Integrating program assessment and a career focus into a research methods course

Sociology research methods students in 2013 and 2016 implemented a series of "real world" data gathering activities that enhanced their learning while assisting the department with ongoing program assessment and program review. In addition to the explicit collection of program assessment data on both students’ development of sociological concepts and skills while undergraduates and alumni’s use of such knowledge after graduation, an effort was made throughout the semesters to highlight key research methods knowledge using examples that focused on job searching and careers appropriate for baccalaureate-trained sociologists. Students reported that these real-world activities both increased their interest in and their learning about research methods. These explicit and implicit experiences with an employment focus also led them to increase their own thinking about their eventual careers and preparing job search materials, such as résumés, that include skills developed in their undergraduate sociology courses.