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2011/2 Provisional Module Catalogue - UNDER CONSTRUCTION & SUBJECT TO CHANGE
 Module Code: SOC1007 Module Title: QUANTITATIVE METHODS 1
Module Provider: Sociology Short Name: SOC104
Level: HE1 Module Co-ordinator: BRUNTON-SMITH IR Mr (Sociology)
Number of credits: 20 Number of ECTS credits: 10
 
Module Availability

Year

Assessment Pattern
Components of Assessment
Method(s)
Percentage Weighting
Examination
Two unseen examinations
50% each 
Module Overview

This foundation module is designed to give students a basic grasp of the statistical techniques necessary for implementing and critically evaluating social research. 

 
Prerequisites/Co-requisites
GCSE Maths at ‘C’ or above
Module Aims

Having completed the module, students should:

 

1.       Have a thorough grounding in basic univariate and simple bivariate statistical techniques.

 

2.       Be able to read and describe simple statistical tables and graphs

 

3.       Have an understanding of the use of computer software for statistical analysis.

 

 

 
Learning Outcomes

 

Having completed the module, students should:

 

1.       Have a thorough grounding in basic univariate and simple bivariate statistical techniques.

 

2.       Be able to read and describe simple statistical tables and graphs

 

3.       Have an understanding of the use of computer software for statistical analysis.

 

  1.  
Module Content

Topics covered include: The role of statistics in modern societies. Levels of measurement and types of variable. Estimators of central tendency and dispersion.  Elementary probability. Common distributions.  Sampling theory and practice.  Statistical inference, estimation and hypothesis testing.  Contingency tables.  Bivariate linear regression. Emphasis will be put on when and how to use statistical techniques, and the interpretation of results, rather than on theoretical derivations.  A familiarity with the SPSS for Windows computer package is also acquired during practical work.

 

 
Methods of Teaching/Learning

Lectures and classes
Selected Texts/Journals

Essential Reference

 

Wright, Daniel B. (2002), First Steps in Statistics, Sage, London

 

Agresti, A & Finlay, B (1997), Statistical methods for the social sciences, Prentice Hall.

 

 

Recommended References

 

Fielding J, & Gilbert N, (2000) Understanding Social Statistics, Sage, London

 

Healey J, (1993) Statistics: A Tool for 
Social Research, 3rd Edition, Wadsworth Publishing Co. Belmont, California

 

Clegg F, (1992), Simple Statistics, Cambridge University Press

 

 
Last Updated

Sept 2010