Early Returns: Exploratory Data Analysis of the 2010-2011: First Global Lonergan Survey

Initially inspired by a 2009 Boston College Lonergan Fellow’s survey interest in the international use of Lonergan’s empirical method in the social sciences, the Global Lonergan Survey (GLS) is a data collection instrument available on the Internet since January 2010. This paper details the survey design as it developed through the collaborative support of many with an interest in Lonergan studies. As the first systematic, “cloud-based” assessment effort concerned with the diffusion of Lonergan's legacy in education throughout the world, the non-anonymous survey presents queries about a respondent’s academic background and teaching circumstances. Particular questions on moral conversion address those engaged in first year undergraduate instruction. There are questions designed to capture graduate student perspectives. In addition to simple binary and multiple choice questions, open-ended queries provide an opportunity for those surveyed to offer insight and provide suggestions on future implementation of Lonergan studies. The 2011 West Coast Methods Institute (WCMI) paper is an exploratory data analysis of the current valid survey sample: n=98 to date. The WCMI presentation offers summary survey outcomes to those actively involved in Lonergan studies, with a view to discussion of future steps.