Understanding Data in the Media
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Learn how to make sense of social statistics and economic data with this introductory course on quantitative social science from the University of Sheffield. Increasingly, we’re bombarded with all sorts of data about how society is changing: opinion poll trends, migration data, economic results, government debt levels and MPs’ expenses claims. The ability to read such information with confidence is an increasingly important skill for both modern citizens and those studying the social sciences. We’ll look at ways of cutting through the confusion to decide what numbers reveal, and when and why they (sometimes deliberately) mislead.

Drawing a Sample

A sample is a subset of a population. It lies at the heart of survey research. It is sometimes called a ‘miniature of the population’, so the process ...
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Reviewing the Methodology

Most reputable organisations will provide some level of information about the data they publish so that we can see how it was collected, who procured ...
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The Importance of Measurement

Measurement is how we quantify objects and events so that we can make comparisons among them. Being aware of the measures used in a dataset will help ...
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When Research Questions Go Bad

What happens when a research question isn’t framed properly? You can end up with misleading conclusions.In this video, educator Andy Bell considers a ...
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