A Multi-institutional Study of Students’ Perceptions and Experiences in the Research-based Capstone Course in Sociology

Abstract

In this article, we describe student perceptions of, and experiences in, a one-semester, required sociology research capstone course. The data come from 106 students in eight sections of the course taught at three institutions. We used multiple methods for data collection: questionnaires, focus groups, and learning reflection essays. Our results include students’ having a good sense of what to expect from the course, reporting learning many research-related skills, and having more positive attitudes about the course in the postmeasures than in the premeasures. Students also stated that the highly structured nature of the course was important for their success but somewhat frustrating. Other important student perceptions were that the course was demanding and time consuming; past courses helped prepare for the capstone experience but that there are gaps in this preparation; they learn best via active learning, feedback, and application; they are proud of their course achievements; and they are engaged in the discipline but are ambiguous about future work in sociology.