2218 - Public Launch and Training for Sociological use of MIDFIELD Dataset on Undergraduate Student Persistence

Session Submission Type: Workshop

Description

This workshop represents a public launch of a longitudinal database of individual student records at 100 institutions across the USA. In this workshop participants will be provided with context to understand the potential of the database, explore research with this resource, and learn how to access the database. Originally funded to understand disparities in student outcomes for undergraduates in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) majors (primarily engineering), the dataset has been continuously funded by the National Science Foundation for 30 years, rendering a unique census of undergraduate student persistence over time in all majors. Sociologists working on issues of inequities in education, particularly STEM education, will benefit from learning how to access and use these data. The name of the database is the “Multiple-Institution Database for Investigating Engineering Longitudinal Development” (MIDFIELD). MIDFIELD is a comprehensive resource that contains a wealth of student unit-record data including demographic, enrollment, course performance, and graduation data obtained directly from partner universities. The data are de-identified, clean, coded, and curated into sociological categories. The National Science Foundation encourages public use of this dataset through partnerships and data use agreements; there are no fees associated with access or use of the MIDFIELD dataset.

After the workshop, participants will have achieved the following learning objectives:
-Describe longitudinal NSF database called MIDFIELD, and understand its potential for understanding diversity in academic persistence of students by group, and across time and space.
-Demonstrate previous findings from this database
-Identify new sociological questions that could be answered with MIDFIELD
-Outline process to join and access MIDFIELD

The format of this workshop will incorporation a multi-method-, active-learning approach with small group work, and a participatory format.

Sub Unit

• Workshops / Policy and Research Workshop

Session Organizer

• Michelle Madsen Camacho, University of San Diego

Co-Leaders

• Susan Lord, University of San Diego, Engineering

• Matthew Ohland, Purdue University