Course Summary

This course provides an introduction to the theory and methods of quantitative data analysis, focussing on the social survey, with a focus on the use of crosstabulation to explore the relationship between categorical variables. It has an emphasis on hands on learning, with a series of practical sessions using a statistical software package such as SPSS to explore a Government dataset.

Course Objectives

The course will:

• Introduce participants to survey data as a key quantitative resource for social science research
• Introduce the structure and properties of survey data and consider the process by which variables in a dataset are derived
• Consider strategies for exploratory data analysis including methods for describing and summarising variable distributions
• Provide participants with a conceptual and theoretical understanding of the stages involved in exploring the relationship between categorical variables using crosstabulation.
• Provide practical experience in formulating crosstabulations, including use of control variables
• Provide essential skills of data manipulation including selecting sub-sets and recoding
• Introduce the concept of statistical significance with instruction in the theory and execution of a simple chi square test

Target Audience

The course is designed for new users of survey data and does not presume any previous knowledge or experience working with quantitative methods. It would be particularly appropriate for those who may anticipate working with a survey dataset and who wish to learn the basics of exploratory data analysis, possibly as a foundation for more advanced training. The course stands alone but is designed as precursor to Introduction to Data Analysis 2, where the attention moves to the analysis of continuous variables. Together the courses provide an excellent basis for moving on to training in more advanced methods such as logistic and multiple regression.

Preliminary Reading

• Field, A. (2005) Discovering statistics using SPSS for Windows: London: SAGE Publications.
• De Vaus, David. (2002) Analyzing Social Science Data: London: SAGE Publications.
• De Vaus, David. (2002) Surveys in Social Research, 5th ed., London: Routledge
• Rumsey, D. (2003) Statistics for Dummies. Wiley Indianpolis, Indiana.
• Blaikie, N. (2003) Analyzing Quantitative Data: from description to explanation, London, SAGE Publications.

 For information about the Government surveys (used in the practical sessions), see the Economic and Data Service web site: http://www.esds.ac.uk/government/