Assessing the introduction of a computer laboratory experience into a behavioral science statistics course

This article assesses the introduction of a computer laboratory experience using a popular statistical package into a behavioral science statistics class required of all sociology, psychology and business administration majors at a small, liberal arts college. The computer exercises were expected to improve student performance and student comprehension of the material presented in the course. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare student performance for a group of students prior to the introduction of the computer exercises with a similar group of students after the introduction of the computer exercises. Results indicate that the computer laboratory experience did not improve student performance or student comprehension of basic statistical concepts. This article suggests that computer skills are an important part of the sociology major and that the acquisition of computer skills should be regarded as a curriculum goal in and of itself rather than as a mechanism for improving knowledge of statistics or research methods.