Course will provide an advanced treatment of how social science approaches can be used to inform policy, business and service delivery decisions. This course will cover state-of-the-art social science techniques using a range of data sources. Content includes panel data analysis, evaluation methods, use of machine learning in social sciences, prediction, use of administrative data, text as data, rapid review and meta-analysis and cost-benefit analysis.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- understand the assumptions, strengths and limitations of advanced techniques for analysing data in the social sciences;
- use appropriate software packages to manage and analyse data;
- identify key issues and problems in empirical analysis and propose solutions to them;
- communicate and critique research in a rigorous manner; and
- discuss the policy and/or theoretical implications of advanced social science approaches.
Indicative Assessment
- Class participation (5) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Assignment 1 - Critique of selected empirical paper (1,500 words) (15) [LO 1,4]
- Assignment 2 - Research project using real-world data (3,500 words) (35) [LO 2,3,4,5]
- Oral presentation - Policy brief from research project (10 minutes) (20) [LO 5]
- Class test (2 hours) (25) [LO 1]
In response to COVID-19: Please note that Semester 2 Class Summary information (available under the classes tab) is as up to date as possible. Changes to Class Summaries not captured by this publication will be available to enrolled students via Wattle.
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Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from: a) 36 hours of contact over 12 weeks: made up of face-to-face lectures, tutorials and online activities; and b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
To be provided on the course Wattle site.Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $3570 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $5460 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Winter Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6271 | 10 Aug 2020 | 21 Aug 2020 | 21 Aug 2020 | 09 Oct 2020 | In Person | N/A |