Unit name | Educational Statistics |
---|---|
Unit code | EDUC20013 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | I/5 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Professor. Leckie |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School of Education |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit will introduce the use of statistics in educational research. The focus is on giving students the hands-on practical skills to be able to analyse educational data using the most popular descriptive statistics, graphs and statistical tests. Students will learn how to apply the taught procedures in the SPSS statistical software throughout the unit. Emphasis will be placed on choosing the most appropriate procedures in different situations and in how to report results correctly and persuasively. We will concentrate on statistical tests for studying group differences (independent and paired samples t-tests), associations (correlation coefficients, cross-tabulations and chi-squared tests) and predictive relationships between pairs of variables (simple linear regression).
The unit aims to:
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Teaching will involve a combination of lectures, SPSS practicals, and group and class discussions. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis.
Formative assessment:
ILOs 1-4: Weekly computer practicals using SPSS to apply the different taught procedures on different educational datasets. Annotated answers will be provided to allow students to evaluate their progress.
ILO 5: Tutor led class discussion statistically critiquing journal articles which the students have read in advance.
Summative assessment:
ILOs 1-4: An assignment (2000 words). Students will be provided with several SPSS datasets and will be asked to address a different research question on each dataset. Students will be required to identify and conduct in SPSS appropriate descriptive statistics, graphs, and statistical tests to address each research question. Students will then have to report their statistical output following academic conventions, interpret their findings, reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of their analyses, and suggest potential improvements. (75%)
ILO 5: A statistical critique (1,000 words) of a published journal article. (25%)”
Field A. (2013) Discovering Statistics Using SPSS (4th Edition). London, Sage
Foster, L., Diamond, I. & Jeffries, J. (2014). Beginning Statistics: An Introduction for Social Scientists (2nd Edition). London, Sage
Marsh, Catherine & Elliott, Jane (2008). Exploring Data: An Introduction to Data Analysis for Social Scientists (2nd Edition). Cambridge, Polity Press
Rumsey, D. J. (2011). Statistics For Dummies (2nd Edition). Indiana, Wiley.