| Unit name | Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences |
|---|---|
| Unit code | SOCIM0011 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. de Abreu Maia |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
This unit is designed as an introduction to research design and data analysis in
quantitative social sciences– an increasingly popular and desirable research method in
academia, government, charities, international organizations and the private sector. It
covers topics such as questionnaire design; sampling and problems of missing data;
programming in statistical packages - Excel, Stata and R; inputting and manipulating
data; deriving variables; reliability and scaling; levels of measurement- nominal, ordinal
and interval; distributions and three-way tables; crosstabulations; chi-square test;
causality and control variables; measures of association; and secondary data analysis.
The emphasis is on becoming a critical and intelligent user of statistics. You will be
guided through the basics of descriptive statistics to structured analysis using hypothesis
testing. By the end of this unit you will be able to evaluate the research practice, data and
interpretations of other scholars and conduct your own quantitative analyses at an
intermediate level.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit will provide you with the tools needed to conduct introductory and intermediate
data analysis. These tools are instrumental to evaluating other scholars' methodological
choices in the social sciences and can be used to inform your readings in every unit you
take in your programme. In addition, these methodologies are the basis for continuous
training, if you decide to further your studies of quantitative methods in SOCIM3133 –
Advanced Quantitative Research and POLIM0021 – Advanced Quantitative Methods for
Social and Policy Research. Finally, you may employ these tools in your own work,
including in your dissertation.
This unit introduces students to the basics of quantitative social research methods. Topics covered include:
By the end of this unit, students will have developed the following skills:
At the end of this unit a successful student will be able to:
The unit will be taught through blended learning methods, including a mix of synchronous and asynchronous teaching activities. It will include 1-hour weekly in-person lectures, 1-hour in-person labs or seminar discussions and asynchronous materials posted to the unit's Blackboard website.
During weeks 7-9, you will make a brief presentation (approximately 5 minutes and 3 slides) of your intended summative assessment project. You will outline your research question, dataset chosen to answer it, and the methodology chosen for the data analysis. You will then receive verbal feedback from your tutor and colleagues. You are expected to incorporate this feedback in your summative assessment. This presentation is purely formative, with the solo goal of aiding you to better shape your summative assessment.
Your summative assessment, due during the assessment period, will be a piece of secondary data analysis equivalent to a 4000-word essay, evaluating ILOs 1-4. In it, students will be required to conduct analyses employing one or more of the statistical methods taught in the unit, using datasets available on the unit's Blackboard website.
Reassessment will be a rewrite of the original summative assessment, incorporating marker’s feedback.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. SOCIM0011).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
