Teaching with Data in the Social Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst

This report is an investigation of the pedagogical practices of social sciences instructors teaching with quantitative data at the undergraduate level at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The study was conducted by the University Libraries, and was part of a larger suite of parallel studies coordinated by Ithaka S+R at 20 institutions of higher education in the U.S. The study’s goal is to understand instructors’ undergraduate teaching processes so that institutions can develop local resources to support them in their work. While this local study will contribute to a larger cumulative capstone produced by Ithaka S+R, our recommendations will also inform the ways in which the UMass Amherst University Libraries can better support social science instructors who rely on quantitative data in their undergraduate instruction