Lena Etuk
On this episode of the “Research in Action” podcast, Katie is joined by Lena Etuk, a Social Demographer at the Oregon State University Extension Service. Lena has a Masters of Science in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a specialty in social stratification and demography. Since joining the OSU Extension Service, she has worked to increase Oregonians’ access to social scientific information that can help them and their communities realize positive change. She works with community members, non-profits, government, public agencies, and Extension Service faculty to create, recognize, and capitalize on opportunities for data-driven decision making.
Transcript (.docx)
Show notes
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Segment 1: What is social demography? [00:00-9:55]
In this first segment, Lena defines demography and social demography and offers some examples of the issues that social demographers are concerned with that effect population change. Lena also describes the work of applied social demography.
In this segment, the following resources are mentioned:
- Although not mentioned directly in the episode, here is an example of a social demography report related to Hurricane Katrina, which is an example we discuss in this segment
- American FactFinder to resource to access data from the US Census Bureau
Segment 2: Applications of social demography [9:56-20:25]
In segment two, Lena describes some of the skills and methods of social demographers and how social demographers specialize.
In this segment, the following resources are mentioned:
- The Rural Communities Explorer, which includes a resource to access data and information about Oregon and Siskiyou County, CA communities
- American FactFinder to resource to access data from the US Census Bureau
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics to access data about employment
- The Bureau of Economic Analysis to access regional economic data on GDP and personal income
Segment 3: Fostering a culture of data-driven decision making [20:26-30:51]
In segment three, Lena and I discuss definitions of data and whether anecdote can be considered as data.
In this segment, the following resources are mentioned:
- Metaphor about blind people touching an elephant
- A Venn diagram that Lena has created to explain data-based decision making (PDF)
Lena also recommends The Methods and Materials of Demography by David Swanson & Jacob Siegel and Applied Demography by Jacob Siegel as great resources that she frequently references.
Bonus Clip: Pathways to Becoming a Social Demographer [00:00-2:49]
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The views expressed by guests on the Research in Action podcast do not necessarily represent the views of Ecampus or Oregon State University.
