Structure of the unit

Every student will study five (5) learning modules in this unit of which four are compulsory topics and the remaining is selected by the student from three (3) available elective modules. Compulsory modules are selected on the basis of being useful topics for any quantitative research topic, while the student-selected modules allow students to somewhat tailor the unit to their individual needs.

Compulsory modules (all must be undertaken)

1. Design and sample size determination
2. Data manipulation and basic statistical analysis in Stata (although students may use other software if they prefer)
3. Revision of the General Linear model using Stata
4. Dealing with missing values in data

Student-selected modules (select one)

1. Latent variable models
2. Multi-level and Longitudinal models
3. Meta-analysis

Format of the unit

The unit is largely delivered by downloadable video lectures that combine a classical lecture with demonstration of practical application using Stata and are available for download at the start of or early in semester. All compulsory topics do, however, have one-hour face-to-face tutorial sessions at which attendance is strongly recommended but not compulsory. Note that this one session (week 7) will not be recorded to minimise risk of answers being widely disseminated. All elective modules have an associated in-person workshop at which attendance is strongly recommended but also not compulsory. The purpose of the workshops is to provide an opportunity to address unresolved questions prior to the final exam. Important note: To achieve this it will be necessary for each student to have viewed the module video and thought about their project prior to attending the workshop.

The unit is graded using the standard categories of Fail, Pass, Credit, Distinction and High Distinction. Further details concerning the exam will be provided during the unit. The project report will be submitted to the Grademark system that is part of iLearn. You may collaborate in preparatory work for assignments; however, the report submitted must be of your own work. If two or more students are found to have submitted material which is identical, or near to identical, they will be asked to re-submit the material from the affected section or else share the marks with the other student(s) who submitted the same material. NB: Make sure you keep a complete copy of each of your submitted works should it be needed. This unit does not publish previous end-of-semester exam papers due to the assessment format which involves multiple choice questions drawn from a bank of questions which have undergone a process of development and validation to assess a wide range of concepts in this unit. Assessment quality can only be ensured by maintaining the integrity of the question bank rather than creating entirely new questions every year. However a practice exam will be provided via iLearn near the end of semester.