Survey Design and Analysis

Teaching students basic quantitative methods skills, this subject offers hands-on experience for designing and implementing social surveys, for both social research and the public/business sector. The structure of the subject will parallel the steps taken when executing a survey. Students will compare the advantages and disadvantages of surveys versus other means of collecting social data; determine the specific purpose of the study and to whom the study applies; develop questions to measure attitudes and behaviours; implement the questionnaire; and undertake data cleaning and preliminary sociologically informed analysis. These steps will be illustrated by drawing on experiences from real life surveys. Practical exercises will form a key part of lectures and tutorials and computer lab exercises.