Undergraduate Course: Doing Survey Research (SCIL10063)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Sociology |
Other subject area | Social Policy |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | This course is designed to meet the needs of those students who want to develop their knowledge of survey methods, introductory statistics and quantitative data analysis. You will learn how to access and analyse extensive secondary data, to create and analyse large survey data using the leading social scientific software for the analysis of statistical data, SPSS. The course addresses issues in the understanding of different forms of data, a range of survey research issues, and in reviewing aspects of social survey research methods encourages you to critically assess theory and explore productive ways of examining aspects of human experience. You will develop your skills in a range of data analysis techniques and have an opportunity to think about the kinds of decisions you may have to make in developing your project/dissertation. The course includes an introduction to social surveys and statistics, and specific techniques of data analysis are developed by examining a number of contemporary social surveys. You will have a chance in the course for hands-on work using the most up to date computing hardware and software. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Social and Political Enquiry 2 (SSPS08004)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Social Policy or closely related courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
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| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2011/12 Semester 2, Available to all students (SV1)
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WebCT enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| Central | Lecture | | 1-11 | 14:00 - 14:50 | | | | | | Central | Lecture | | 1-11 | | | | 14:00 - 15:50 | |
| First Class |
Week 18, Monday, 14:00 - 14:50, Zone: Central. Seminar Room 1, Chrystal Macmillan Building/Thursdays in Labs 2-4 pm |
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course candidates will have:
- a basic knowledge of research design as it relates to the selection of documentary sources, evaluation of existing data-sets, and survey research
- an understanding of and ability to use basic descriptive and inferential statistics, and the use of SPSS for bivariate and multivariate analysis.
- a basic understanding of the issues involved in drawing inferences and generalisations from samples to larger populations.
- some familiarity with the use of software packages for analysing qualitative data. |
Assessment Information
Two take-home exercises (50%).
One take-home examination (50%). |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Alison Koslowski
Tel: (0131 6)51 1147
Email: alison.koslowski@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Sue Renton
Tel: (0131 6)50 6958
Email: Sue.Renton@ed.ac.uk |
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© Copyright 2011 The University of Edinburgh - 16 January 2012 6:47 am
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