For undergraduate students enrolled in Cedar Crest College's Introduction to Culture and Society, Research Methods and Design, and Evaluating Human Service Organizations courses, analyzing the interrelationship between human social organization and behavioral processes takes on both theoretical and applied (i.e., "real world") dimensions. Though traditional pedagogical techniques (e.g., textbooks and class discussion) explore this important connection, without "hands-on" experience, students are left to wonder how generalizations offered by sociology (and all social sciences) are developed. Such suspicion affects the very foundation of their learning experiences and may prevent the integration of course lessons in their personal and, ultimately, professional lives. To address this critical need for linkage and hands-on experience, three computer-assisted instructional (CAI) programs with a history of reliability and classroom use, Data Happy! (Carter, 1995), Survey Research: A Computer-Assisted Introduction (Bainbridge, 1989) and SPSS/PC+ Studentware (Norusis, 1991), will be integrated within Introduction to Culture and Society, Research Methods and Design, and Evaluating Human Service organizations micro-computer classroom labs, based on funds made available through NSF's ILI-IP Award and Cedar Crest College. The role that each CAI program plays in course labs is threefold. First, to enhance the students' understanding of key theoretical concepts and their importance in sociology by examining how these concepts have been used in sociological research. Second, to provide exercises on elementary or advanced data analysis and its connection to the problem of establishing causality in order to facilitate a working knowledge and critique of sociological frameworks. Finally, to challenge students to continue to use real data and explore, test, and apply the insights of sociology to social conditions and circumstances in their communities.
