PGM0330 - DATA COLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Module Identifier

PGM0330

Module Title

DATA COLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Academic Year

2005/2006

Co-ordinator

Dr Graeme A M Davies

Semester

Semester 1

Other staff

Dr Graeme A M Davies

Course delivery

Lecture

Practical

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment Length/Details	Proportion
Semester Assessment	3,000 word essay covering the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data	80%
Semester Assessment	Computing exercise An exercise using appropriate computer packages, demonstrating competence in IT skills and data management.	20%

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students will be able to:

Demonstrate competency in understanding and applying a range of research methods, to enable the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data
Display knowledge of the management of research data, and the use of IT in such data management
Demonstrate skills in conducting research in a manner which is consistent with professional practice
Demonstrate an awareness of the key skills involved in analysing quantitative and qualitative data

Brief description

This module is designed to be an integral component of the new RT masters courses which the University has introduced. Through this module Masters and PhD students will gain a broad knowledge of a range of methodological and analytical skills which they can apply in a variety of research contexts.

Aims

This module aims to give students a broad knowledge of a range of methodological and analytical skills, which they can apply in a variety of research contexts. The course is designed to give students a grounding in the basic principles of both qualitative and quantitative research methodology. It will provide students with an introduction to the major methods of qualitative data collection and analysis, how qualitative data are actively constructed and interpreted by the researcher, and an appreciation of the practical and epistemological concerns raised by qualitative data collection.This will include a consideration of questionnaire design, interviewing techniques, survey design and qualitative data analysis. This will be complimented by an analysis of the principles of quantitative research data and data analysis. The module will introduce students to the basic techniques of analysis, presentation and description of statistics, and in particular to SPSS using the PC Windows version.

Content

The module covers the following topics:

Qualitiative.

Combining methods
Data sources and context
Internet data collection
Survey design and interviewing
Questionnaire design
The nature and use of qualitative data
Focus groups
Participant observation
Semi-structured interviewing
Archival and documentary analysis
Content and discourse analysis

Quantitative

Measures of central tendancy
Dispersion- SPSS
Hypothesis testing - SPSS
Relations between two variables - SPSS
Multivariate Data analysis - SPSS

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 7