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Card-index course

Quantitative data analysis in political sciences

Analyse de données quantitatives en science politique

Responsible Faculty: Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (SSP)

Teacher(s): Lionel Marquis, Florence Passy
Lecturer(s): -

Validity: 2006 -> 2007

No timetable defined.

Course

Annual
4 hours per week
56 hours per year

Teaching language(s): French
Public: Yes
Credits: 0

Objective

This course wishes to bring competences to you on five levels: to develop a reflexive point of view on the quantitative analyses carried out in social sciences; to be able to understand the processes of research which are behind any academic work; to be ready to collect quantitative data and to build adapted designs of research; to be able to interpret quantitative analyses produced by researchers; finally, being able to carry out your own research project.

On the other hand, this course does not aim at training you in the use of softwares to carry out yourself of the quantitative data analyses.

Content

The use of the quantitative methods is strongly widespread in political science. Electoral studies, studies of the political behavior, comparative studies, studies of values, etc: many are researches which uses this methodological approach.

But what are exactly these methods? When the researchers resort to it? How they used them concretely and how to interpret these analyses? Such are the key questions of this teaching.

The course will be structured while following the steps which the researchers undertake when they make studies using such a methodological approach. It will thus be built around three axes: the study of the construction of a quantitative research; analysis of the various processes of harvest of quantitative data and the examination of the processes of analysis of the quantitative data. Auguste Comte already said to us in 1830 that « la méthode n'est pas susceptible d'être étudiée séparément des recherches où elle est employée ; ou, du moins, ce n'est là qu'une étude morte, incapable de féconder l'esprit qui s'y livre ». This teaching thus aims at bringing to you a methodological reflexion in a context of specific and concrete research. For this purpose we propose to you to work on a common topic which will connect the course and the seminar: «Le rapport des citoyen-ne-s à la politique».

Seminar
The seminar attached to the course is conceived as a workshop of research where the students will put into practice the concepts of quantitative methods taught at the course by the means of their work and readings. For this reason, it is not possible to follow solely the seminar without following the course.

Bibliography

Une bibliographie est fournie dans le syllabus du cours et du séminaire, qui est distribué en classe et disponible sur Claroline.

Programme requirements

Teaching intended for 3rd year students having followed Stat I

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