Corsi di Studio del Dipartimento di Culture, Politica e Società

Knowledge and comprehension:
The course takes place in the methodological domain and aims to consolidate students’ methodological skills through the careful choice and practical application of quantitative technique of empirical research. It foremost aims to offer students the basic knowledge to perform and interpret autonomously analyses on survey data. It also aims at promoting the capacity to detect appropriate empirical strategies in order to answer to specific research questions and test the corresponding research hypotheses; the knowledge of secondary data sources relevant to sociological analysis; and the capacity to critically understand the scientific literature, also with respect to the methodological and technical parts of the analyses presented.
Use of knowledge and comprehension skills:
Aim of the course is to contribute to the development of the capacity to apply the acquired knowledge for the preparation and autonomous analysis of secondary data.
The course will provide the necessary methodological and technical notions to perform data analyses on national and international data sources, and to concretely apply the tools of multivariate analysis of the social sciences.

Learning results will be evaluated in due course at the group-class level, through exercises and exam simulations, frequent control questions in class and invitation to pursue periodical ‘self-test’ activities, whose results will be discussed in class.
At the end of the course, an oral exam will assess acquisition of concepts and skills, which will consist of a series of questions and the request to interpret the output of secondary analyses (analogous to those produced during the course and/or part of published texts), provided by the teacher. Students will be required to give both a conceptual and a statistical critical interpretation of those outputs.

This course introduces students to applied techniques for multivariate analysis of survey data, through practical applications (using SPSS software). It will revise and deepen the understanding of concepts and methods studied in previous courses of statistics and social research methodology through empirical applications:
From concepts to indicators (testing research hypotheses); variables; measurement scales and indices; dispersion and central tendency measures
Variables graphical display and relations between variables
Monovariate analysis relations between qualitative and quantitative variables through contingency tables, with respective significance and association measures
The use of secondary data (available sources)
Testing differences between means and Anova
Correlation and linear regression (testing assumptions)
Categorical data and logistic regression (interpretation of odds and odds-ratios)

A. Field (2009): Discovering statistics using SPSS, London, Sage
Further readings material will be provided by the teacher during the course

Lessons are mainly active learning with guided exercises (by use of SPSS software) and individual work at the computer, which take place in a IT- equipped room. Practical exercises are focussed on the proper production and interpretation (reading and comprehension) of empirical analyses on the basis of national and international data-sets.
Students are required to autonomously undertake several modules (in English language) to revise and deepen individually the concepts explained, which will be than discussed in class.
Upon request, and previous agreement, students could choose to work on their own data-set (or on secondary data of their choice).
The course entails a series of exercises to be pursued autonomously; it is important that those are being undertaken in the given times and sequence to avoid cumulating or “jumps”, and endanger the learning process.
Not attending students are required to contact with the teacher well in advance of the exam, for suggestions on its preparation.