LEAPS: Social Research

LEAPS (Liberal Arts and Professional Success)

The LEAPS programs are an optional component of the Compass General Education Curriculum.  Please see the LEAPS (Liberal Arts and Professional Success) section of the Compass Curriculum for more information.

Social Research

Students engaged in this program will learn the essential elements of social research design including survey construction, interviewing, participant observation, qualitative and quantitative data analysis skills, and data visualization. The LEAPS provides a strong grounding in the ethical requirements and dilemmas of conducting equitable and inclusive research with, on, and for people. This LEAPS will prepare students for careers in a number of nonprofit, governmental, and for-profit arenas where they will be able to conduct research and to analyze and communicate the results to a wider audience.

Potential Careers

Market research, consulting, academic researcher, Census Bureau, nonprofit research, big data/user analytics, user experience (UX), social work, nonprofit research, think tanks, administration

Completion Requirements

4 courses needed to complete.  Completion will take 4 semesters.

Experiental Component

The experience must meet the following criteria to count:

1. Student will work directly with at least one of the following: the research design, data collection, or analysis of data
2. Student will have the opportunity to engage in discussion with colleagues or peers around design, collection, or analysis
3. Student will work on the production of one of the following: a research proposal, grant application, data collection instrument, presentation or report of data