Quantitative Methods
Postgraduate course
- ECTS credits
- 10
- Teaching semesters
- Spring
- Course code
- GOV321
- Number of semesters
- 1
- Teaching language
- Norwegian or English
- Resources
- Schedule
- Reading list
Course description
Objectives and Content
The aim of this course is to provide the students with solid skills in the most important techniques and recent developments within quantitative methods in political science/public administration. The course will enable students to carry out empirical research on their own and make sound choices of research methods when writing their MA-thesis. As a preparation for conducting their own literature reviews the course will train students in understanding and assessing critically different methods used in other research contributions. The students will be offered an advanced overview of different methods that are useful in the study of organizations and public administration: Experimental methods, various forms of statistical analyses such as linear regression, logistic regression, and multilevel analysis. In addition, the course provides an introduction to quantitative text analysis and network analysis. The course will be based on the statistical package
Stata. Finally, an aim is to illustrate how methodological choices are related to different traditions in the philosophy of sciences.
The course consists of the following components:
- Philosophy of Science and Basic Conceptual Analysis
- Experimental methods
- Ordinary linear regression
- Logistic regression
- Inferential statistics and significance testing
- Quantitative text analysis
- Network analysis
Learning Outcomes
A student who has completed the course should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:
Knowledge
The student can
- Give an account of the most important recent developments in quantitative methods within political science/public administration
- Explain the logic of different experimental methods and the differences between them
- Explain different statistical methods
Skills
The student can
- Employ different methods to analyze a research question
- Argue for the choice of method
- Argue for the choice of statistical technique
- Use Stata in preparing and analyzing data
General competence
The student can
- Make well-grounded choices of methodological approach
- Argue for the strengths and weaknesses of a given methodological approach
- Assess critically the validity of the results from an empirical investigation
ECTS Credits
Level of Study
Semester of Instruction
Required Previous Knowledge
Recommended Previous Knowledge
Credit Reduction due to Course Overlap
Access to the Course
The course is open for students who have been accepted to Master programmes at the Department of Government.
Exchange students at master level may be accepted upon application. Applications may be rejected due to capacity.
Teaching and learning methods
Compulsory Assignments and Attendance
Participation in practical exercises organized through seminars is compulsory. A minimum of 75% attendance at the seminar is required.
The assignments in the seminars must be completed in order to take the exam. Approved compulsory assignments are valid in the current and following two semesters.
Forms of Assessment
An five-hour school exam.
The exam will be given in the language in which the course is taught.
The exam answer can be submitted in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish. It is also possible to submit in English.
Grading Scale
Assessment Semester
Assessment in teaching semester.
A retake exam is arranged for students with valid absence according to § 5-5 in the UiB regulations.
If there is a retake exam, this will be available for students with the follow results/absences:
- Medical certificate/valid absence
- Interruption during the exam
- Fail/failed
If you have the right to take a retake exam and a retake exam is arranged for students with valid absences, you can sign up yourself in Studentweb after 1. August