Module POLM809 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
POLM809: Applied Quantitative Data Analysis
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|
Performance in sessions | Weekly | 1-11 | Verbal Feedback |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
---|---|---|
100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|---|
3 practical assignments (written), with exercises focusing on data analysis, visualization and interpretation | 75 | 500 words each (25% each) | 1-11 | Written feedback |
Final assignment (written): Essay discussing how to use the tools and techniques covered during the module to address a relevant research question | 25 | 1,500 words | 1-11 | Written feedback |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
---|---|---|---|
3 practical assignments (written), with exercises focusing on data analysis, visualization and interpretation | 3 practical assignments (written), with exercises focusing on data analysis, visualization and interpretation | 1-11 | August/September reassessment period |
Written assignment discussing how to use the tools and techniques covered during the module to address a relevant research question | Final assignment (1,500 words) | 1-11 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Basic reading:
Making History Count: A Primer in Quantitative Methods for Historians (2002, Cambridge) by Charles H. Feinstein and Mark Thomas
History by Numbers: An Introduction to Quantitative Approaches by Pat Hudson
Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (2003, Sage) by John W. Creswell
Discovering Statistics Using SPSS (Introducing Statistical Methods S.) (2005, Sage) by Andy Field
Research Methods in the Social Sciences w/Data Bank CD (2007, Worth Publishers)
by Chava Frankfort-Nachmias and David Nachmias
The Elements of Social Scientific Thinking (9th edition, Thomson Learning) by Kenneth Hoover and Todd Donovan
Additional resources available on ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/