Peace Studies - MPCT 305

Albert Simkus: Quantitative methods for the social sciences

Lectures: Mondays 12.15-15, Week 4-7. 9-11, B-1007.

Computer work: Tuesdays 14.15-16, Week 4-11, “PC-stua”.

Pensum: Bohrnstedt, G.W. & Knoke, D. (1994): Statistics for Social Data Analysis. Third Edition. Itasca, Illinois: F.E. Peacock Publishers.

NB! In order to follow the course, it is absolutely necessary to have access to the book.
Optional software: SPSS for Windows 10.0, student version (available in the student bookstore).
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Instructor: Albert A. Simkus, førsteamenuensis in sociology.
My office is in room D0119,
telephone number, 776 46539 / 6539,
e-mail, asimkus@sv.uit.no.

If you need help or consulting in order to understand the readings, book, or computer exercises, please make an appointment in class, by telephone, or by e-mail. I am usually available during normal working hours and can schedule appointments sometimes during the evenings, if necessary. E-mail is the best way to reach me, and I check it regularly, even from home or abroad.

Course Objectives: This is an intermediate-level course in quantitative methods and statistics for social scientists. We will briefly review descriptive and inferential statistics and progress through an introduction to multivariate statistics for analyzing relationships among discrete and continuous variables. Students will be expected to be able to interpret the use of such statistics in professional publications and to be able to use and interpret these methods in analyses of their own. The lectures are integrated with a PC laboratory in which students gain practical experience in the use of personal computers in manipulating and analyzing data using the methods discussed in the lectures. The statistical software package SPSS for Windows, version 10.0 will be the software used most commonly in lab exercises and lectures.

Note: The course lectures will be in English and the textbook is in English. Course lectures are planned to be valuable in successfully completing the required two papers in quantitative methods and statistics for students in sociology, education, and planning and local administration, and the school examination for students in political science. The timing of course lectures is coordinated with the timing of work in the personal computer lab. Computer output from SPSS will be used often in lectures, and students should develop familiarity with such output in the computer lab. Examples will utilize hypo-thetical data and actual Norwegian and international social survey data.

Plan for the lectures
Students are advised that it is important to attend all lectures and to participate in the PC labs, for successful preparation for the essay and examination requirements of their respective degree programs. Students should read the text chapters in advance of the lectures in which they will be discussed, so that they will know what questions they may have regarding the readings related to those lectures. You are strongly encouraged to interrupt the lectures to ask questions and discuss the issues mentioned in the lectures.

Approximate Lecture Schedule (Note - The following schedule is approximate. The lectures will proceed more quickly or slowly, depending on the needs of the class. If you must miss any lectures, be certain to check with the instructor or other students to be certain of the topic and readings for a particular week.)

1. First Class: Class orientation, course description, discussion/evaluation of students' background preparation and course objectives. Review of levels of measurement and univariate descriptive statistics. Mean, median, percentages and percentiles, mode, range, variance, and standard deviation. Univariate graphs. Text: Chapters 1 & 2.

2. Second Class: Inferential Statistics . - Theory, confidence intervals, tests-of-significance for means, and the analysis of variance. Text: Chapters 3 and 4.

3. Third Class: Bivariate Relationships Among Continuous Variables- Correlation and Regression. Text: Chapter 6. Multivariate Analyses With Continuous Variables- The logic of multivariate analysis, spurious relationships, partial correlations, and multiple regression. Text: Chapters 7.1, 7.2, and 8.

4. Fourth Class: Multiple regression, assumptions & tests, dummy variable regression, introduction to causal models. Text: Chapter 7.3 & 8.

5. Fifth Class: Path analysis and structural equation models with AMOS.Text: Chapters 11 & 12.

6. Sixth Class: Analyzing Categorical Data. Text: Chapter 5.1 - 5.4. Analyzing Bivariate Relationships Among Discrete Variables -- bivariate crosstabulation, row and column percentages, independence and association. Inferential statistics: The Chi-square test for independence/association, standardized residuals, and confidence intervals for percentages. Measures of association for two-dimensional tables.

7. Seventh Class: Three- and higher-dimensional crosstabulation tables, controlling for variables, interaction effects. Text: Chapter 7.1 & 7.2.

8. Eighth Class: Review and summary of course content. Questions
Students complete and turn in second oppgave by ____ (Date will be announced).