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Jam spread too thinly to nourish academe

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Figures look more attractive in world of industry and commerce

A review of the social sciences discovers that a funding imbalance is the main cause of problems besetting research and recruitment. Becky McCall reports

There are three vacancies for social statisticians at Lancaster University, and yet there are no applicants.

Brian Francis, professor of social statistics at Lancaster, said this was not unusual and that the situation was the same in departments across the country.

Professor Francis, who has been at Lancaster for 25 years, believes that the lure of industry and commerce is all too attractive to those social sciences students with a leaning towards figures.

"I have been in social sciences for 15 years after migrating into the field after a period of time as a medical statistician," he said. "But today, students do not feel motivated to continue in the field. They see academics like me snowed under with workload due to the lack of staff.

"The supply of social statisticians is very small, and few are tempted into the field.

"We need to attract more students into undergraduate degrees and beyond."

Quantitative methods research is more than just bean counting. Professor Francis stressed that the field of social statistics was inextricably linked to the qualitative aspects of social science.

"I was particularly attracted because of my interest in criminology and the way that qualitative methods enable me to engage with the subject matter of social science as well as the figures."


It's hard to count on statisticians

A review of the social sciences discovers that a funding imbalance is the main cause of problems besetting research and recruitment. Becky McCall reports

Even a social scientist would admit that number-crunching is one of the least attractive parts of the job, but it is without a doubt one of the most essential skills any academic in the field needs.

Government and research councils have been concerned about the decline in popularity of quantitative skills for more than a decade.

With few lecturers trained in applying quantitative methods, courses in these areas are under-resourced and receive little promotion. As a result, students find statistics-laden social science courses unattractive. This has led to course closures, which exacerbate the shortage of academics and fuel a vicious circle of decline.

David Mills, lead author of the Economic and Social Research Council report, said that quantitative skills training was key to the future of social science research.

Dr Mills, of Birmingham University, said: "Social statistics as a field is disappearing. It's an unattractive area for students, so there is nobody to teach later on. How can we fund staff without students?"

Many social science statistics departments are forced to recruit overseas, where students are able to complete masters in quantitative methods.

Bob Gilchrist, professor of statistics at London Metropolitan University, puts the blame on the lack of funding for masters. "We can't recruit anymore, anywhere, at professorial or at lecturer level. We have a good Anglo-Saxon build-up of research, we have been at the forefront of research, but we risk losing our premier position."

"If we can recruit, they often come from the US: these students often use the system to jump the US ladder and don't stay long."

He would like to see more funding to support masters courses aimed at training young people rather than researchers with some experience. "Too much research council money is given to the grey-haired researchers to satisfy research assessment exercise requirements, rather than to support the 22-year-olds," he said.    

Period27/01/2006

Figures look more attractive in world of industry and commerce

A review of the social sciences discovers that a funding imbalance is the main cause of problems besetting research and recruitment. Becky McCall reports

There are three vacancies for social statisticians at Lancaster University, and yet there are no applicants.

Brian Francis, professor of social statistics at Lancaster, said this was not unusual and that the situation was the same in departments across the country.

Professor Francis, who has been at Lancaster for 25 years, believes that the lure of industry and commerce is all too attractive to those social sciences students with a leaning towards figures.

"I have been in social sciences for 15 years after migrating into the field after a period of time as a medical statistician," he said. "But today, students do not feel motivated to continue in the field. They see academics like me snowed under with workload due to the lack of staff.

"The supply of social statisticians is very small, and few are tempted into the field.

"We need to attract more students into undergraduate degrees and beyond."

Quantitative methods research is more than just bean counting. Professor Francis stressed that the field of social statistics was inextricably linked to the qualitative aspects of social science.

"I was particularly attracted because of my interest in criminology and the way that qualitative methods enable me to engage with the subject matter of social science as well as the figures."


It's hard to count on statisticians

A review of the social sciences discovers that a funding imbalance is the main cause of problems besetting research and recruitment. Becky McCall reports

Even a social scientist would admit that number-crunching is one of the least attractive parts of the job, but it is without a doubt one of the most essential skills any academic in the field needs.

Government and research councils have been concerned about the decline in popularity of quantitative skills for more than a decade.

With few lecturers trained in applying quantitative methods, courses in these areas are under-resourced and receive little promotion. As a result, students find statistics-laden social science courses unattractive. This has led to course closures, which exacerbate the shortage of academics and fuel a vicious circle of decline.

David Mills, lead author of the Economic and Social Research Council report, said that quantitative skills training was key to the future of social science research.

Dr Mills, of Birmingham University, said: "Social statistics as a field is disappearing. It's an unattractive area for students, so there is nobody to teach later on. How can we fund staff without students?"

Many social science statistics departments are forced to recruit overseas, where students are able to complete masters in quantitative methods.

Bob Gilchrist, professor of statistics at London Metropolitan University, puts the blame on the lack of funding for masters. "We can't recruit anymore, anywhere, at professorial or at lecturer level. We have a good Anglo-Saxon build-up of research, we have been at the forefront of research, but we risk losing our premier position."

"If we can recruit, they often come from the US: these students often use the system to jump the US ladder and don't stay long."

He would like to see more funding to support masters courses aimed at training young people rather than researchers with some experience. "Too much research council money is given to the grey-haired researchers to satisfy research assessment exercise requirements, rather than to support the 22-year-olds," he said.    

References

TitleJam spread too thinly to nourish academe
Media name/outletTimes Higher Education Supplement
Duration/Length/SizeLondon
Date27/01/06
Producer/AuthorBecky McCall
PersonsBrian Francis