Statistics in the Social Sciences

The module will offer an introduction into quantitative social inquiry. Statistical methods and approaches play a key role in contemporary scholarship, while also comprising a core component of all social science study programs. They will be of equal importance to students interested in Political Science, International Relations, Sociology, Psychology or any related discipline. The first part of the module will provide an overview of some of the basic statistics behind quantitative social research: z-tests, t-tests, correlation, regression, and chi-squared tests. The second part of the module will reflect critically on some of the fundamental considerations behind these methods, as well as their employment for hypothesis-testing. It will also enumerate some of the most common methodological pitfalls and judgment calls that are to be expected along the way.