These early research and teaching experiences have shaped my academic interests ever since. I have co-authored two books, a monograph on racial oppression and a textbook on research methods. My published articles deal mostly with issues in social psychology and methodology. Being at a liberal arts college dedicated to teaching excellence, I have devoted much time both to the development of my own teaching and to the promotion of teaching and undergraduate education. I am a longstanding member of the Section on Undergraduate Education of the American Sociological Association, and I have contributed several articles to, reviewed manuscripts and books for, and served from 1989 to 1992 on the editorial board of the journal Teaching Sociology. As a social scientist at a small college, I frequently advise students and colleagues on research projects, and I have participated in the evaluation of various college programs. In the mid-1990s, for example, I conducted an extensive evaluation of the Holy Cross First-Year Program (see the article in Change). From 1998 to 2000, I chaired of the College's Steering Committee on Reaccreditation, which was responsible for an extensive institutional self-study.

My two principal courses are social psychology and methods of social research. I taught social statistics regularly until the mid-1980s, when the Department eliminated statistics as an optional major requirement. (We currently require a one-semester course in methods.) I teach an advanced-level course in small group processes every other year. For many years I also taught race and ethnic relations. However, as others in the Department took responsibility for this course, I developed a course in the sociology of sport, which I have offered since fall 1998.

In fall 2001 I instituted the Holy Cross Student Survey (HCSS), a structured, personal interview survey of Holy Cross students conducted by students enrolled in my methods course. The primary purpose of the HCSS is to provide methods students with hands-on experience in conducting a personal interview survey, but it also generates high-quality data for research and evaluation. I have written an article about this project (see list of publications) and have established a Web site that describes its general purpose, sample, types of questions asked, and principal findings. Presently I am analyzing HCSS data on several topics, including friendship satisfaction, interpersonal competition, and the effect of alcohol consumption on academic achievement.

/ Books

with Jonathan H. Turner and David M. Musick, Oppression: A Sociohistory of Black-White Relations in America, Nelson-Hall, 1984.

with Bruce C. Straits, Approaches to Social Research, 4th Edition, Oxford University Press, 2005.
 

/ Articles

with John B. Christiansen, "The Construct Validation of a Short-Form Attitudes Toward Feminism Scale," Sociology and Social Research, 61, April, 1977:294-303.

with James R. Kluegel and Charles E. Starnes, "Subjective Class Identification: A Multiple Indicator Approach," American Sociological Review, 42, August, 1977:599-611.

with Eliot R. Smith, "Does Grade Inflation Decrease the Reliability of Grades?" Journal of Educational Measurement, 15, Spring, 1978:37-41.

with Jonathan H. Turner, "A Theory of Ethnic Oppression: Toward a Re- integration of Cultural and Structural Concepts in Ethnic Relations Theory," Social Forces, 56, June, 1978:1001-1018.

"Another Look at the Conformity Explanation of Group-Induced Shifts in Choice," Human Relations, 32, January, 1979:37-56.

with Kenneth W. Kerber, "Trait and Situational Attributions in a Naturalistic Setting: Familiarity, Liking, and Attribution Validity," Journal of Personality, 52, September, 1984:205-219.

"On Teaching Sampling: A Classroom Demonstration of Concepts, Principles, and Techniques," Teaching Sociology, 17, July, 1989:351-355.

with Stephen C. Ainlay and Victoria L. Swigert, "Aging and Religious Participation: Reconsidering the Effects of Health," Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 31, June, 1992:175-188.

with Victoria L. Swigert and Stephen C. Ainlay, "The Social Science Research Center at an Undergraduate College: Lessons from the Worcester Area Project on Aging," Teaching Sociology, 21, July, 1993:298-305.

with Robert H. Garvey and Gary A. Phillips, "Connecting the Academic and Social Lives of Students: The Holy Cross First-Year Program," Change, 30, May/June, 1998:18-25.

with Bruce C. Straits, “Survey Interviewing,” Pp. 59-82 in Jaber F. Gubrium and James A. Holstein, eds., Handbook of Interview Research: Context and Method, Sage, 2002.

with John A. Schmalzbauer, “Keeping Faith: A Religious Profile of Holy Cross Students.” Holy Cross Magazine, 7, 1, Winter, 2003:22-27.

The School Spirit Study Group, “Measuring School Spirit: A National Teaching Exercise,” Teaching of Psychology,31, 1, Winter, 2004:18-21.

“Groups, characteristics of,” in Roy Baumeister and Kathleen Vohs, eds., Encyclopedia of Social Psychology, forthcoming.

“The Campus Survey: Integrating Pedagogy, Scholarship, and Evaluation,” Teaching Sociology, forthcoming. 

/ Book Reviews, 1996 - Present

On Social Research and Its Language, by Paul F. Lazarsfeld. Society, 33, Sept-Oct, 1996:84-86.

The Craft of Inquiry: Theories, Methods, Evidence, by Robert R. Alford. Teaching Sociology, 27, January, 1999:84-86.

The Fight of the Century: Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, and the Struggle for Racial Equality by Thomas R. Hietala. Journal of Popular Culture, 38, August, 2005:979-981.

Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling and a World on the Brink by David Margolick. Journal of Popular Culture, forthcoming.

Session organizer, Teaching Sociology, 1997 Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association, Toronto.

Paper presentation, "Is Sociology a Science? A Classroom Exercise for Promoting Discussion," 1998 Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco.

Paper presentation, “The Campus Survey: Integrating Pedagogy, Scholarship, and Evaluation,” 2004 Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco.