This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.

Postgraduate Handbook 2015-2016 (archived)

Module SOCI57815: Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences

Department: Applied Social Sciences

SOCI57815: Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences

Type	Level	Credits	Availability	Module Cap	Location
Open	4	15	Available in 2015/2016		Durham

Pre-requisites

None

Corequisites

Statistical Exploration and Reasoning (SOCI 59215)

Excluded Combinations

None

Aims

to introduce students to the general nature of the quantitative programme in social science.
to outline the role of quantification in the exploration of the social world.
to consider the possibility of quantitative specification of causality in social science.

Content

Complex realism and quantitative social science.
Measurement and operationalization.
Sampling and questionnaire design.
Numerical taxonomy and cluster analysis.
Case-based methods and QCA.
Simulation techniques.
Representing complex systems and exploring complex cause.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge

At the end of the module students will:
be familiar with the basic principles of measurement in social science including an advanced understanding of issues of operationalization;
understand how to employ appropriate procedures in quantitative research;
understand the basic principles of survey analysis including issues of statistical inference from samples;
understand the essential principles of secondary data analysis;
understand the application of quantitative modelling procedures to real data sets;
understand and be able to use processes of numerical taxonomy;
understand the logic of figurational methods including qualitative comparative analysis (QCA);
have been introduced to the role of simulation in social science.

Subject-specific Skills

be capable of designing a survey in terms of sample design and questionnaire design.

Key Skills

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

The module will be taught by way of ten two-hour sessions, The first six sessions and the final session will be taught in the form of an interactive mini-lecture interspersed with small group activities and whole group discussions. Sessions seven, eight and nine will involve practical instruction in the IT lab.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity	Number	Frequency	Duration	Total Hours
Other: Combined lecture/seminar (sessions 1-6 & 10) and IT practical (sessions 7-9)	10	Weekly	2 hours	20
Preparation and Reading				130
Total:				150

Summative Assessment

Component	Component Weighting	Element	Length/Duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Assignment	100%	Assignment	3000 words	100%	Yes

Formative Assessment

Assignment - 1500 words.

Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.