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About
This module provides a thorough introduction to survey and quantitative research skills. Content highlights the range of quantitative data in social science research, and how data is collected, managed and analysed.
The module provides core foundational training in survey research design and secondary SPSS data analysis using ARK datasets. You will learn how to use SPSS to complete and understand descriptive statistics, data selection and manipulation, crosstabulation, t-test, one-way ANOVA, scatterplots, correlation and linear regression.
The module provides important research and employability skills required for the development of your research skills and future employment.
The course provides students with an elementary through to a more advanced knowledge of quantitative data collection, analysis and interpretation. By the end of the module, students will have enhanced their team working, project management, verbal and written communication, advanced ICT, quantitative, creativity, independent research and problem-solving skills.
Term dates
Course start date: 28 January 2025
This course requires on-campus attendance, at our Belfast campus, on Tuesdays, from 2:15pm – 5:15pm, during Semester 2 in 2025.
The short course is timetabled for the following days:
Weeks 1-4
Tuesday 28 January 2025, 2:15pm – 5:15pm
Tuesday 04 February 2025, 2:15pm – 5:15pm
Tuesday 11 February 2025, 2:15pm – 5:15pm
Tuesday 18 February 2025, 2:15pm – 5:15pm
Weeks 5-12
Tuesday 25 February 2025, 2:15pm – 5:15pm
Tuesday 04 March 2025, 2:15pm – 5:15pm
Tuesday 11 March 2025, 2:15pm – 5:15pm
Tuesday 18 March 2025, 2:15pm – 5:15pm
Tuesday 25 March 2025, 2:15pm – 5:15pm
Tuesday 01 April 2025, 2:15pm – 5:15pm
Tuesday 08 April 2025, 2:15pm – 5:15pm
Tuesday 15 April 2025, 2:15pm – 5:15pm
Dates may be subject to change.
Attendance
Students are required to attend 3 hours per week. Classes take place on a Tuesday between 2.15pm and 5.15pm on the Belfast campus.
Location
This course is delivered on the Belfast campus.
Assessment
The assessment is 100% coursework:
- Survey research report
- SPSS portfolio
Career Options
Graduates with a strong foundation in survey research and quantitative analysis are highly sought after in a variety of sectors due to the growing importance of data-driven decision making.
Potential Job Roles include:
- Social Research: Work in research institutes, think tanks, or government agencies to conduct surveys, analyze data, and inform policy decisions.
- Policy Analyst or evaluation officer: Use data to evaluate the effectiveness of social programs, identify areas for improvement, and develop evidence-based policies.
- Data Analyst: Work in various sectors (e.g., healthcare, finance, education) to collect, clean, analyze, and interpret data to inform decision-making.
- Statistician: Utilize statistical techniques to analyze data and draw conclusions in various fields.
- Academic Researcher: Pursue further studies and conduct research in the field of social policy or related disciplines.
Academic Profile
The module is coordinated and delivered by Dr Julie Harris who is a lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice and a Fellow of the HEA. She has taught quantitative research skills for over 16 years.
Her primary research interests focus on drug use practices, treatment and support services, drug markets and policy.
She is a mixed methods researcher with recent work examining the impacts of COVID-19 on alcohol and other drug use behaviours and service responses, drug-related deaths and evaluations of services providing residential rehabilitation and trauma-informed approaches. Previous research has examined aspects of probation, survivors of historic institutional abuse, counter-terrorism and emergency legislation.
Further Information
Modules
This is a 20 credit module short course - see the about section for details of content.
Entry Requirements
Applicants must have a second class honours degree or better in Social Sciences, Humanities, Law or a cognate discipline from a university of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, or from a recognised national awarding body, or from an institution of another country which has been recognised as being of an equivalent standard;
In exceptional circumstances, where an individual has substantial and significant experiential learning, a portfolio of written evidence demonstrating the meeting of graduate qualities (including subject-specific outcomes, as determined by the Course Committee) may be considered as an alternative entrance route. Evidence used to demonstrate graduate qualities may not be used for exemption against modules within the programme.
Eligibility
Places are limited and open to applicants who:
- are over 18 years of age;
- are eligible to work in Northern Ireland;
- are ‘settled’ in Northern Ireland, and has been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least three years; or
- are a person who has indefinite leave to enter or remain in the UK.
- meet the course specific entry requirements. See course pages for requirements.
- meet the Ulster University general entry requirements