PSC 508SEM - Basic Statistics for Social Sciences

This course is an introduction to methods for constructing and testing simple empirical representations of theories about politics. The main topics include descriptive statistics, probability distributions, sampling theory, sample estimation, hypothesis testing, bivariate and multivariate data analysis. Primary emphasis is on understanding statistical concepts and principles and applying them to common problems of political analysis (e.g., measuring public opinion, predicting election outcomes, assessing the impact of economic change on political stability, determining the relationship between interest group lobbying and legislative decision making). Students will gain some experience in using computers and social science software to analyze data pertinent to different political issues.

Credits: 3