ASSESSING THE INTRODUCTION OF A COMPUTER LABORATORY EXPERIENCE INTO ABEHAVIORAL-SCIENCE STATISTICS COURSE

This article assesses the introduction of a computer laboratory experi ence using a popular statistical package into a behavioral science sta tistics class required of all sociology, psychology and business admin istration majors at a small, liberal arts college. The computer exerci ses were expected to improve student performance and student comprehen sion of the material presented in the course. A quasi-experimental des ign was used to compare student performance for a group of students pr ior to the introduction of the computer exercises with a similar group of students after the introduction of the computer exercises. Results indicate that the computer laboratory experience did not improve stud ent performance or student comprehension of basic statistical concepts . This article suggests that computer skills are an important part of the sociology major and that the acquisition of computer skills should be regarded as a curriculum goal in and of itself rather than as a me chanism for improving knowledge of statistics or research methods.