During most of his professional career, Anderson actively contributed in three distinct disciplines: sociology, educational research, and computer science.
In August, 2012, the Communication and Information Technology Section[4] of the American Sociological Association will honor him with the prestigious William F. Ogburn Lifetime Achievement Award[5] Anderson learned secondary data analysis skills from his mentor, Stuart C. Dodd at the University of Washington in 1963, and his advisor, John W. Meyer at Stanford University.
The resulting paper,[6] published in the Public Opinion Quarterly, was reprinted in several major political science texts and was discussed at length by Herbert Hyman, who considered the Anderson-Field link between theoretical analysis and creative mining of secondary data resources to be exemplary and a contribution to both theory and data analysis methodology.
One of the papers from this project was published in 1984 and was the first report on the digital divide in the United States using large-scale, national survey data.
These results, with lengthy quotes from Anderson, who directed the US portion of the study, were widely disseminated in the popular media including articles in the New York Times,[9] the Washington Post,[10] Business Week,[11] the Wall Street Journal,[12] and Ms.
Throughout his career as a sociologist, he also worked as a computer consultant developing applications for many educational, governmental and business organizations.
[19] He also (with David Garson) has served as Co-Editor of the Sage Publishing academic journal, Social Science Computer Review, since 1987.
It consisted of a [microsimulation] model of the effects of hypothetical changes in sentencing laws upon prison and probation populations.
Congressman Al Gore invited Anderson to participate in the “Computers and Education Hearings” of the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight of the House Science and Technology Committee[31] in Washington, D.C., on September 29, 1983.
[32] The statement emphasized differences in the implementation of computer utilization in schools based upon social and demographic factors, and the need for local and national evidence-based accountability.
The principal products of this international Committee during that time was to hold two symposia and collectively author a book entitled Perspectives and Policies on ICT in Society, which was published by Springer in 2007.
These results, with lengthy quotes from Anderson, who directed the US portion of the study, were widely disseminated in the popular media including articles in USA Today,[46] and Education Week.
Six years later in 1998, Ron Anderson (with Henry J. Becker) conducted another national survey of schools and teachers: Teaching, Learning and Computing.
The principal findings of the study were that teacher professional identities, constructivist pedagogy, and instructionally oriented technology support were key factors in effective use of computers in teaching.
"[55] The results of this large study of innovative exemplars of teaching with technology for the United States can be found online.
[56] Anderson contributed to theories on the sociology of educational technology, especially in the areas of Diffusion of Innovations and application of Information Society concepts.
[30] The former study found that while the time of adoption of computers in teaching followed an S-shaped curve as predicted by diffusion theory, the majority of applications used were not particularly innovative.
While Anderson began in the 1990s, applying information economy and knowledge management concepts to theories of what students would need in the 21st Century, his most extensive analysis was published in 2008.
His original notions of the information society paradigm are generally accepted among those concerned with defining 21st Century Skills.
In 2004 he spent two weeks working with the [Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology] in [Bangkok], Thailand reviewing their IT-related projects and research needs.
He also has worked with several SRI International projects, funded by the [National Science Foundation] to develop performance assessments and surveys related ion the use of Information and communication technologies in education by both teachers and students.
[68] Coiro, Knobel, Lankshear & Leu note that this original work on measuring computing from the standpoint of literacy was a ground-breaking direction in educational research.
[69] Beginning in about 2007, Anderson decided he could contribute to the common good by addressing larger societal issues rather than technology alone.