Undergraduate Course: Dealing with Statistical Data (SSPS07002)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 7 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 0 |
| Home subject area | School (School of Social and Political Studies) |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | This course is for HSS International Foundation Programme only. It is not available to undergraduate students. Students enrolled for many social science courses will need to understand $ú and be ready to question and challenge $ú the use of statistics in their subject area. A solid grounding in descriptive statistics means that subsequently it is easier for students to understand concepts in inferential statistics. This course will provide an introduction to interpreting and understanding data, data types and methods for summarising and presenting data. It will use software rather than asking students to perform manual calculations, allowing the focus to be on meaning, interpretation and understanding, rather than algebra and mathematics.
This course is designed for students on the HSS International Foundation Programme. A pass in this course will be a requirement for progression to Business Studies, Psychology and Social Work degrees.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2012/13 Block 5 (Sem 2) and beyond, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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WebCT enabled: No |
Quota: 0 |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| No Classes have been defined for this Course |
| First Class |
First class information not currently available |
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
&· explain about different types of data and the need for appropriate analysis;
&· discuss issues of sampling fluctuation or error;
&· use a computer analysis package and interpret computer generated output;
&· use basic descriptive statistics appropriately;
&· critically interpret graphs, charts and other summary statistics;
&· construct a survey instrument for a specific research question; and
&· question and challenge some statistical claims.
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Assessment Information
Students will undertake a survey and present their findings. This involves:
1. Group survey design and data collection
2. Group presentation focused on agreed element of the data
3. Framing, asking and responding to individual questions when results are presented.
To pass, students must participate in each of these stages and achieve a minimum of 40%.
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Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Week 1 Statistics in the media
Week 2 Surveys and identify research question(s)
Week 3 Questionnaire design
Week 4 Introduction to computer analysis system
Week 5 Data analysis and interpretation
Week 6 Data analysis and interpretation
Week 7 An introduction to probability and the concept of statistical significance
Week 8 Class presentations
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| Transferable skills |
Exercising informed critical judgement about statistical information.
IT skills, numeracy and data handling, interpersonal and group work skills.
Group presentation skills. |
| Reading list |
Students will be given access to web-based materials. |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr James Mooney
Tel: (0131 6)50 3077
Email: |
Course secretary | Dr Caroline Bamford
Tel: (0131 6)50 4322
Email: |
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