University of Surrey - Guildford
Registry
  
 

  
 
Registry > Provisional Module Catalogue - UNDER CONSTRUCTION & SUBJECT TO CHANGE
View Module List by A.O.U. and Level  Alphabetical Module Code List  Alphabetical Module Title List  Alphabetical Old Short Name List  View Menu 
2011/2 Provisional Module Catalogue - UNDER CONSTRUCTION & SUBJECT TO CHANGE
 Module Code: SOC3031 Module Title: ADVANCED QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
Module Provider: Sociology Short Name: SOC3031
Level: HE3 Module Co-ordinator: BRUNTON-SMITH IR Mr (Sociology)
Number of credits: 15 Number of ECTS credits: 7.5
 
Module Availability
Semester 1
Assessment Pattern

Unit(s) of Assessment

 
Weighting Towards Module Mark( %)

 

3500 word research project

 

100

 

Qualifying Condition(s) 

 

A weighted aggregate mark of 40% is required to pass the module.

 
Module Overview
This module will explore a number of cutting edge quantitative techniques available to social scientists to more accurately model complex social phenomena. Focusing on seminal examples from across the social sciences, the theory and application of these methods will be discussed in detail. Hands on workshops will then give students the opportunity to implement these techniques on real world data. Throughout, emphasis will be put on when and how to use these statistical techniques, and the interpretation of results, rather than on theoretical derivations.
Prerequisites/Co-requisites

None
Module Aims

To give an introduction to cutting edge quantitative techniques available to allow modelling of complex social phenomena

 

·         To enable students to critically evaluate existing empirical studies adopting complex quantitative methods

 

  • To understand how to implement advanced quantitative methods on real world data
Learning Outcomes

Students completing this module will:

 

·         Have a detailed understanding of some of the cutting edge quantitative methods available to social scientists

 

·         Be able to critically evaluate existing research using these methods

 

·         Know how to implement these methods on real world data

 
Module Content

·         Generalized Linear Models

 

·         Structural Equation Models

 

·         Multilevel Models

 

  • Missing data models
Methods of Teaching/Learning

11 lectures and 11 computer workshops

Fortnightly reading and seminar preparation

Computer workshops and drop-in sessions to discuss research project
Selected Texts/Journals

Goldstein, H. (2010) Multilevel Statistical Models, 4th ed. Wiley

 

Hox, J. (2010) Multilevel analysis: Techniques and Applications, 2nd ed. Routledge

Bollen, K. (1989). Structural Equations with Latent Variables. Wiley

Kline, R. B. (2005) Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling. The Guilford Press

Enders, C. (2010) Applied missing data analysis. The Guilford Press

Dobson, A.J., & Barnett, A.G. (2008). Introduction to Generalized Linear Models, 3rd ed. Chapman and Hall

 
Last Updated
April 2011