points in terms of household size and composition, employment and the occupational structure, the immigrant populations, migration and the different Census methods used in 1881 and 1991.

 

A second module will cover methodological and analytical issues relating to the study of difference using small area statistics and microdata. For example, ethnic differences, individual and area-level inequalities can be compared and discussed. The module would consider the modifiable area unit problem and, in particular, the problems of the ecological fallacy which would be demonstrated by comparing correlations for aggregate and individual-level data

A common web portal to the census
The Data Archive will develop a Census portal to provide direct web access to all the learning and teaching materials and the various data extraction, exploration and visualisation tools developed. Key features will be:

  • A user-friendly search and browse interface
  • A mechanism enabling two way linking between metadata or the learning and teaching resources and the associated Census datasets.

A web-based data exploration interface to the SARs
A web-based data exploration interface to a small subset of the SARs (mini-SAR) is also being planned. This interface will provide the user with immediate hands on experience of working with the SARs, producing tabulations using the mini-SAR. The mini-SAR datasets will comprise a set of carefully defined multi-way cross-tabulations related to particular topics.

The project started in September 2000 and runs for two years. Other project partners are:

MIMAS and the Census Dissemination Unit, the University of Manchester; The School of Geography, University of Leeds; The History Data Service, The Data Archive, University of Essex; The LTSN Centre for History, Archaeology and Classical Studies and University of Glasgow.

CCSR staff involved in the project include Sam Smith, who has been appointed as Web Interface Developer; Mark Brown and Mark Elliot who will, respectively, provide oversight of the development of teaching materials and the web-based materials.

 
University of Manchester CCSR