How to Teach a Sociology Student Good Data Analiysis Using SPSS?

The paper presents the author’s thoughts and explores the process of teaching sociology students to analyze data using SPSS and the course book by N. Voronina, published in 2024. It also provides a brief overview of the available domestic learning materials in SPSS-based data analysis and argues that the genre of course books written by a new generation of researchers and teachers is of relevance. N. Voronina’s course book shows an understanding of the specifics of sociology students, as students who still have signs of avoiding information that is heavy in formulas and mathematical terminology, together with an understanding of how important is gaining analytical skills for professional activities. The author argues that this contradiction can be removed by bringing the research methodology to the forefront, while the analysis methods themselves should come second. The author’s high level of empathy towards students who study analysis and the use of 232 pictures embracing all the nuances of the applied processes can contribute to effective learning and application of the methods under consideration. The course book outlines all data processing and analysis approaches that may be required to develop the basic skills of a sociology research analyst. Deep and substantial description of regression analysis, decision tree method (CHAID), and discriminant analysis techniques are redundant in this context. Therewith, the author disregards the fact that the most common sociology research method is crosstabs, and its brief overview in the course book is insufficient.