MyGlasgow Students

Measuring your social world.

What will I learn from this course? 

You will work through the process of data generation, collection, and basic data description. Examples will draw upon the topics of sustainability and challenges around climate change. You will begin with learning about how researchers conceptualise ideas and translate this into definable and measurable elements, and associated challenges when this is done without care. By the end, you will have an understanding of why the data generating process matters, how to collect data, and how to offer basic descriptions, including visualisations of your data to a non-expert audience.

When will this course be available?

Semester 1, 2025

How many credits is this course?

20 credits

What is the course code?

The course code is SSPS1001 QM1. More information on how to enrol can be found on the registration webpages.

 How will I learn on this course?

You will have three hours of training a week broken up across three different one hour sessions. Each week begins with a one-hour lecture on a topic related to statistics and data collection with examples of how we see these elements in our day-to-day lives. Following the lecture, students will engage in a one-hour hands on lab session where they will work in groups to try and apply the topic to the week in real-time, while supported by staff in the room to answer question and promote discussion. Each week concludes with a one-hour computer lab session where students will be taught how to engage with the topic for the week through computer programming in R.    

How will I be supported academically on this course?

You will receive formative feedback during group activities, Moodle forums will be used to collate general questions and generate a frequently asked questions list; weekly office hour will be used for support both on course content and R programming; clear signposting of readings will be made available as well. 

Additionally, the lab book which makes up 75% of the summative grad in the course has four elements to it. The first three elements of the lab book have the option of being submitted for formative feedback at marked dates during the semester to allow students to try their hand at tasks and improve their work before submission for summative assessment.  

 What unique learning experiences will I have on this course?

Students are rarely, if ever, explicitly taught how to generate measures related to concepts that are important to them for research. This course engages with elements that are crucial to this, helping you to become more critical of the research you will read in honours courses, and to promote confidence in defining and measuring ideas that are important during your dissertations. 

This course also offers a pathway to additional quantitative methods training in semester 2 with SSPS2001: Analysing your Social World. Leading to 20 weeks of supported data and analysis training. 

What skills will I learn on this course?

You will learn to collect relevant data for your self-selected research questions. You will learn how to create and design variable measurements that are appropriate for your studies. Additionally, you will learn to communicate your findings and improve your presentation skills through both individual assessments and in class teamwork.  

These skills will be surfaced through in class group activities where hands on practice and peer support will help enhance understanding and practice communicating findings and approaches. Additionally, these skills will be surfaced through the formative and summative assessments were students will practice creating dataset, analysing their data, and explaining their findings in non-technical language.

Students will know they have learned these skills through the self-reflection check list of skill mastery that is used throughout the semester, through formative feedback given on assessments and summative assessment rubric, and through the pre and post self-reflection element connected to their presentations. Students will also be introduced to coding, with the starting point of no prior experience.  

How will I be assessed on this course?  

Sequence	Assessment type (drop down menu)	Group or Individual Assessment	Weighting    (indicate % or Pass/Fail
Formative Feedback	Weekly tasks related to applying topics from class	Group	0%
Summative: Lab book	4 lab assignments:  1-make a mini dataset  (criteria provided)  2-descriptive statistics of your mini dataset; including data visualisations  3-test your data; basic hypothesis tests   4-critique a mini report and the dataset used to produce it	Individual	75%
Summative: Presentation	Students select an element taught during the semester and present the lesson in a pre-recorded 5-10 minute presentation	Individual	25%

 Who is the course leader?

Dr Nicole Pamphilis is leading this course.