Block 1.

4 Bachelor
Quantitative Methods (FSWSB-1040) and
SPSS labs (FSWSB-1045)

Illustrations by Allison Horst www.statsthewayilikeit.com

Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UC Santa Barbara

Dr. Caspar J. van Lissa

Department of Public Administration and Sociology (EUR)
Contact: vanlissa@fsw.eur.nl

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Quantitative methods
Year: 2016-2017

Course code: FSWSB-1040

Coordinator: Caspar J. Van Lissa

Course type: Lectures, tutorials

Examination: Written multiple choice exam

Semester: Block 1.4

ECTS: 6

SPSS labs
Lecturejaar: 2016-2017

Course code: FSWSB-1045

Coordinator: Caspar J. Van Lissa

Course type: SPSS computer labs

Examination: SPSS-test

Semester: Block 1.4

ECTS: 1.5

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Index
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 4
Learning goals .............................................................................................................................. 6
Literature ....................................................................................................................................... 8
Planning and activities .................................................................................................................. 9
Examination ................................................................................................................................ 10
Overview of lectures ................................................................................................................... 12
Overview of SPSS labs ............................................................................................................... 15
Mandatory attendance ................................................................................................................ 16

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Introduction
Welcome to the course Quantitative Methods, and the accompanying SPSS labs! This is the
joint syllabus for the two courses of block 1.4. In this semester, you are going to develop
your statistical knowledge and skills with regard to quantitative, social-scientific research.
The material of this block builds upon the Methods course of block 1.3, and is fundamental
to your ability to conduct and evaluate quantitative social-scientific research.

Quantitative research techniques

This course will teach you the basic tools of quantitative research. Quantitative methods
are not only applied in sociology or public administration, but also in different fields of
psychology, criminology, and political science. Conducting (scientific or applied) research is
impossible without a basic understanding of statistics. Moreover, statistics are an
important job skill. Many fields outside of science make use of statistics, and statistics play
an important role in business, policy making, and governance. You probably know that
many stakeholders collect data about you: The government, social media, even your local
supermarket try to collect as much information about your habits as possible. The future of
work is in the hands of a data-literate generation who can tame this jungle of data!

In the last block, you learned how to use the empirical cycle to develop a research idea into
a research question and testable hypotheses. In this block, you will learn how to use
collected data to test your hypotheses, and answer your research question. However,
understanding statistics is not only useful for testing your own theories. It also allows you
to understand and critically evaluate research that has been conducted by others.

Why quantitative methods/statistics?

Sample versus population
The main reason for using statistics, is that we are often interested in making claims about
a large group (a population) of people for example, we want to say something about
how motivation predicts students grades. However, we usually dont have access to all
people in the population (all students). If we can collect a smaller group of people (a
sample), who are representative of the population, then we can use statistics to make
some claims about the population.
If we want to examing the relation between motivation and grades, we might try to contact
a random sample of 100 students from all Dutch universities, and have them fill out a
questionnaire. The statistical tools you will learn in this course will allow you to analyze

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the data from this sample, and make some predictions about the effect in the rest of the
population.
To practice these skills, we will collect some data (anonymously) from a convenience
sample of all students in this class. Of course, you are not a random sample there are
many things that set you apart from the rest of the population, aside from your unbridled
passion for quantitative methods!

Summarizing and describing data

In research, the first step is usually to summarize and describe your data. During the
course, we will use the data collected from all students to practice our analyses, and to give
some examples during lectures.
Obviously, we cannot examine hundreds of cases individually. We thus need a way to
summarize and describe the data of hundreds of students. Imagine, for example, that I want
to describe the ages of the students in this class. I could plot a graph, which shows the
number of students of different ages. I could also calculate descriptive statistics, such as the
mean (mathematical average) of the ages of all students, or calculate the most common age
(mode).
Just giving the mean/average does not capture the differences between students, however.
In high schools, most students in a class have approximately the same age, and the mean
says about all there is to say. In university, however, there are larger differences between
students, because some students are fresh out of high school, whereas others are returning
from a gap year, or have worked for a few years. Discribing such differences in the
distribution of the data is important. If you want to provide some information about how
similar the ages of students are within this class, you use the standard deviation.

Testing differences
After describing and summarizing the data, we might be interested in testing some
differences. We can use statistical tests to see if there is a difference and more
importantly, if this difference is likely to be true in the population. For example, we want
to know whether men and women in this classroom have the same mean (average) age. We
could just look at the mean age for men and women in our sample, and if men have a higher
mean age, we could say on average, male students are older than female students. But is
this accurate? Remember, we are looking at a sample, and trying to make a claim about the
population of all students.
We must therefore find a way to express our uncertainty about any difference that we find
in the sample. If we have a very large sample, or find a very large difference between men

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and women, we can be more certain that this effect also exists in the population. If we have
a very small sample, or find a very small difference between men and women, we are not
very certain that this effect also exists in the population. The way we express such
uncertainty in statistics is using the p-value: p is the probability of observing the data we
collected, IF there is no difference between men and women in the population.

Predicting and explaining

Most researchers want to understand phenomena and make models that predict certain
outcomes. This is called inferential statistics.

Learning goals
By the end of the course Quantitative methods, the student will be able to:

Explain the four levels of measurement

Calculate measures of central tendency
Explain how measures of central tendency describe a distribution
Calculate the variability/variance of values
Calculate z-scores
Calculate probabilities
Formulate hypotheses which match the research question, and which can be tested
using statistical tests
Report research results
Explain the differences between a sample and the population
Calculate and compare sample- and population characteristics
Calculate t-values
Choose the correct analysis to test a research question: t-test, chi-square test,
correlation, bivariate regression, multiple regression
Explain the constructs of reliability and validity
Explain the use of scale variables
Use Cronbachs alpha as an estimator of reliability
Interpret correlations between two continuous variables
Interpret the outcomes of bivariate and multiple regression analysis

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By the end of the SPSS labs, the student will be able to:

Enter data in SPSS

Recode variables
Calculate new variables, based on existing ones
Plot graphs to describe data
Create subsets of datafiles
Make selections of datafiles
Performing the following calculations/analyses: calculating z-scores, t-tests,
Cronbachs alpha, correlations, Chi-square test, regression analysis.

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Literature
The following textbook will be used:
Salkind, N.J. (2014). Statistics for people who (think they) hate statistics. 5th edition.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc. ISBN: 9781452277714
Approx. 70 Euro
There are many versions of the book in circulation. This is the correct version (other
retailers are available): https://www.bol.com/nl/p/statistics-for-people-who-hate-
statistics/9200000018295279/?suggestionType=suggestedsearch

If you are interested in a very useful guide that will tell you exactly how to do analyses in
SPSS and report them for future assignments (such as your Thesis, for example), I would
recommend Andy Field. Its not too expensive, and it will be a great source of peace of mind
in the future. Often, you can find it second hand on Marktplaats too.
Andy Field (2013). Discovering statistics using SPSS (4th ed). Sage publications. ISBN
9781446249185

For Dutch students, an alternative to Andy Field is De Vocht. The current version is SPSS
24, but for our purposes, every version from 22 up will suffice:
De Vocht, A. (2015). Basishandhandboek SPSS 23. Utrecht: Bijleveld Press.
9789055482603

Several additional books are available in the studielandschap of the University Library:
Gravetter, F.J. & Wallnau, L.B. (2008). Essentials of statistics for the behavioral
sciences. 7th edition. Wadsworth: Cengage Learning.
Levin, J., Fox, J.A. & Forde, D.R. (2010). Elementary statistics of social research.
Boston: Pearson Education.

The following books are only available in Dutch, and have been used in previous years:
Verhoeven, N. (2015). Statistiek in stappen. Amsterdam: Boom Lemma Uitgevers.
McClave, J.T. Benson, P.G. & Sincich, T. (2007). Statistiek. Een inleiding voor het
hoger onderwijs. Amsterdam: Pearson Education.

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Planning and activities
The planning is based on the assumption that you devote 40 hours a week to your studies.
On average, students spend less time studying. It will be difficult to pass this course, unless
you take the time to study the book extensively, pay attention in class, and complete all
assignments. We know that the work load for this course is higher than the courses you
have taken thus far. We advise you to invest your time wisely and focus, so you can pass
this course on the first try!

No problem-based learning, but small-scale, interactive education

Problem-based learning is not always effective when learning statistics, because most
students posess too little expertise about the material. Practice is the key to learning
statistics. Therefore, it is important to process the material in different ways each week: By
reading, listening, practicing, and repeating. That is why we offer two lectures a week,
followed by SPSS lab sessions, and tutorials on the Friday. The tutorials in this block will be
slightly different from what youre used to. You will still spend a lot of time tackling applied
problems, and the education will still be small scale, and very interactive.

Lectures
Lectures are on Monday and Wednesday. The topics of the lectures closely follow the book
readings; so read the book chapters prior to the lectures.

Practice assignments
To rehearse and practice the material (for the exam) online exercises will be offered each
week.
The exercises must be completed each week by Sunday 23.59. The exercises will be made
available on Blackboard, and the instructions will be communicated via Socweb/BSKweb.

SPSS Computerlabs
In the computerlabs you can practice the material from the lectures using the SPSS
software package. SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) is a program to
manage data, plot and describe data, and perform statistical analyses. During the SPSS-
computerlabs, you will independently practice your SPSS skills, make assignments, and
rehearse the material by applying it. Tutors will be present to help you. Assignments you

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make during the SPSS computerlabs will not be graded. Making an effort is required,
however.
You will be assigned to an SPSS computerlab either prior to or following the lectures. The
exercises for the computerlabs are written so that you can complete them even if you have
not yet attended the lecture. It is recommended, however, to read the textbook beforehand!
Always attend the computerlab you have been assigned to (see My timetable on
Socweb/BSKweb). Due to lack of space, you cannot participate in a computerlab you have
not been assigned to.
It is recommended to purchase SPSS so you can practice independently. The program is
available at www.surfspot.nl ( 11,25). If you have purchased the program before, you can
buy a new one-year license for 2,50.

Tutorials
At the close of the week, all material from that week will be revisited in a tutorial. Complete
attendance is mandatory. You are required to participate in all tutorials (see below for
details). During the tutorials, students questions are addressed, and material will be
practiced by doing exercises.
Each week, before the workgroups, and assignment must be completed. This assigmnent
must be handed in each week on Thursday, by 12 noon via SocWeb/BSKweb.

At the end of block 1.4, these assignments are handed in as a final report, and are
evaluated. In each tutorial, each week, two or three students will be asked to
present/discuss the assignment of the week. Thus, always be prepared, because you can be
asked to present for your colleagues! The assignments will be discussed, and students can
use this discussion to improve their assignments for the final report.
The final report must be uploaded to SocWeb/BSKweb by Monday Februari 13th 2017,
23:59.
Examination
Quantitative methods (6 ECTS)
Your performance will be evaluated using:
4 tutorial assignments (weekly)
1 final report
1 written exam

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Tutorial assignments/Final report:
If a student fails to hand in the weekly tutorial assignment on time, a make-up
assignment has to be made. The student must contact the course coordinator to
request a make-up assignment.
The final report will be approved or rejected.
Final exam:
The final exam consists of 40 multiple choice questions. A cheat sheet with formulas will be
handed out. Other material cannot be consulted during the exam (no books, handouts, or
notes). Simple calculators (not graphical) are allowed. Grades range from 1 to 10 points.
The exam grade comprises 100% of your final grade.
The course can only be completed if 1) the final report has been positively evaluated,
2) all tutorial assignments have been completed, and 3) the attendance requirement
has been met.

SPSS labs (1.5 ECTS)

The SPSS labs will be evaluated using an SPSS-test.
You will be given a dataset, which you will use to conduct analyses and answer questions.
The grade for the SPSS-test comprises 100% of your final grade. Grades range from 1 to 10
points. It is not allowed to consult the literature during the SPSS-test (no books, handouts,
or notes).

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Overview of lectures
Lecture 1
Literature: Salkind, chapter 1 + 2 + 4; + p.107-109 (All about measurement scales)
We will discuss the importance of statistics, and introduce basic terms and topics such as:
- Variables
- Levels of measurement
- Describing and summarizing data, using descriptive statistics
- Using graphs to visualize data

Lecture 2
Literature: Salkind, chapter 3 + 8 (maar alleen: p. 145 155)
Because people differ (for example, not everybody in this class has the same age), we need
ways to describe variability, also known as variance. As it turns out, many things in nature
follow similar distributions, which I will introduce in this lecture. The most common
distribution is a (standard) normal distribution. We will also learn to standardize values
and work with the standardized (z) values.

Lecture 3
Literature: Salkind, chapter 8 (p. 155 einde)
Note: The explanation in Salkind is not very extensive. A lot of important information is
covered in very little space. Please read it multiple times if necessary, and/or watch the
following Youtube videos for additional explanation:
Normal distribution explained:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFYvUxOO2T4
Working with z-scores:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY2zWGBXBhU
During the lecture, we will further discuss z-scores, and how to use them to compute
probabilities.

Lecture 4
Literature: Salkind, chapter 6, but only these parts:
p. 106 (whats up with this measurement stuff?)
p. 109 (bottom) 111 (top)
p. 114 (starting from internal consistency reliability) p. 118
Salkind, chapter 7 + 9

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In this lecture we will discuss many topics first introduced in block 1.3 further, and discuss
the relevance of these topics for quantitative methods. For example, we will come back to
the constructs of reliability and validity. We will discuss scale construction, and Cronbachs
alpha as an estimator of scale reliability. I will further discuss why hypotheses are essential
in statistics, discuss Type I and Type II error, and the notion of falsification.

Lecture 5
Literature: Salkind, chapter 11 + p. 302-309 (starting from Introduction to one-
sample Chi-square)
We will transition from descriptive statistics to inferential statistics. I will clarify why we
use the t-distribution, and introduce the t-test for independent samples. Furthermore, we
will discuss the chi-square test, which is used to examine relationships between two
categorical variables.

Lecture 6
Literature: Salkind, chapter 5 + 15
In this lecture you will learn how to study relationships between two continuous variables
using Pearsons correlation. You will learn about dependent and independent variables.
You will also learn how the relationship between two variables can be biased. Scatterplots
can help to visualize the relationship between two variables.

Lecture 7
Literature: Salkind, chapter 16 + p. 315 (about Multiple Regression)
You will learn about regression analysis: A real statistical powertool! You will learn how
the results of a t-test or correlation can also be obtained using regression analysis.
Regression analysis further allows you to predict outcomes using predictor variables.
Finally, we will discuss multiple regression (several predictors).

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 Practice is key to understanding statistics. Therefore, we will use the final lecture to
repeat the material, relate topics to one another, and focus more on difficult subjects.
It is highly recommended to attend this exam training.

EXAM TRAINING Lecture 8

Literature: Everything, prepare practice exam
Exam training of the material of lectures 1 through 7, including the following topics:
Distributions, variance, population, sample, standardized (z) values, probabilities,
hypotheses, falsification, scales, t-tests, chi-square tests, correlation, reliability, validity,
Cronbachs alpha, bivariate en multiple regression analyses.
Discussing practice exam

EXAM TRAINING Lecture 9

If required, there will be a Q&A session
If students have remaining questions, I will offer a Q&A session to publically address these
questions.

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Overview of SPSS labs

There is no required literature. You are welcome to bring either Andy Field or De
Vocht, so you can independently find out how to execute certain commands. Youtube
is another great source of advice.

Lab 1:
In the first tutorial, you will become acquainted with SPSS. You will learn how to enter data,
name variables, save datasets, label variables and values, and specify the level of
measurement, decimal places, etcetera.
You will learn how to compute descriptive statistics and sort data.

Lab 2:
You will learn to manipulate data, by computing new variables and recoding variables.
You will learn to calculate and interpret the standard deviation and variance, and
standardized (z) scores.

Lab 3:
You will perform some calculations pertaining to standardized (z) values, and probabilities.

Lab 4:
You will use SPSS to select subsets of data, compute scales, and calculate Cronbachs Alpha
as an estimator of scale reliability. You will practice formulating research questions and
hypotheses.

Lab 5:
We will now transition to inferential statistics. You will learn to use the t-test to compare
group means for continuous data, and the Chi-square test to test for group differences in
categorical data. You will learn to evaluate your hypotheses, how to deal with missing
values, and violations of test assumptions.

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Lab 6:
You will learn to compute correlations, and to formulate research questions and
hypotheses about correlations. You will make scatterplots to visualize the correlated data.

Lab 7:
You will learn bivariate and multiple regression. You will also learn to write regression
equations, and perform simple computations. You will practice formulating research
questions and hypotheses.

Lab 8:
In the final lab session, you will make a practice SPSS-test, to prepare you for the final test.

Mandatory attendance
Students are required to attend all tutorials on the Friday (100% mandatory attendance).
After every tutorial, your tutor will record your attendance. If you cannot attend a tutorial,
you must complete an assignment to compensate for your absense. The assignment will also
help to assess your understanding of the material of the session you missed. You can see your
attendance records on SocWeb/BSKweb: MyStudy My attendance. You can also upload
your make-up assignment here. The make-up assignment must be uploaded before the last
Friday of the block (by 23:59). If the make-up assignment is positively evaluated, you will
have fulfilled your attendance requirement.

If your make-up assignment has not been approved by your teacher, you have one
opportunity to do the assignment over. You must upload the do-over assignment within two
weeks after the end of the block during which you handed in the make-up assignment. Note:
The option to do the assignment over is only available if the make-up assignment has been
completed faithfully and on time.

To facilitate learning, it is important that all students are on time. If you are late to class, you
may be assigned a make-up assignment in the following cases:
You are more than 15 minutes late
You are late for the third time, and have been less than 15 minutes late each time.
Every additional time you are late, you will be assigned a make-up assignment.

The make-up assignment is to write a 1500 word summary of the material that was
taught in the week of the missed tutorial. Summarize the concepts which were discussed,

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the methds you learned, and the relation of the material to prior knowledge. Check if your
work meets the requirements using the checklist below.
In blocks with less than 9 meetings, you can only have 1 make-up assignment!
If you are late or absent again, after having been assigned a make-up assignment, please
contact the study advisor.
Attendance is not mandatory for the lectures and the SPSS-labs.

Checklist make-up assignment

The assignment is 1500 words;
References are not included in the word count;
Always cite references when approrpiate;
References and citations must be according to the APA style;
Never literally copy existing text, including from the internet. If you must use literal
quotes, follow APA rules.
Summarize the material completely and accurately;
Check your spelling; your writing cannot contain more than 5 spelling errors;
The summary must be written as flowing text; avoid summaries whenever possible;
The make-up assignment is individual, and is not allowed to overlap with another
students work.

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