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This introductory course to quantitative methods in social sciences presents basic concepts of statistical analysis of quantitative data. Students will gradually learn about various standard statistical methods and different quantitative research designs. Furthermore, students will understand how these methods are employed by social science researchers in academic articles. No formal training in mathematics is required for this course. Although some mathematical formulas will be presented, these will be kept to a minimum. Throughout the semester, we will also conduct a step-by-step replication of one published article using the SPSS (i.e. commonly used data analysis software). Last update: Petrúšek Ivan, Mgr., Ph.D. (06.02.2020)
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The course aims to provide students with a substantive understanding of the covered concepts and statistical methods. The course should enable students to critically read academic research articles employing quantitative methods and to identify arguments made with the support of quantitative data. The emphasis will be placed on showing how research questions and hypotheses are answered/tested using statistical methods. Furthermore, the course aims to teach students the basics of SPSS and how to conduct the studied methods with this popular software. Last update: Petrúšek Ivan, Mgr., Ph.D. (06.02.2020)
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Grades will be based on the following:
In total, a student may earn up to 100 points. Students must submit both paper critiques and all four homework assignments to pass the course.
Grading scheme: 100–91 points → grade A 90–81 points → grade B 80–71 points → grade C 70–61 points → grade D 60–51 points → grade E 50–0 points → grade F (i.e. not passed)
Students enrolled in programs accredited at Charles University (e.g. Master in Area Studies; Balkan, Eurasian and Central European Studies) are graded based on a pass/fail basis. Visiting students (ERASMUS+) will obtain a grade (A to F) for their transcript of records. Last update: Petrúšek Ivan, Mgr., Ph.D. (06.02.2020)
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Each class is accompanied by a mandatory reading assignment from the course textbook.
During the semester, students must also read six mandatory research articles. These articles employ quantitative methods covered during lectures to answer substantive research questions. Articles will be discussed during the seminars and must be read by all course participants prior to the class. Students will also write paper critiques on these articles.
Recommended literature: As an aid to preparing SPSS homework assignments, students should consult Field, A. (2009). Discovering Statistics Using SPSS (3rd edition). Sage. Reading this textbook is optional (students should be able to finish the SPSS homework assignment after attending the seminar). Furthermore, most classes also contain recommended reading from a popular science book by Charles Wheelan. This book presents the discussed concepts in a more approachable manner and shows manifold practical applications of the concepts covered during classes and in the textbook. Reading these chapters is optional.
Last update: Petrúšek Ivan, Mgr., Ph.D. (06.02.2020)
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The classes are a combination of lectures and seminars. Each class is divided into two parts. The first part (approx. 45 minutes) is a lecture during which the tutor introduces key concepts of quantitative methodology and statistics. The second part (approx. 35 minutes) is a seminar. Eight seminars will be devoted to learning to use SPSS by replicating analyses from a published article. Five seminars will be devoted to discussing scientific papers (i.e. there will be a student presentation followed by the discussion). Online on platform ZOOM: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/9026371470 Last update: Navrátilová Barbora, Mgr. (10.02.2021)
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