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Semester 1

Statistical Modelling (SSPS10027)

Subject

Social and Political Studies

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

3

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students must have completed at least 2 Social Science courses (i.e. Sociology, Politics, Social Policy, Social Anthropology, African Studies, American Studies, Gender/Queer Studies) at grade B or above, including some background in multivariate analysis as well as some knowledge of the statistical data analysis package R. We will only consider University/College level courses. Please see Additional Restrictions below.

Course Summary

This course covers generalized linear models, some major statistical learning tools, and models for complex causal relationships, mainly in the context of social sciences. Lectures are combined with practical computer lab tutorials in order to illustrate the applications of the theoretical tools. The analysis is carried out using the statistical software environment R, which is freely available under the GNU General Public License.

Course Description

The course employs a hands-on approach through analysis using the statistical software R. The applications are mostly chosen from real social science research questions but examples from other disciplines like biology, medicine and engineering are also given. The course will provide a unifying framework for linear models through generalized linear models framework ad çntroduce some common learning algorithms. (Dimensionality reduction techniques such as PCA and factor analysis, clustering algorithms, and discriminant analysis will be discussed.) On top of the theoretical tools introduced, the course aims to equip students two other computational skills: data management and data visualization. R packages dplyr and ggplot2 will be introduced and used for these purposes.Topics typically covered include: Data Management and Visualization with R; Generalized Linear Models; Unsupervised Learning (PCA/Explanatory Factor Analysis, Clustering); Supervised Learning (Discriminant Analysis).

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0%

Additional Restrictions

Students cannot take this course alongside Doing Social Research with Statistics (SSPS08007).

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