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Unit of study_

SSPS6006: Data Analytics for Social Research

2025 unit information

Social science research abounds with data of different nature, sources, and forms. In many situations, available data can be summarised and analysed quantitatively to identify trends, uncover patterns, or test hypotheses. This unit presents fundamental ideas behind modern data analytics and provides students with hands-on experience of analysing social science data using the R language. First, we cover data manipulation, data cleaning, and basic visualisation. We will then move on to the methods of exploratory data analysis and finding patterns in data. The unit will conclude with an introduction to statistical inference, linear regression analysis and its limitations for causal analysis.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Arts and Social Sciences

Study level Postgraduate
Academic unit Government and International Relations
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
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None
Corequisites:
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None
Prohibitions:
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SSPS4102
Assumed knowledge:
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None

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. Find, clean, and analyse data from diverse sources.
  • LO2. Produce meaningful data visualisations and reports.
  • LO3. Demonstrate understanding of statistical concepts to address social science research problems.
  • LO4. Use professional tools for data analysis such as R and RStudio.
  • LO5. Demonstrate understanding of how to use data and data analytics in social research design.

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 2 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2025
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
There are no availabilities for previous years.

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Modes of attendance (MoA)

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