This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.
Postgraduate Handbook 2019-2020 (archived)
Module SOCI57815: Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences
Department: Sociology
SOCI57815: Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences
| Type | Level | Credits | Availability | Module Cap | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 4 | 15 | Available in 2019/2020 | 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.
- Numerical taxonomy and cluster analysis.
- Case-based methods and QCA.
- Simulation techniques.
- Social network analysis.
- Representing complex systems and exploring complex cause.
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge
- At the end of the module students will:
- understand how to employ appropriate procedures in quantitative research;
- 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 configurational methods including qualitative comparative analysis (QCA);
- have been introduced to the role of simulation in social science.
- have been introduced to social network analysis methods.
Subject-specific Skills
- be capable of designing a quantitative study of causal complexity using suitable data and appropriate techniques of analysis.
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. Sessions, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 will be taught in the form of an interactive lecture interspersed with small group activities and whole group discussions. Sessions 3, 5, 7 and 9 will involve practical instruction in the IT lab.
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
| Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total Hours | Attendance Monitored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other: Combined lecture/seminar (sessions 1-6 & 10) and IT practical (sessions 7-9) | 10 | Weekly | 2 hours | 20 | Yes |
| 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
One 1500 word essay which asks students to outline the methodological and philosophical features of one of the methods taught on the module. This allows students to test their understanding of these conceptual and methodological issues which are examined as part of the later summative assessment.
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.