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News & Events

Sara returns from a summer internship at ICPSR

One of our very own student researchers, Sara Achauer, was chosen out of an elite group of applicants to spend her summer as an intern for the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research.  Read what she had to say about her experience:

“This summer I was an intern at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), a unit within the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. ICPSR is one of the largest dative archives and their mission statement is to: ‘Acquire and preserve social science data, provide open and equitable access to these data, and promote effective data use.’

I was a data processor for the Child Care and Early Education Resource Connection, one of the specialized archives within ICPSR. I personally worked with the National Maternal and Infant Health Survey 1988 and the Survey of Income and Program Participation 2004 data. It was my job to acquire the correct data and related documents, write the metadata for each study, and produce formatted files for the use of member institutions.

While working at the internship, I was provided the opportunity to participate in ICPSR’s Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research. I took two graduate classes: Regression Analysis I Introduction and II Linear Models. For more information see http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/sumprog/index.html . The skills I learned over the summer gave me a more holistic view of data and research that will positively influence my work at the Center for Social Research and my personal research as a Sociology major.”

We’re glad to have you back after this great opportunity, Sara!

Congratulations Graduates!

The CSR congratulates five of our student workers who graduated from Calvin this year. Gwen Einfeld, Kirsten Anderson, Jeremy Chacko, Gerald Egede and Emily Oosterhouse were each at the CSR for over a year, and now they seek to employ themselves in various exciting fields:
• Gwen, an Engineering graduate, is pursuing a graduate degree in Engineering at Purdue University
• Emily, having completed Calvin’s Psychology, Pre-Law and Business programs, is going on to study Forensic Psychology at the University of Denver
• Gerald, an Accounting major, is pursuing a graduate degree in Business or Accounting in the United Kingdom
• Kirsten, graduating with a degree in English will be teaching English in Cairo, Egypt and may continue working in the field of social research in English.
• Jeremy, graduate of Calvin’s History and Political Science programs, will be working at Yellowstone National Park

During their time at the Center, the graduates handled projects ranging from data entry to survey design and administration. The CSR bids farewell to the graduates, who will be sorely missed.

Faculty Scholarhip Showcase - Friday, May 16, 2008

Calvin’s Centers & Institutes are hosting the second annual Celebration of Faculty Scholarship on Friday, May 16, 2008 from 9am to 2pm in the Library Lobby and Meeter Center. As the title suggests, this event recognizes and appreciates important scholarly accomplishments within each discipline.

The CSR will feature several faculty and off-campus projects, including highlights from the Kent County Congregations Study, the CRC 150th Anniversary Survey, and the Pharmaceutical Access Program project with Cherry Street Health Services. Please stop by the Library Lobby and Meeter Center between 9am and 2pm on Friday, May 16 to learn more about these projects, as well as other scholarly work across all disciplines.

PALS Teens at MPA

Last week, the Midwestern Psychological Association (MPA) hosted its annual meeting at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, IL. As the current CSR Research Associate, I presented a poster on some of my collaborative work with Calvin psychology professor, Marjorie Gunnoe.

Using PALS teen data, professor Gunnoe and I examined predictors of teenage expectations to marry. We explored several theoretical & well-established domains in an effort to compare our data with other national studies and to contribute to the growing body of literature on teenage development and attitudes toward marriage.

In addition to several poster sessions, I had the opportunity to hear a fabulous lecture by Washington University’s memory expert, Henry L. Roediger, III on how testing not only measures knowledge but enhances it. Visit the Washington University Memory Lab for more on this groundbreaking research.

CSR Open House on April 3

Please join us on the afternoon of April 3, 2008, 3:30 - 6:00pm for a friendly open house at the stylish new offices of the Center for Social Research at 2041 Raybrook St. SE, Suite 103, downstairs from the Van Lunen Center and Kuyers Institute. We’d like to welcome all Calvin faculty and staff and our clients from the community, share refreshments, introduce you to CSR’s new director Dr. James Penning, and chat about social research at Calvin College. Thanks are due to past Director Kurt Schaefer, Interim Director Janel Curry, all our campus collaborators, and especially to the Physical Plant personnel who did such a great job remodeling.

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