Module description
This is a research methods module designed (a) to prepare students to use simple quantitative methods in their dissertations, and (b) to provide the conceptual tools needed to produce, commission, evaluate, and interpret statistical information in professional contexts. It will provide a brief but systematic introduction to three forms of data collection: sample surveys, experiments, and content analysis. It will explain the theory behind these techniques, the form that they would ideally take, the compromises that are made in order to conduct them in the real world, and the consequences which those compromises have for the reliability of findings. Pitched at students with no background in mathematics or statistics, it will introduce appropriate forms of analysis and visualisation, focusing on best practices as well as on limitations and potential pitfalls, and it will train students in the skill of reading and summarising different forms of quantitative research. Students will create proposals for quantitative research projects, analyse pre-prepared datasets, and receive an introduction to the practicalities of data collection by jointly designing and conducting a piece of survey research (working within parameters agreed in advance by the college ethics committee).
Assessment details
Coursework 40% Analysis of and commentary on data
Coursework 30% Literature review
Coursework 30% Research proposal
Educational aims & objectives
This final-year, first-semester module aims to produce statistically literate students or graduates who can (a) make sense of major forms of quantitative social and cultural research, (b) work together with research organisations, e.g. in commissioning new research for their future employers, and (c) carry out or assist with such research themselves, both in their dissertations and professionally. Students who have completed this module will have a strong understanding of what is and is not possible in quantitative research, of what is required if one is to carry it out successfully and responsibly, and of how to make use of findings and communicate them to non-specialists. They will also have an awareness of common misconceptions about quantitative research (e.g. with regard to sample size, statistical significance, etc). All of these characteristics will make them excellent employees for organisations that carry out or make use of quantitative research (e.g. think tanks, market researchers, and private and voluntary sector organisations that commission market research or carry out user analytics) as well as providing them with a solid foundation for postgraduate study should they decide to return to academia.
Learning outcomes
Students who have successfully completed this module will be able to:
- State the advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of commonly used quantitative methods for social and cultural research, and articulate the major ethical considerations relevant to their use
- Evaluate and summarise published articles that employ such methods
- Interpret commonly used data representations, such as the cross-tabulated data generated by market research and opinion polling companies
- Formulate clear research questions and identify appropriate and realistic steps to be taken in answering them
- Recognise where the tools of statistical inference can meaningfully be applied, apply simple forms of such tools correctly, and give an appropriate explanation of the outcome (avoiding common misunderstandings)
- Use simple visualisations to communicate the findings of quantitative research to non-specialist audiences
Teaching pattern
Lectures and ten one-hour seminars