Cambridge Research Methods course timetable

The course will provide students with an introduction to the popular and powerful statistics package Stata. Stata is commonly used by analysts in both the social and natural sciences, and is the statistics package used most widely by the SSRMP. You will learn:

• How to open and manage a dataset in Stata
• How to recode variables
• How to select a sample for analysis
• The commands needed to perform simple statistical analyses in Stata
• Where to find additional resources to help you as you progress with Stata

The course is intended for students who already have a working knowledge of statistics - it's designed primarily as a ""second language"" course for students who are already familiar with another package, perhaps R or SPSS. Students who don't already have a working knowledge of applied statistics should look at courses in our Basic Statistics Stream.

The course will provide students with an introduction to the popular and powerful statistics package Stata. Stata is commonly used by analysts in both the social and natural sciences, and is the statistics package used most widely by the SSRMP. You will learn:

• How to open and manage a dataset in Stata
• How to recode variables
• How to select a sample for analysis
• The commands needed to perform simple statistical analyses in Stata
• Where to find additional resources to help you as you progress with Stata

The course is intended for students who already have a working knowledge of statistics - it's designed primarily as a ""second language"" course for students who are already familiar with another package, perhaps R or SPSS. Students who don't already have a working knowledge of applied statistics should look at courses in our Basic Statistics Stream.

This is an introductory course for students who have little or no prior training in statistics.

The module is divided between pre-recorded mini-lectures, in which you'll learn the relevant theory, and hands-on live practical sessions in Zoom, in which you will learn how to analyse real data using the statistical package, Stata.

You will learn:

• The key features of quantitative analysis, and how it differs from other types of empirical analysis
• The basics of formal hypothesis testing
• Basic concepts: what is a variable? what is the distribution of a variable? and how can we best represent a distribution graphically?
• Features of statistical distributions: measures of central tendency and dispersion
• The normal distribution
• Why statistical testing works
• Statistical methods used to test simple hypotheses
• How to use Stata

The analysis of policy depends on many disciplines and techniques and so is difficult for many researchers to access. This module provides a mixed perspective on policy analysis, taking both an academic and a practitioner perspective. This is because the same tools and techniques can be used in academic research on policy options and change as those used in practice in a policy environment. This course is provided as three 2 hour sessions delivered as a mix of lectures and seminars. No direct analysis work will be done in the sessions themselves, but some sample data and questions will be provided for students who wish to take the material into practice.

This module introduces focus group research as a qualitative research method. Attention is given to the key elements and methodological consideration of conducting focus group research. It also explores the process of conducting focus group research, where students are given the opportunity to design focus group questions, and to experience the role of researcher in the practical workshops.

The module introduces causal inference methods that are commonly used in quantitative research, in particularly social policy evaluations. It covers the contexts and principles as well as applications of several specific methods - instrumental variable approach, regression discontinuity design, and difference-in-differences analysis. Key aspects of the module include investigations of the theoretical basis, statistical process, and illustrative examples drawn from research papers published on leading academic journals. The module incorporates both formal lecturing and lab practice to facilitate understanding and applications of the specific methods covered. The module is suitable for those who are interested in quantitative research and analysis of causality across a range of topics in social sciences.

The module introduces causal inference methods that are commonly used in quantitative research, in particularly social policy evaluations. It covers the contexts and principles as well as applications of several specific methods - instrumental variable approach, regression discontinuity design, and difference-in-differences analysis. Key aspects of the module include investigations of the theoretical basis, statistical process, and illustrative examples drawn from research papers published on leading academic journals. The module incorporates both formal lecturing and lab practice to facilitate understanding and applications of the specific methods covered. The module is suitable for those who are interested in quantitative research and analysis of causality across a range of topics in social sciences.

Ethics and the associated process of approval / review are an important component of any research project, not only practically enabling research to take place but also enabling researchers to consider the values underpinning their research. The aim of this course is to take both a practical and reflective approach to ethics. On a practical level, the course will focus on identifying the steps involved in seeking ethical approval or undertaking an ethical review. On a reflective level, the course will explore the values informing key ethical principles and concepts and how these may relate to individual’s research.

Open Source Investigation for Academics is methodology course run by Cambridge’s Digital Verification Corps, in partnership with Cambridge’s Centre of Governance and Human Rights, Social Sciences Research Methods Programme and Cambridge Digital Humanities, as well as with the Citizen Evidence Lab at Amnesty International.

NB. Places on this module are extremely limited, so please only make a booking if you are able to attend all of the sessions.

This is an introductory course for students who have little or no prior training in statistics.

The module is divided between pre-recorded mini-lectures, in which you'll learn the relevant theory, and hands-on live practical sessions in Zoom, in which you will learn how to analyse real data using the statistical package, Stata.

You will learn:

• The key features of quantitative analysis, and how it differs from other types of empirical analysis
• The basics of formal hypothesis testing
• Basic concepts: what is a variable? what is the distribution of a variable? and how can we best represent a distribution graphically?
• Features of statistical distributions: measures of central tendency and dispersion
• The normal distribution
• Why statistical testing works
• Statistical methods used to test simple hypotheses
• How to use Stata

This is an introductory course for students who have little or no prior training in statistics.

The module is divided between pre-recorded mini-lectures, in which you'll learn the relevant theory, and hands-on live practical sessions in Zoom, in which you will learn how to analyse real data using the statistical package, Stata.

You will learn:

• The key features of quantitative analysis, and how it differs from other types of empirical analysis
• The basics of formal hypothesis testing
• Basic concepts: what is a variable? what is the distribution of a variable? and how can we best represent a distribution graphically?
• Features of statistical distributions: measures of central tendency and dispersion
• The normal distribution
• Why statistical testing works
• Statistical methods used to test simple hypotheses
• How to use Stata

This module introduces focus group research as a qualitative research method. Attention is given to the key elements and methodological consideration of conducting focus group research. It also explores the process of conducting focus group research, where students are given the opportunity to design focus group questions, and to experience the role of researcher in the practical workshops.

The module introduces causal inference methods that are commonly used in quantitative research, in particularly social policy evaluations. It covers the contexts and principles as well as applications of several specific methods - instrumental variable approach, regression discontinuity design, and difference-in-differences analysis. Key aspects of the module include investigations of the theoretical basis, statistical process, and illustrative examples drawn from research papers published on leading academic journals. The module incorporates both formal lecturing and lab practice to facilitate understanding and applications of the specific methods covered. The module is suitable for those who are interested in quantitative research and analysis of causality across a range of topics in social sciences.

The module introduces causal inference methods that are commonly used in quantitative research, in particularly social policy evaluations. It covers the contexts and principles as well as applications of several specific methods - instrumental variable approach, regression discontinuity design, and difference-in-differences analysis. Key aspects of the module include investigations of the theoretical basis, statistical process, and illustrative examples drawn from research papers published on leading academic journals. The module incorporates both formal lecturing and lab practice to facilitate understanding and applications of the specific methods covered. The module is suitable for those who are interested in quantitative research and analysis of causality across a range of topics in social sciences.

This short course introduces Embodied Inquiry as a research method interested in knowledge generated through the body, not just knowledge of the body. Embodied Inquiry has gained traction as a creative research method capable of challenging the mind-body split and exploring the possible role of the body in research, both for the researcher and for participants. The course will provide a broad overview of the theoretical grounding for embodied inquiry, what embodied inquiry can look like within the social sciences as well as the benefits and pitfalls of embodied inquiry as a method. In addition, the course will provide opportunities to consider how embodied inquiry might relate to individual’s research projects and identifying where to find out more about embodied inquiry.