Project Summary
This project is hosted by: Institute of Commonwealth Studies
- Research interests:
- Academic Support, Digital resources, Social Sciences
- Regions:
- Africa, Asia, United Kingdom
- Project period:
- 01-Mar-2013 - 01-Jul-2014
- Project summary:
- he training consists of an intensive course, with two strands, taught over two terms, aimed at introducing humanities PGRs to quantitative research methods. By the end of the course, the students should be equipped to understand how to use these methodologies, and to evaluate critically work that employs them. The first strand of the course, taught by postdoctoral researchers currently using such methods, will address issues such as,
- Problems in humanities research that can be addressed by quantitative methods;
- Project design, data collection and sampling: selecting and managing datasets;
- The historical and cultural contexts of datasets;
- Inference and significance in data analysis;
- The development of grounded theory;
- Measures of association and difference, including the Chi-Square Test;
- Forms of linear regression analysis and frequency distribution;
- Discussion of the use of Excel, SPSS, GIS and other software packages for quantitative analysis, with some preliminary training in the use of SPSS. The second strand will develop students' practical understanding in an accessible and engaging way. Drawing on the extensive resources available to the three participating institutions : UCL, King's and the School of Advanced Study, a series of strategically-positioned weekly 'guest lectures' both by leading academics and by professionals from the non-academic sector will take place, demystifying the subject and demonstrating how statistical concepts are applied in a series of practical situations. Utilising the partner institutions' central London position and their extensive networks, speakers would be drawn from government, international organisations, journalism, the financial sector
Management Details
Lead researcher & project contact:
| Name | Position | Institute | Organisation | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professor Philip Murphy | Director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies; Professor of British and Commonwealth History; Joint editor, Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History | Institute of Commonwealth Studies | School of Advanced Study | philip.murphy@sas.ac.uk |
Funding:
| Funder | Grant type | Award |
|---|---|---|
| AHRC | Collaborative Skills Development | £25,412 |