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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2023/2024

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Social and Political Science : School (School of Social and Political Studies)

Undergraduate Course: Introduction to Statistics for Social Science (SSPS08008)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Social and Political Science CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course introduces fundamental statistical concepts for social science data analysis for students undertaking 'with Quantitative Methods' degrees.
Course description The course is an introduction to statistically orientated data analysis for social science research. It is designed for students who also study Sociology, Social Policy, Politics, and International Relations. The course will introduce a broad range of key statistical concepts and tools for social science research. These include quantitative data and questions; the variable by case matrix; distributions; measures of central tendency and dispersion; research designs and sampling; statistical inference; bivariate associations; and introduction to linear regression. The course will also introduce students to the statistical data analysis workflow, and students will be encouraged to develop a rudimentary understanding of transparent and reproducible statistically orientated social science data analysis. Students will be introduced to the general purpose statistical software package Stata.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed:
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements While entry to this course normally requires a pass at B in Mathematics at SQA Higher or A-level, students with confidence in their level (high school equivalent) of mathematical knowledge will be considered for admission. Please contact the course convenor if would like to join the course but have any concerns about your current Mathematical knowledge being sufficient.
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2023/24, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  60
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 10, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20, Formative Assessment Hours 1, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 165 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) 40% Exercise Assessment
60% Data Analysis Practical Assessment
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Understand a broad range of key statistical concepts for social science research
  2. Present and communicate results from statistical analysis
  3. Demonstrate that they have developed foundational skills and expertise in statistically orientated social science data analysis
  4. Use statistical data analysis software to solve research problems
  5. Have an understanding of the statistical data analysis workflow
Reading List
Diez, D.; Cetinkaya-Rundel, M., & Barr, C.D. (2022). OpenIntro Statistics, Fourth Edition. Available at https://www.openintro.org/go/?id=os4_for_screen_readers&referrer=/book/os/index.php

Huntington-Klein, N. (2021). The effect: An introduction to research design and causality. CRC Press. Online version available at https://theeffectbook.net/

Additional readings

De Vries, R. (2019). Critical Statistics: Seeing beyond the headlines. Macmillan International.

Bueno de Mesquita, E., & Fowler, A. (2021). Thinking clearly with data: A guide to quantitative reasoning and analysis. Princeton University Press
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsStatistics,Data Analysis,Stata
Contacts
Course organiserDr Ginevra Floridi
Tel: (01316) 517112
Email: Ginevra.Floridi@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMr James Heitler
Tel:
Email: jheitler@ed.ac.uk
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