This course introduces students to basic quantitative techniques for social science research. It examines the theory and application of standard quantitative techniques, from descriptive statistics through inferential statistics to multivariate techniques. A broad approach is taken to give students ample opportunity to critically assess the rationale, theories, and concepts behind the various statistical techniques. The ultimate aim is to equip students with statistical tools for social science and humanities research.

The course is conducted in a computer environment with the aid of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) on Windows.

The course places emphasis on the how-toas against the what-isaspects of quantitative application in social science research and, thus, students will learn how to design a structured quantitative questionnaire and code and analyze the resulting data using SPSS.