Abstract:

Quantitative research techniques are an important part of any Undergraduate program of sociology and other social sciences. Previous research shows that there is a need to innovate in order to improve the students’ fluidity with quantitative techniques. Also, research indicates a gender gap in this field. Empower students in the usage of quantitative techniques is important, also considering its growing importance in terms of employability.

This article analyzes the effectiveness of an educational innovation project in a multivariate techniques subject in the third year of the Sociology degree at the University of Barcelona. The evaluated activity aims to shift the students’ attention from a predominant technical and focused perspective on quantitative research techniques towards an integrated and more complex process of learning, corresponding to daily activities of graduates in sociology at the labor market. In addition, a gender perspective has been incorporated, introducing topics related to inequality around gender and sexuality.

The objective of this evaluation is to evaluate the implementation of a workshop in social research techniques (multivariate analysis) taking into account the impact of gender and the accidental change from face-to-face to virtuality in the context of COVID. The workshop consisted in two sessions, the first of them presential, the second one virtual: in the first one, the students had to form groups and to choose between different fictional cases engaged by city councils; for the next session they were asked to prepare a first review of the literature, to elaborate a first diagnosis according to the fictional contract, and to review and pre-select different data sets. In the second accidentally virtual session, they were aimed to develop a model of multivariant analysis in order to respond to the fictional order.

Methodologically we based ourselves on two self-evaluations by the participants recollected through an online survey in the end of the class: a first one for the first face-to-face session and a second one for the virtual session. Students mainly assess their previous and subsequent knowledge. By bivariable and multivariable analysis we are going to check:
- If students improved their competences.
- What has been the effect of the confinement on their acquisition of competences.
- If there is a gender gap and if we mitigated the gender gap.
- If the topics chosen by the students show a Gender bias.

In terms of results we see that male students generally score higher in competences both, before and after the activity. That means that there is a gap and that the gap remains after the activity. There is a difference between the presential and the virtual activity though: in the virtually realized exercise female students improve more than boys; that means that here the gender gap is not dissolved but attenuated. We also noticed that women were more interested on topics on gender.

In conclusion can be said, that the activity itself was unable to dissolve the gender gap in quantitative research technique courses in Sociology, but that offering gender sensible topics is appreciated by female students. Also, we have seen that virtuality has helped to improve women’s self-perceived competences.

Keywords:

Techniques of Social Research, Sociology, Gender, Covid, Virtuality.