- Department: Social Policy and Social Work
- Module co-ordinator: Dr. Naomi Finch
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: M
- Academic year of delivery: 2022-23
- See module specification for other years: 2021-22
Occurrence | Teaching period |
---|---|
A | Spring Term 2022-23 |
The module is designed to provide research training in quantitative methods for students doing post graduate research degrees in social policy and related disciplines. It aims to help students to develop practical skills in data analysis, using a standard statistical package (SPSS) and to give students an understanding of statistical theory.
Students will learn how to interpret critically the results of their quantitative analyses and to write up results in a clear and easily understood form. The module is also designed to help students to go on themselves to learn more specialised techniques as required in any further research work they undertake.
By the end of this module students should become familiar with some common statistical techniques that are most widely used in social sciences research; and have developed an ability to choose and conduct appropriate statistical analysis using SPSS. Students would be able to grasp the relevant knowledge and theory, and develop research skills as detailed below:
Knowledge and Theory
Research Skills
Task | Length | % of module mark |
---|---|---|
Essay/coursework Essay |
N/A | 100 |
None
Task | Length | % of module mark |
---|---|---|
Essay/coursework Essay |
N/A | 100 |
Information currently unavailable
Recommended readings for each week are listed below. Other useful references including some more specific and advanced techniques and web resources can be seen in the Resource list on the Module VLE.
Week 2:
Clegg, F. (1983) Simple Statistics: A Course Book for the Social Sciences. Cambridge: CUP.
Read chapter 4 The normal distribution.
Read chapter 5 Probability.
Field, A. (2009) Discovering Statistics Using SPSS, 3rd Ed. London: Sage.
Read chapter 2.
Hinton, P.R. (2004) Statistics Explained 2nd Ed. London: Routledge.
Read chapter 4 Introduction to hypothesis testing.
Read chapter 9 Significance, error and power.
Norusis, M. J. (2011) IBM SPSS Statistics 19 Guide To Data Analysis. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education.
Read chapter 2 An introductory tour of IBM SPSS Statistics.
Read chapter 4 Counting responses.
Read chapter 5 Computing descriptive statistics.
British Household Panel Survey website - http://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/bhps (accessed on 05.01.2015)
Understanding Society website - http://www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/ (accessed on 05.01.2015)
Week 3: HYPOTHESIS OF DIFFERENCE
Clegg, F. (1983) Simple Statistics: A Course Book for the Social Sciences. Cambridge: CUP.
Read chapter 6 What are statistical tests all about.
Read chapter 9 Simple statistical tests.
Read chapter 11 Two parametric tests.
Field, A. (2009) Discovering Statistics Using SPSS, 3rd Ed. London: Sage.
Read chapter 9 Comparing two means.
Read chapter 10 Comparing several means: ANOVA.
Norusis, M. J. (2011) IBM SPSS Statistics 19 Guide To Data Analysis. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education.
Read chapter 14 Testing a hypothesis about two independent means.
Read chapter 15 One-Way Analysis of Variance.
Week 4: HYPOTHESIS OF ASSOCIATION
Clegg, F. (1983) Simple Statistics: A Course Book for the Social Sciences. Cambridge: CUP.
Read chapter 15 Correlation.
Hinton, P.R. (2004) Statistics Explained 2nd Ed. London: Routledge.
Read chapter 19 Analysing frequency data: chi-square.
Norusis, M. J. (2011) IBM SPSS Statistics 19 Guide To Data Analysis. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education.
Read chapter 17 Comparing observed and expected counts.
Week 5: SIMPLE LINEAR REGRESSION
Field, A. (2009) Discovering Statistics Using SPSS, 3rd Ed. London: Sage.
Read chapter 7 Regression (Section 7.2-7.4)
Norusis, M. J. (2011) IBM SPSS Statistics 19 Guide To Data Analysis. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education.
Read chapter 20 Linear regression and correlation.
Week 6: MULTIPLE REGRESSION
Field, A. (2009) Discovering Statistics Using SPSS, 3rd Ed. London: Sage.
Read chapter 7 Regression (Section 7.5-7.11).
Norusis, M. J. (2011) IBM SPSS Statistics 19 Guide To Data Analysis. Upper
Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education.
Read chapter 23 Building multiple regression models.
Read chapter 24 Multiple regression diagnostics.
Week 7: LOGISTIC REGRESSION
Field, A. (2009) Discovering Statistics Using SPSS, 3rd Ed. London: Sage.
Read chapter 8 Logistic regression.
Pampel, F.C. (2000) Logistic Regression: A Primer. London: Sage.
Read chapter 1 The logic of logistic regression.
Read chapter 2: Interpreting logistic regression coefficients.
Read chapter 3: Estimation and model fit. Module Website
Week 8: FACTOR ANALYSIS
Field, A (2013) Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics: and sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll. (4th Ed.) London: Sage.
Read chapter 17: Exploratory Factor Analysis
Pedhazur, E., & Schmelkin, L. (1991) Measurement, design and analysis: an intergrated approach. NJ: Erlbaum.
Read chapter 22: Exploratory Factor Analysis
Tabachnick, B. G. & Fidell, L.S. (2014) Using Multivariate Statistics (6th Ed.). Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
Read chapter 13: Principal Components and Factor Analysis
Week 10: TECHNIQUE APPLICATION AND PRESENTING DATA
Papers to read for the lecture / seminar
OLS (linear) regression
Rose, J; Hewitt, B and Baxter, J (2011) Women and part-time employment: Easing or squeezing time pressure? In Journal of Sociology
http://jos.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/11/04/1440783311419907
Fitzpatrick, T; Abonyi, S and Kelly, I (2012) Factors Associated with Perceived Time Pressure among Employed Mothers and Fathers in Psychology Vol.3, No.2, 165-174 www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?paperID=17371
Lee, Y and Bhargava, V (2009) Leisure Time: Do Married and Single Individuals Spend It Differently? In Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal Volume 32, Issue 3, Article first published online: 2 JUL 2009, Article first published online: 2 JUL 2009
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1177/1077727X03261631/pdf
Logistic regression
Yoshida, A (2011) Dads who do Diapers: Factors Affecting Care of Young Children by Fathers in Journal of Family Issues 2012 33: 451 originally published online 5 August 2011
http://jfi.sagepub.com/content/33/4/451.full.pdf+html
Geisler, E (2012) How Policy Matters: Germanys Parental Leave Benefit Reform and Fathers Behaviour 1999-2009, MPIDR Working Paper WP 2012-021 July 2012
www.demogr.mpg.de/papers/working/wp-2012-021.pdf
Bernhardt, E; Noack, T; Lyngstad, T (2008) Shared Housework in Norway and Sweden: advancing the gender revolution in Journal of European Social Policy 18:275
http://www.suda.su.se/yaps/YAPS_WP/EQUAL_WP_2.pdf
OLS and logistic regression
Robson, K (2003) Peer Alienation: Predictors in childhood and outcomes in adulthood, ISER Working Papers Number 2003-21
https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/files/iser_working_papers/2003-21.pdf
Evertsson, M (2006) The reproduction of gender: housework and attitudes towards gender equality in the home among Swedish boys and girls in Journal of Sociology, Volume 57, Issue 3
http://www.yale.edu/ciqle/PUBLICATIONS/EvertssonBJOS(57.3).pdf