CSR Staff
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.
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CSR Student Research Assistants
As of June 2009, CSR welcomes two new research assistants, senior Kristin Booy and recent graduate Jeff Schiman. Our relatively new team continues to show its talent and potential in a wide variety of research specializations. To learn more about these positions, visit our employment opportunities page.| Kristin Booy Hometown: Brampton, Ontario, Canada Year at Calvin: 4th Major: Psychology Minors: French & Gender Studies Favorite research software: Inquisite |
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| Michael Evans-Totoe Hometown: Accra, Ghana Year at Calvin: 3rd Major: Information Technology & Accounting Minor: Philosophy Favorite research software: Access |
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| Tyler Greenway Hometown: Middleville, MI Year at Calvin: 3rd Major: Psychology Favorite research software: Inquisite |
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| Jeff Schiman Hometown: St. Joe, MI Year at Calvin: graduated Major: Economics Favorite research software: Stata |
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| Leia Vos Hometown: Elmhurst, IL Year at Calvin: 4th Major: Psychology Minor: Communications Favorite research software: Undecided |
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New CSR Technical Assistant
As of June 2009, CSR welcomes a new technical assistant who specializes in ArcGIS, an advanced computer mapping program! To learn more about technical assistant positions, visit our employment opportunities page.
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Nathan Mosurinjohn Hometown: Fort Atkinson, WI Degree: B.A. in Geography and International Development Favorite Research Software: ArcGIS |
Stay tuned to see maps of Kent County!
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Report on selection of majors in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
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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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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Research Associate Experiences
One important position that CSR offers is that of the Research Associate. This position is open to recent college graduates interested in pursuing graduate school. Candidates are often seeking additional experience in a research setting before continuing their education, and CSR provides this opportunity. Two of our recent CSR Research Associates have written the following comments about their experiences at the Center.
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Nathan Medeiros-Ward
Research Associate from January 2007-June 2008
Current location: University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Ph.D. program in Cognitive Psychology
It sounds cliché, but there are so many things I could write about with regard to my experience at the CSR and how it prepared me for my PhD program. Just today, one of the Research Assistants in my research lab, who is also one of my students in the statistics lab I teach, was asking me about graduate school. He was fretting about getting into graduate school and succeeding. In our conversation, he asked me how I could possibly know what I know about teaching and research, both in terms of statistics and working with statistical software (i.e., SPSS), as well as designing and running studies with sound experimental protocol and clearly defined theories. I explained that my undergraduate education played a role in developing the skills I am using daily in graduate school; however, the contribution of my time spent at the CSR before graduate school is really what deserves most of the credit.
At the CSR, I gained experience in working with students, IT personnel, clients, and faculty. These interactions prepared me for my current role as a graduate student, because graduate school is (among other things) all about relationships. I’m not sure I would have gained this “people” aspect from another job, and I guarantee that I will not work with a better group of people than what the CSR has to offer.
In addition, I also developed technical and analytic skills at the CSR that I’ve already applied in numerous settings to automate and simplify processes such as data entry, to reduce unnecessary work and get the most out of my Research Assistants’ time, to provide an overall organizational structure for how my lab operates, and to learn how to program a gigantic driving simulator that I’m convinced was intentionally made abstruse to frustrate new graduate students in the program!
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Amanda Stek
Research Associate from May 2008-present
Prospective location: Graduate school for degree in Public Policy and International Affairs
I graduated from Calvin College with a degree in Political Science. I knew that the field I would be pursuing in graduate school would require me to understand and carry out many different types of research, and while I did take classes in research methods and statistics, I was not satisfied with my level of proficiency in the areas of quantitative or qualitative analysis. I applied for the Research Associate position at Calvin’s Center for Social Research in an attempt to develop that skill-set.
Shortly after starting the position last May, I realized how fortunate I was to be working at CSR. I have acquired the skills that Nate describes above including competency in statistical analysis software like SPSS and Stata. I have had the privilege to work on research projects that are diverse and imperative. I have learned from collaborative and teamwork-oriented colleagues how to effectively manage and supervise student research assistants. My contact with clients, including professors, community leaders, and clergy has helped me develop professional communication skills and confidence. I have also developed editing and designing skills with software including InDesign.
In addition to these skills, I have had the privilege of working with a group of people that truly live out God’s call to love your neighbor as yourself. The staff actively supported me while I applied to graduate school and other research programs. They are gracious and patient as I continue to learn new software and research methods. They encourage me to pursue research topics that are of interest to me. Very few work environments are like the one that the CSR staff has created.
I am more than halfway through my term with the CSR and already wish I was staying another year. I will leave this office better prepared for graduate school, better equipped to work in and organize effective work environments, and more determined to continue to follow God’s call into research and the field of social science.
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