Blog Post #1
My main idea for the research is the concept of the change in college majors across the time-frame of 1978 until today. If I am allowed, I plan on doing data analysis to create a report of how the shift in majors compares to the changing price of college. Assuming the major / graduate studies data is available, I can conduct statistical analysis by using ratios based on average salaries of majors adjusted for inflation and potentially run a regression to find if there is a relationship between the price sensitivity on majors. I could also use academic articles to back up my findings and use them to make it more easier to explain aside from the analysis alone. I don't really need any crazy data just the count of students in each major / master field and the tuition prices in a school.
The ratio variable I would use would include the average salary of the highest field of study (undergraduate, graduate), and since some levels of education take more time then others I would create something like a payback period ratio in order to determine the effectiveness for the major/master while keeping the college cost in mind. If I can get my hands on some data for this I think it would be really interesting to do some analysis in my essay rather than just regurgitating some academic articles I found that only support my point of view.
I like history-driven projects, which very few students tend to undertake. You might look at the history of Rutgers, and it should be possible to get data on college majors with a little effort (though you might have to visit the New Jersey Room at the library for help locating older stats). You should also look at the way Rutgers has evolved over time, from being several mostly liberal arts colleges (Livingston, Douglass, Mason Gross, Cook and Rutgers colleges) to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to School of Arts and Sciences surrounded by professional schools (including the school of Business, Pharmacy, Enginering, etc.)
ReplyDeleteOne possible source of Rutgers historical data is the Rutgers University Fact Book and the Fact Book Archive:
ReplyDeletehttps://oirap.rutgers.edu/instchar/factbook.html
https://oirap.rutgers.edu/instchar/Factbook_PDFs/FactBooks-Archive/FactBookArchive.html
I am going to do some research and ask around for advice. including Ryan Womack who specializes in data.
It might also be useful to look at Rutgers since 1945: A History of the State University of New Jersey, by Paul G.E. Clemens, which would at least provide some context.
Ryan Womack recommended this site:
ReplyDeletehttps://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data