SOCI 3015 - Quantitative Research Methods in Social Sciences

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2021

How do you find and interpret the latest intended voting behaviour? What factors influence Australians' trust in public institutions and democracy? How does where you live affect a sense of life satisfaction? Does sexual orientation affect civic and political participation? How do you decipher the ?Results? and ?Discussion? sections of journal articles or government reports? How do you design a simple survey questionnaire that could tell you things that the existing data cannot? This course will teach you to use the tools of quantitative research methods to answer these and other questions. The focus will be on the logic of quantitative reasoning and its application to practical problems in sociological research. Please note that mathematical proofs, complex calculations, abstract probability theory, and the like will not be discussed. We will focus on survey research and statistical techniques to analyse data collected in surveys. We will also spend time looking at other sources of quantitative data, including data compiled by various Australian government agencies. By the end of the course, you will be able to read, understand, and critically evaluate several types of quantitative data presented in research reports, books and journal articles.

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Course Details

Course Code	SOCI 3015
Course	Quantitative Research Methods in Social Sciences
Coordinating Unit	Sociology, Criminology and Gender Studies
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	SOCI 2012 or PSYCHOL 1004 or PSYCHOL 2004
Incompatible	GEOG 1005, GEOG 2132, CRIM 3004, SOCI 3016
Assessment	Mid-term quiz: (20%); Assignment 1 (10%), Assignment 2 (30%), Assignment 3 (10%), Final exam (30%)

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Dr Djordje Stefanovic

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:
1. correctly use basic quantitative terminology
2. understand and apply basic quantitative reasoning
3. find and critically assess different quantitative data provided by Australian government
4. conduct basic data analysis of Australian General Social Survey data set
5. design a short on-line survey to resolve the problems with existing data sets

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1,2
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	2,3,4,5
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	2
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	3,4,5
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	2
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	2,4

Learning Resources

Required Resources

1. Statistics for People Who (Think) They Hate Statistics, by N. J. Salkind, (6th ed) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
- Hardcopies available at the Barr Smith Library, High Use area

2. Successful Surveys, (Chapters 7, 8, and 9), by Gray and Guppy, Harcourt Brace & Company
- Available via MyUni.

The course calendar, below, specifies the reading to be done before coming to class. The lectures run parallel to the textbook
readings; however, the lectures do not simply repeat the material in the textbook. The students are responsible for mastering both the lecture and the textbook material for use on the midterm exam, the assignments and the final exam. The readings are not longand it is vital to do them. Failure to keep up with the readings or to come to class would make it difficult to do well in this course.

Online Learning

Lecture power point slides, Echo 360 lecture recordings, on-line quizzes, assignment instructions, and model assignments will be posted to the MyUNi course site available via MyUni link
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

No information currently available.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

1 x 3 hour lecture per week                                    33 hours
3 hours reading per week                                                              33 hours
1 hour on-line quiz answering per week                                        11 hours
6.2 hours assignment preparation each week on average            68 hours
1 hour exam review per week                                                        11 hours

Total (per semester)                                                                     156 hours

Learning Activities Summary

1. Introduction & Level of Measurement
2. Descriptive Stats, Crosstabs and Correlations
3. Normal Distribution and Z Scores
4. Hypothesis Testing
5. Confidence Intervals & Statistical Significance
6. Correlation and Regression
7. Multicausality
8. How to Read & Write Quant Publications
9. Survey Design: Methodology& Questions
10. Survey Design: Questionnaire & On-Line
11. Future of Quantitative Analysis

Small Group Discovery Experience

In-class team exercises provide opportunities to put new knowledge and skills into practice in meaningful ways.
Assessment
The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:
1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.
Assessment Summary

Assessment Task                                                                             Type                       Weight                       Learning Objectives
Midterm Exam                                                                    Formative &Summative           20%                                   2,3
Assignment One (Basic Stats with Excel)                            Formative &Summative         10%                                    1,2
Assignment Two (Sophisticated Stats with SPSS)               Formative &Summative           30%                                    4
Assignment Three (On-line Survey Questionnaire Design) Summative                            10%                                    5
Final Exam            &nb

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