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2013/2014  BA-2QNM  Quantitative Methods I

English Title
Quantitative Methods I

Course information
Language English
Exam ECTS 10 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Bachelor
Duration One Semester
Course period Spring
Time Table Please see course schedule at e-Campus
Study board
Study Board for BSc in Business Administration and Sociology
Course coordinator
  • Bella Marckmann - Department of Business and Politics (DBP)
Main academic disciplines
  • Methodology
Last updated on 12-12-2013
Learning objectives
Learning Objectives
On successful completion of the course, the student should be able to use different quantitative methods and analytical strategies within organisational sociology and business administration. Specifically, the student should be able to:
  • plan a basic statistic analysis,
  • analyse data and present the relevant findings in tables and figures,
  • account for and demonstrate knowledge about which impact the level of measurement has on the analyses,
  • discuss strengths and weaknesses in the data set in relation to a given problem, and
  • use the computer assisted tools such as e.g. the software programs SPSS and Microsoft Excel.
Course prerequisites
The courses 2IOS, 2PS, 2IRM, and 2QNM have one integrated exam. The exam is 30 ECTS. You can only participate in 2QNM if you also register for the other courses: 2IOS, 2PS, and 2IRM.
Examination
First year project on organisational sociology and research design:
Examination form Oral exam based on written product

In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and the individual oral performance.
Individual or group exam Individual
Size of written product Max. 30 pages
Assignment type Project
Duration
Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
30 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Preparation time No preparation
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and external examiner
Exam period Summer Term
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Description of the exam procedure
See the guidelines at e-campus

Learning objectives for the exam
The student should demonstrate ability to:
  • formulate, delimit and analyse an academic problem,
  • apply and discuss the theories and methods relevant to the project, in particular the concepts and theories relevant to organisational sociology,
  • select and apply fundamental quantitative methods, and relate these to theoretical positions presented in the syllabi of the courses ’Philosophy of Science’ and ’Introduction to Organisational Sociology’,
  • structure the layout and present the material in a clearly formulated and accessible way in terms of both language and content,
  • discuss how the knowledge acquired in the second semester courses ‘Philosophy of Science’, ‘Introduction to Research Methods’, and ‘Quantitative Methods I’ is reflected throughout the project, and
  • reflect upon his/her own ways of applying data.


    The aims of the 1st year project are:

  • To facilitate and reinforce the learning of the subjects taught during the second semester by encouraging students to work independently and in a focused way with selected theories.
  • To develop analytical skills needed to undertake problem-oriented project work. The problem-solving process during project work is shaped by the systematic, professional and scientific demands of academic knowledge production.
Course content and structure
Course Content
The aim of the course is to give the student (1) a theoretical and practical introduction to quantitative methods in the social sciences, and (2) an understanding of the relevance of these methods in relation to the other 2nd semester courses. The course focuses on the implications of different research designs, possibilities and limitations of quantitative methods as well as assessments of their validity.
Teaching methods
Teaching Methods
The course consists of 12 2-hour lectures followed by 12 2-hour exercise sessions. In the first weeks of the course, the lectures will focus on introducing the logic of statistical analysis and some basic principles and concepts. In the exercise sessions the students will familiarize themselves with SPSS and the pre-given data set. In the rest of the course, the students will be introduced to various types of analysis in the lectures, which they will then be able to practice immediately afterwards in the exercise sessions. The exercises will as far as possible be constructed around the common data set which will supply the students with the empirical material for the 1st year project. In this way, the students will be working on the project from the beginning of the semester, familiarizing themselves with the data set and getting an overview over potentially interesting problems.
Expected literature
Course Materials
You are expected to buy the following books:
Alan Agresti & Barbara Finlay: Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences. Prentice Hall 2009
David de Vaus: Surveys in Social Research. Routledge 2001. (also used in IRM)
The other prescribed readings are collected in a compendium.
All available through Academic Books.                                                                                             
 
Materials for the exercise sessions will be made available on CBSLearn in due course.
Last updated on 12-12-2013