Center for Social Research

Christian Reformed Church congregant survey report published

CSR has just released our report on the 2007-2008 "CRC 150th Anniversary Survey," titled Spiritual and Social Trends and Patterns in the Christian Reformed Church in North America. The report was co-authored with our esteemed "director emeritus" Rodger Rice. We all benefitted from tremendous support and cooperation from dozens of churches and the denominational leadership of the Christian Reformed Church in North America.

The report's main sections cover over-time trends from CRC surveys dating back to 1987; measures and explanations of congregational health; factors related to generous, stewardship-oriented giving to the church; and an analysis of respondents' comments.

The following resources are available:

• The CRCNA denominational research page, including coverage of this report.
• Full-color PDF of the 52-page report.
• The original online survey in English, Spanish and Korean.
• A full-text English version of the survey in Microsoft Word (largely unformatted).
• The original survey entry page and respondent FAQ and the survey coordinator information.
• A sample of the report format provided to all churches with at least 20 respondents (the actual church's name is redacted).

Here's a sample of the report's analysis, from Figure 13 on page 22 of the report. It shows the distribution of congregational health measures for churches with at least 20 respondents, sorted from healthiest to least healthy. Each colored square is a particular respondent's score on a highly reliable scale rating the congregation's health on 24 items representing 11 areas. The chart shows that there is substantial internal variation within churches, no matter how healthy they are--even the church with the healthiest score has some relatively disappointed congregants, and even the least healthy church has some fairly sanguine members.

Image created in Tableau 5.0.

GIS: Mapping Kent County

One of our talented employees, Nathan Mosurinjohn, comments on the GIS niche he specializes in at the CSR:

“GIS is short for Geographic Information Systems, which is used to both analyze spatial data and to create maps. The GIS program we use at the CSR is fully customizable, so the possibilities for its use are endless. Some examples of ways this technology can be used include anything from site selection for business branches to hydrological studies to 3D fly-throughs of mountain ranges.

One of the main ways we are using GIS this summer is to coordinate our canvassing efforts for the Kent County Congregations Study. In addition to making an atlas of maps that the canvassers use for navigating, we have used GIS to estimate the time it will take to canvass each area and the amount of milage each area contains. We have also created a randomized set of points throughout the county to measure some of the general social and physical characteristics of the areas we are canvassing.

Once a team returns from a canvassing trip with their collected data, we use GIS to analyze what we have learned. With this technology we can chart where congregations are moving, where new congregations are forming, and where they are shutting down. We can also begin to see what the location of congregations means; for example, demographic changes in the city may be reflected in church movement and attendance. Movement of congregations can also affect how well services for young people are distributed among at-risk youth, a topic that our corresponding Youth Services Landscape Survey explores in more depth.

These are just a few of the ways that we are using GIS to aid in the implementation of our research endeavors, but as you can see, it is also a very transferable tool that can be used for a variety of purposes.”

More about KCCS canvassing

KCCS is on Calvin’s home page today, thanks to Allison Graff—have a look.

Kent County Congregation Study—Part de deux!

Monday we sent our first official team of Research Assistants out into the world to canvas Kent County for old, new, and re-located congregations! Our student researchers are busily scouring the county as part of an extension of the Kent County Congregational Study. The Douglas and Maria DeVos Foundation is sponsoring a continuation of the study to advance the understanding of religious congregations' role in the provision of social services, especially for youth and children. Researchers will be looking to confirm the presence of 720 congregations found in Kent County as of 2007. Data gathered from this census will allow us to monitor trends in the population of congregations and ensure that surveys and other studies are representative of the Kent county. Keep your eye out for our student researchers in your neighborhood!



Click "read more..." to read from the perspective of a canvasser...

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Report on selection of majors in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

We are releasing today our new report Cultivating STEM: Why West Michigan college students select majors in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The Van Andel Education Institute sponsored our fall 2008 survey of West Michigan college juniors at four local schools. 888 students participated. Key findings in the report include:

1. Despite a lot of talk about a shortage of qualified graduates in STEM fields, the best recent evidence is for lack of demand for graduates, not lack of supply. Survey data confirms that students are concerned about job availability and potential earnings, though these are secondary to perceived natural gifts and the opportunity to improve the lives of others. Attracting more majors to these fields will require attention to demand-side considerations like increasing employment opportunities and improving salaries for STEM workers.
2. Majors in the health professions differ markedly from the rest of students in the factors they are most likely to report as influences on their major selection. They are far more likely to cite an opportunity to improve the lives of others, as well as more likely to cite demand-side matters like job availability and potential earnings.
3. Significant numbers of students say they "seriously considered" a STEM-related major--enough to increase STEM enrollment more than 20 percent, had they been recruited. The vast majority of these students did not abandon STEM because it was uninteresting or too hard (though these are common rationales); rather, STEM simply lost the competition with other fields that were more attractive or interesting.

Click "READ MORE" below to see a sample chart, or just download the free PDF, which includes comprehensive navigation tools for online reading. To request a full-color, bound copy, please contact CSR at 616 526-7799 or csr@calvin.edu

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