Dr Simon Massey
Dr Simon Massey
Associate Head of Sociology
My profile
Biography
I am currently an Associate Head to the Department of Sociology. My research expertise align Quantitative Methods with the Sociology of Education.
My research interests are Attitudes to Subjects, with a recent focus on Attitudes to Mathematics and Statistics. My research informs my teaching as I teach statistics to predominantly Sociology and Criminology students, but have also worked with student across the University amongst other Universities.
Part of my role is the Education Lead for the Department. This entails supporting staff and students to ensure we provide the best educational experiences we can, that is fun, informative and useful for our students’ future careers. I am also the Director of the Q-Step centre, who teach quantitative methods from Foundation Year to Postgraduate study and actively research a number of topics using Quantitative Methodologies.
Here is a short video about me
Words of wisdom
Don’t be afraid to go out of your comfort zone. Take advantage of the opportunities presented to you and enjoy your time here. Use your education as an opportunity to learn about yourself as well as your subjects. Enjoy the friendships that you will build and cherish the many memories that you will make whilst studying. Embrace the challenges ahead and always remember what you are working towards.
Academic and professional qualifications
PhD (MMU) BA (MMU), MSC (MMU), PGCLTHE (MMU),
Other academic service (administration and management)
Previous Coordinator of MMU’s Numeracy Support Service, “The Numeracy Project”, providing tailored support in Numeracy and Statistical Research Methods across the University.
Membership of professional associations
Member of British Sociological Association
Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Teaching
Why do I teach?
I teach because am passionate about education and I believe Sociology is an exciting and important subject. Most importantly, I love to teach. I believe university is one of the most important times in our lives and work to ensure that my students enjoy learning whilst developing their skills and getting ready for their careers.
How I’ll teach you
I love my subject and therefore love teaching it. I also believe the most important perspective in learning is the student’s and welcome feedback to my sessions. I also encourage student-centred learning and believe you should develop additional skills for your desired careers whilst you develop academically.
I will always work to ensure you have the most informative and enjoyable experiences as possible and I will always encourage you to push yourself.
Why study…
I am the current unit leader for:
Applied Quantitative Project
Subject areas
Sociology of Education
Research Methods
Research outputs
My main research interests are
- Quantitative Research Methods
- Attitudinal Measurement
- Research with Schools
- Educational Identities
- Pedagogy and Teaching Research Methods
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Books (authored/edited/special issues)
Massey, S. (2019) Learn to Interpret and Revise Factor Scales in SPSS With Data From the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, Well-Being Module (2015). SAGE Publications Ltd..
Massey, S. (2019) Learn to Use the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Test in SPSS With Data From the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues Teaching Dataset (Open Access Dataset) (2012). SAGE Publications Ltd..
Massey, S. (2019) Learn to Interpret Second Order Factors in SPSS AMOS With Data From the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (2012). SAGE Publications Ltd..
Massey, S. (2019) Learn to Interpret and Conduct Rotation Methods in SPSS With Data From the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (2014). SAGE Publications Ltd..
Massey, S. (2019) Learn to Interpret Factor Loadings in SPSS With Data From the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, Well-Being Module (2015). SAGE Publications Ltd..
Massey, S. (2019) Learn to Interpret and Revise Factor Scales in R With Data From the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, Well-Being Module (2015). SAGE Publications, Ltd..
Massey, S. (2019) Learn to Use the Multilevel Model Test in R With Data From the Longitudinal Educational Outcomes Dataset (2017–18). SAGE Publications, Ltd..
Massey, S. (2019) Learn to Interpret and Conduct Rotation Methods in R With Data From the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (2014). SAGE Publications, Ltd..
Massey, S. (2019) Learn to Conduct Divergent (Discriminant) Validity in R With Data From the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, Well-Being Module (April–May 2015). SAGE Publications, Ltd..
Massey, S. (2019) Learn to Interpret Factor Loadings in R With Data From the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, Well-Being Module (2015). SAGE Publications, Ltd..
Massey, S. (2019) Learn to Use the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Test in R With Data From the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues Teaching Dataset (Open Access Dataset) (2012). SAGE Publications, Ltd..
Massey, S. (2019) Learn to Conduct Divergent (Discriminant) Validity in SPSS With Data From Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (2014). SAGE Publications, Ltd..
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Reports
Cain, E., Goldring, J.E., Scott Jones, J., Watt, S., Simpson, N., Massey, S. (2015) Saving Lives With Advice: The Impact of Advice on the Health and Wellbeing of Citizens Advice Manchester clients. https://www.onestopadvice.org.uk/.
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Internet publications
Massey, S. (2019) Learn to use the multilevel model test in SPSS with data from the longitudinal educational outcomes dataset (2017–18).. https://methods.sagepub.com/dataset/multi-level-modal-leo-2017.
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Journal articles
Massey, S. (2023) 'Using draw a person tasks to measure children’s assigned Gender Ability Beliefs.' International Journal of Social Research Methodology,
Massey, S. (2021) 'Using Emojis and drawings in surveys to measure children’s attitudes to mathematics.' International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 25(6) pp. 877-889.
Massey, S. (2020) 'Book Review: Education for Democratic Intercultural Citizenship.' Citizenship Teaching & Learning, 15(3) pp. 391-392.
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Conference papers
Harris, S., Massey, S., Cordner, C., Scott Jones, J. (2024) 'Less anxious, more confident: the use of playful pedagogy to support student learning of quantitative methods.' 18/6/2024 - 21/6/2024. Universitat Politècnica de València, pp. 665-672.