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2020/2021  BA-BSOCO1822U  Research Design and Quantitative Methods I

English Title
Research Design and Quantitative Methods I

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 15 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Bachelor
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Spring
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for BSc in Business Administration and Sociology
Course coordinator
  • Jonas Felbo-Kolding - Department of International Economics, Goverment and Business (EGB)
Main academic disciplines
  • Methodology and philosophy of science
  • Statistics and quantitative methods
Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face teaching
Last updated on 25-06-2020

Relevant links
Learning objectives
On successful completion of the course, students should be able to:
  • Use theory introduced during the first or second semesters, as specified by the first year project coordinator, to formulate their research question
  • Reflect critically on the chosen research question, and discuss and argue for the relevance of the theories and methods used in the project
  • Use the dataset(s) and statistical software provided by RDQM, select and apply quantitative methods presented in RDQM to analyse these data
  • Operationalise key theoretical concepts into empirical variables, and explain and evaluate the methods used in the analysis
  • Concisely and critically account for the analysis in relation to the research question and evaluate the project’s achievements and limitations
  • Structure a research paper and present the material meeting standards of academic writing, particularly correct citations, referencing of literature, and formatting of tables and figures
Prerequisites for registering for the exam (activities during the teaching period)
Number of compulsory activities which must be approved (see s. 13 of the Programme Regulations): 2
Compulsory home assignments
2 out of 3 compulsory written assignments (1-3 pages) must be approved for the student to be able to attend the ordinary exam in the 1st year project. More info on the assignments will follow in class.
Examination
1st Year Project in Research Design and Quantitative Methods I:
Exam ECTS 15
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 oral exam based on written group product
Number of people in the group 3-5
Size of written product Max. 20 pages
Assignment type Project
Duration
Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
20 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and external examiner
Exam period Summer
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

This course is the first in our multi-course research methods sequence for undergraduate students. The aim of the course is to introduce students to research design, survey data, and quantitative methods with a focus on constructing and analysing survey data. Students will be introduced to the research process and the process of analysing quantitative data through reading and practical exercises. The first part of the course focuses on the beginning of the research process – the choice of research design and the production of survey data, enabling students to construct their own survey. The second part of the course moves from collection of data to analysis of data. Here, students will (1) get an understanding of some of the key concepts behind statistical analysis, (2) obtain knowledge of basic statistical methods, (3) learn/review some rudimentary math skills that are frequently employed in the social sciences and (4) develop their ability to apply quantitative methods to do their own quantitative analysis.
The topics that we will cover in this course include selecting research questions and appropriate designs for analysing particular questions, sampling and survey construction, operationalisation of concepts, probability distributions, basic descriptive statistics, sampling distributions, point and interval estimation, hypothesis testing, and regression analysis for continuous and limited dependent variables. We will also introduce you to STATA, the computer program we will be using for exercises and assignments. Finally, the course will also provide students with guidance on how to report results from quantitative analysis in an accessible and transparent manner.

The course is planned to support the other courses in the 1st year so that the students may be equipped with the necessary tools to write the 1st year project applying insights from all courses in their analysis. Students are expected to be able to draw upon the theories and methods they learn in the other courses in order to formulate research questions etc. in this course. Students will be encouraged to begin writing early in the semester.
Description of the teaching methods
The course consists of a series of lectures, workshops and exercise sessions. Students are expected to participate actively in the sessions and to do preparatory work in between sessions in addition to reading the course material. This will mainly, but not exclusively, be work related to the 1st year project. Students are expected to work in groups.
Feedback during the teaching period
Feedback during the course is provided both during lectures, workshop classes, and exercises. During the lectures students work on small exercises which are afterwards discussed during the lecture, where the teacher provides feedback on student inputs. Feedback will also be given in relation to questions asked during lectures. During the workshops the students work either individually or in groups on prepared exercises. During workshops students receive either one-to-one or group-based feedback on specific problems they face. During the exercise classes there is a higher level of student-teacher interaction and students receive feedback from both their peers and from the teacher. Finally, students are encouraged to use office hours for feedback.
Student workload
Lectures 32 hours
Exercises 20 hours
Workshops 24 hours
Preparation 336 hours
Expected literature

The following material is required readings which you are expected to obtain:
David de Vaus (2013): Surveys in Social Research, 6th edition. Routledge.
Agresti, Alan and Barbara Finlay.  2008.  Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences.  Pearson Education International

 

Agresti, Alan and Barbara Finlay (2018).  Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences.  Pearson Education International, sixth edition.

 

 

 
Last updated on 25-06-2020