The University of Connecticut’s School of Public Policy (SPP) is proud to announce the renaming of our Master of Arts in Survey Research (MASR) program to the Master of Arts in Survey Research and Data Analysis (SRDA)!
Professor Thomas Craemer explains,
We utilized Burning Glass data and focus group data from alumni and students to construct our new name, which reflects a broader focus of our survey research curriculum.
Professor Craemer led the curriculum review committee, which included professors Eric Brunner, Nina Brooks, Mohamad Alkadry, Yusun Kim and Jenn Dineen. In addition to a name change, curriculum changes also include:
- PP 5332 Advanced Quantitative Methods is now a core course.
- The Internship requirement has been reduced to 3 credits.
The SRDA core curriculum now consists of eight core course requirements, with PP5341 Public Opinion and PP5385 Attitude Formation as alternatives. Six credits of elective are required. If a student does not have at least two years of relevant professional experience, then they must complete a 3-credit internship for one of their electives.
| 1 Statistical techniques including advanced regression / Machine Learning |
| 2 Using a statistical application package such as SPSS, Stata, or R |
| 3 Software / Programming: Python |
| 4 Developing a research plan to best answer a particular question |
| 5 Constructing qualitative instruments such as cognitive interviews, focus group moderating guides, or ethnographic interviewing guides |
| 6 Ability to use data to answer business or policy questions |
| 7 Construct standardized survey questions |
| 8 Identifying threats to survey question reliability |
| 9 Identifying threats to survey question validity |
| 10 Design self-administered and interviewer administered surveys |
| 11 Sampling Methodology / Complex Samples / Develop a sampling plan |
| 12 Reducing error in survey research |
| 13 Demonstrate knowledge of methods and techniques utilized in primary data collection |
| 14 Quantitative data analysis / Analytics / Data visualization |
| 15 Analysis of qualitative data |
| 16 Report on research findings |
| 17 The ability to understand a research question and propose a plan to address it |
| 18 Models of the survey response / Cognitive processes |
| 19 Experimental design / Survey experiments |
| 20 Complex Data / Big Data |
| 21 Data Collection (Surveys and Webscraping) |
| 22 Project Management (incl. Quality Assurance and Control) |
| 23 Data Management (storage, ethics, IRB and CITI training) |
| 24 Cultural competency in communicating with diverse groups of survey respondents and consumers of survey research |
| 25 Ability to work and thrive in a diverse workplace |
Interested in joining our first SRDA cohort? Check out our admissions page for application requirements. Our final deadline for fall 2023 is May 15th!