Notes the drawbacks of the artificial separation of content and method in most undergraduate, sociology department, course offerings. Reports on the development and operation of a local research center as a means of melding content and method. (JDH)

Describes how the lost letter technique, a research ploy involving leaving stamped, addressed letters in public locations and seeing if people will mail them, may be used to introduce students to experimental method in sociological research. Students manipulated letter location, size, and address in order to judge different effects such variations…

Notes that one-semester field methods courses in sociology often lack adequate time for students to learn appropriate techniques and still collect and report their data. Describes how undergraduate students bypass this problem by using multiple observations of a single event to quickly form a corpus of ethnographic data. (JDH)

Describes how sociology students in undergraduate research methods are involved in conducting an annual poll for the university. The emphasis is upon interviewing as a general data-gathering method. Includes information about how useful research problems are determined and the process used to design and implement the poll. (JDH)

Discusses the Internship in New York City Government program initiated by City University of New York (Lehman College) to provide sociology majors with insight into the workings of a profession. Emphasizes that such programs are necessary because a large number of sociology majors choose business and professional careers over academic ones. (GEA)

Describes the responsibilities and goals of the Director of Undergraduate Studies of the Sociology Department at the University of Kentucky. Emphasizes the importance of advising, liaison activities, curriculum development, and support of good teaching. Contends that the program is a successful approach to increasing enrollments and furthers the…

Noting difficult and potentially dangerous situations encountered by students in their internships, this article describes a professional socialization course designed to foster awareness of professional ethics, organizations, journals, and, through case studies, practices. (JDH)

This article addresses some of the contextual factors that influence faculty evaluation in a small, church-related liberal arts college and identifies five areas in which structural and normative constraints of the institution may affect individual faculty ratings. Provides recommendations for preparing evaluations which minimize the impact of…

Presented in this address by the recipient of the American Sociological Association's award for contribution to undergraduate education are reflections on teaching and a personal biography. Social relationships in academe are also discussed. (Author/RM)

Argues that current public disinterest in sociology is due to the unscientific way the subject is presented in introductory college courses. After comparing course content in introductory science and sociology courses, the authors conclude that only introductory demography courses would meet the criteria for a scientific approach to sociological…

To provoke thought among those teaching sociology, an undergraduate class is portrayed as a drama consisting of three parts: the classroom lecture, the discussion session led by a teaching fellow, and the office encounter between professor and student. Both the words and thoughts of the protagonists are presented. (Author/AM)

Discusses what contributes to the excellence of sociology researchers. Directs focus toward advanced sociology undergraduate students and beginning graduate students. Emphasizes the personal qualities of researchers offering four examples to illustrate these qualities. Addresses the importance of files, multiple data sources, and personal…

Focuses on teaching sociology to prisoners, the benefits of teaching prisoners, and the experience of teaching the courses to prisoners. Addresses how the author took the experience of teaching prison students into traditional undergraduate courses. Highlights the implications for teaching sociology. (CMK)

Discusses the importance of out-of-class experiences and reviews the literature on outcomes of this "other" or "informal" curriculum. Argues that, by sharing some data on academic and professional socialization from students, faculty, and departments, most departments do not adequately provide these opportunities. Evaluates barriers to providing…