Santa Clara University

Students in SCU’s award-winning sociology program learn how to do rigorous qualitative research and analysis.

Organizational Research

Social Understanding and Research

Santa Clara University’s Jesuit-inspired sociology program won national recognition in 1998. Students learn how to do rigorous quantitative and qualitative research and analysis and to use these tools to understand the ethical implications of people’s choices and decisions in the workplace, the family, and the community.

Effecting group and individual change begins with gathering and analyzing meaningful data—facts, needs, opinions, and histories—about the people and institutions involved. Usually in the sciences, research is an after-class pursuit meant to complement and extend what a student learns from books and lecture. For sociology majors in Santa Clara’s Applied Sociology Program, however, the methods, the design, and the applications of research constitute core components of most courses.

“That makes our program somewhat unique,” says Assistant Professor Laura Nichols, “most students have to go on to graduate school to do research, but we think undergrads can handle it—and they do.”

Junior year is particularly intensive. Students take courses in qualitative research methods (including interviewing, focus groups, and observation) and in quantitative research statistics. In the spring quarter there is a practicum class where, as part of a team and under the supervision of a faculty member, students get to explore their own research skills in relation to a topic.

Community-Based Research
One recent practicum team project focused on the “calling” that people have for different professions, with special emphasis on medicine, and why it is that college students from underserved communities seem to have a harder time achieving professional goals.

Team members looked at a variety of sociological factors, such as altruism, social capital, and mentoring. They found that some students—first-generation college students, for example—took it much harder when teachers criticized their work.

“They’d react by thinking, ‘I’ll never make it in medical school,’” says Nichols. “Criticism wasn’t such a strong factor for more advantaged students, because they grew up with other people like themselves who became doctors, and this gave them confidence.”

Students used surveys and other research methods to reveal and study some of the challenges faced by students with professional goals who come from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Of the resulting individual papers written, three were published by Santa Clara and subsequently presented at a conference of the California Sociological Association, and one paper won the award for the best student research paper from the Pacific Sociological Association.

A number of student research projects benefit local non-profit organizations. For Loaves and Fishes, a charitable organization that sponsors a hot meals program for the hungry, Santa Clara sociology students surveyed people who came to eat, in order to help the staff better understand those they were serving. The survey, designed by the student researchers, asked some basic questions, such as, Do you like the food? When do you come to eat? Are you homeless? Are you looking for other services? Students interviewed 87 people, analyzed the data, wrote a report, and made a presentation to Loaves and Fishes. One thing that surprised the organization was the increased percentage of homeless among those they were helping. As a result of the study, Loaves and Fishes started thinking about how they could better address the needs of these people, with additional resources and more help connecting them to other services.

National Attention
Santa Clara’s emphasis on undergraduate research in sociology has not gone unnoticed. In 1998, the American Sociological Association awarded its Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award to Santa Clara for a sociology program that “could well serve as a national model of purposive, effective curriculum design.” It was only the second time that this award was won by a sociology department without a graduate program.

In fact, Santa Clara has a long tradition of innovation in sociology. In 1973, it was the first university in the country to sponsor an annual undergraduate research conference in sociology and anthropology. Every year in April, undergraduates from dozens of colleges and universities present original research at the Western Undergraduate Research Conference hosted by Santa Clara. Participants come from as far away as New York and New Jersey, attesting to the high regard held for this conference.

Many sociology majors at Santa Clara have internships at local companies and organizations, and their work often involves research. “More and more,” says Nichols, “evaluations and needs assessment research are required as part of the typical overall work of organizations. Foundations, grantors, and sponsoring companies are saying, ‘How do we know that you’re using our money well and that it’s a good program?’”

Other students assist faculty members who are pursuing their own studies. There are numerous opportunities for students to contribute in meaningful ways, including publishing and co-authoring papers. In 2002, Santa Clara began printing some of the best student research as part of a series called Silicon Valley Notebook, which has a different theme of study each year.