The module will focus on the concepts, methods and skills which are central to quantitative social research. In addition to quantitative data analysis, approaches to data collection, and concept, operationalisation will be considered (e.g. the design of social surveys; index construction).

Key aspects of descriptive and inferential statistics will be covered, stretching from comparisons of means and the examination of simple cross-tabulations to an initial discussion of multivariate approaches, focusing on linear and logistic forms of regression.

The illustration and application of the techniques will utilise statistical software, specifically SPSS for Windows (SPSS Statistics 22) and will be based on 'hands-on' manipulation and analysis of data from one or more existing, high profile quantitative sources (such as those that can be obtained from the UK Data Archive).

Module handbook 2014-15