6 ECTS credits
180 h study time
Offer 1 with catalog number 1005060BNR for all students in the 1st semester
at
a (B) Bachelor - advanced level.
- Semester
- 1st semester
- Enrollment based on exam contract
- Impossible
- Grading method
- Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
- Can retake in second session
- Yes
- Enrollment Requirements
- Studenten die dit opleidingsonderdeel opnemen, moeten geslaagd zijn voor 'Statistiek I voor de sociale wetenschappen', 'Onderzoeksmethodologie' en geslaagd zijn voor minstens 30 ECTS-credits op bachelorniveau.
Studenten in een verkort traject communicatiewetenschappen kunnen dit opleidingsonderdeel opnemen. Echter, een zekere basiskennis is vereist. Van deze studenten wordt verwacht inzicht te hebben in beschrijvende statistiek, aangezien hierop wordt verder gebouwd. Wanneer de student niet beschikt over deze kennis, wordt zelfstudie verwacht voor aanvang van het eerste college (aanbevolen hoofdstuk 1-3 in Verhoeven, N., 2017. Statistiek in Stappen. Amsterdam: Boom Uitgevers).
- Taught in
- Dutch
- Faculty
- Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool
- Department
- Communication Sciences
- Educational team
- Ilse Marien
(course titular)
Stephanie Tintel
Jorre Vannieuwenhuyze
- Activities and contact hours
-
78 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
102 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
- Course Content
The course in quantitative research methods is centered on the development of research competencies among students in Communication Sciences. More in particular, it focuses on data collection and analysis of numerical data. On the one hand, students will learn how to understand, assess and interpret such research studies in the field of Communication Sciences. On the other hand, students will have to integrate knowledge, skills and critical attitudes in order to conceive and conduct a scientific study independently using quantitative methods and analysis techniques. The course stresses learning goals at the highest level. The course enables students to apply techniques and methods to collect, analyse and interpret quantitative data in the context of this course and others, e.g. the bachelor’s or master’s thesis. To this end, interactive lectures, practical exercises and independent study assignments are combined.
The course is set up in such a way it underpins all research stages of quantitative research. It grounds in the premise of the significance of ‘data’ in contemporary society and communication. This theoretical framework will then lay base to yield insights into the importance of formulating research questions as well as investigating various types of research designs and methods guided by research ethics.
Quantitative data collection, analysis and reporting are discussed by, primarily, survey research, experiments and designing your own research project. Insights are produced into, a.o. the use of statistics for scale definition, sampling methods, significance testing, bivariate analyses, cluster and factor analysis. The importance of reliability and validity are herein continuously emphasized.
- Course material
- Handbook (Required) : Quantitative Research Methods for Communication, A Hands-On Approach, Jason S. Wrench, Candice Thomas-Maddox, and Virginia Peck Richmond, Fourth Edition, Oxford University Press, 9780190861063, 2018
Handbook (Recommended) : De vragenlijst, J.Brinkman, 3de druk, Noordhoff Uitgevers B.V., 9789001834142, 2014
Digital course material (Required) : Slides e.a., Canvas
Handbook (Recommended) : Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics, A. Field, 5de, London, Sage Publications, 9781526419521, 2017
Handbook (Recommended) : Surveys in Social Research, D. De Vaus, 6de, London, Routledge Ebook, 9781134086382, 2013
Handbook (Recommended) : Statistiek in stappen, N. Verhoeven, 3de, Amsterdam, Boom Uitgevers, 9789024427789, 2019
Handbook (Recommended) : Research Design in Social Research, D. De Vaus, London, Sage, 9780761953470, 2001
- Additional info
The learning material that is used for the course unit is very diverse, such as various manuals (NL/ENG), presentation slides and exercises. The learning material serves to prepare and support (mandatory) contact moments, to support the processing of learning content, to critically assess various methods and techniques, to practice analytical techniques by means of statistical software, as well as gaining insight with regard to specific learning contents that are not explained during the contact moments. The online learning platform Canvas is mainly used to support self-study, supplemented with tools for interaction and remote communication (e.g., Skype).
Additional calculation format:
- Practical exercises (WPO): collective and individual contact moments where the student works on the contents supported by the lecturers and peers
- Self-study (ZELF): independent study activities
The following information is indicative for the number and contents of study hours for this course:
WPO: 78 hours
- classes / exercises: 54 hours
- individual and peer feedback: 24 hours (questions via email or during walk-in hours)
ZELF: 102 hours
- preparation for contact moments and self-study: 42 hours
- integrated assignments: 60 hours
- Learning Outcomes
-
General competencies
This course contributes to the following general learning results of the bachelor in communication sciences:
- students have knowledge and insight regarding applicable research methods in the discipline,
- students demonstrate insight in the diversity of sources and search techniques,
- students show a critical attitude with regard to sources and literature,
- students can devlop their own scientifically grounded judgement and act in the spirit of free inquiry – i.e. with an open, critical-constructive and a-dogmatic attitude. Students do not seek ‘ultimate truths’, yet respond to scientific debate and the relative uncertainty of insights from an open position,
- students can critically and self-critically, with a long term perspective, from an interdisciplinary angle, and cautious of monocausal interpretations, gauge the impact of social, cultural, economic, ethical, technological, political, legal and other factors to communication processes,
- students reflect upon their own position as scientists, construe assumptions and identify and explicitate critically their presuppositions,
- students are able to communicate information, insights and their research findings to diverse audiences in writing, orally and by using multimedia,
- students can – with guidance – learn and act independently, creatively, critically and entrepreneurially,
- students apply, under supervision and on a general and junior level, knowledge and insights regarding diverse research methods of Communication sciences,
- students are competent to set up and accomplish communication scientific research, inspired by, in the framework of, or analogous to existing studies.
- Grading
-
The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Practical Exam determines 100% of the final mark.
Within the Practical Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:
- Scale Construction
with a relative weight of 10
which comprises 10% of the final mark.
Note: Report
- Questionnaire Development
with a relative weight of 20
which comprises 20% of the final mark.
Note: Report and Review
- Research Design
with a relative weight of 20
which comprises 20% of the final mark.
Note: Report
- Statistical analysis
with a relative weight of 50
which comprises 50% of the final mark.
Note: Report
- Additional info regarding evaluation
Students attendance is essential. Students are also expected to participate actively during the various learning activities, namely during the face-to-face lecturing and practical exercise sessions, next to independent studying of learning contents.
The following agreements apply to students who, on the basis of their total mark (practical exam + written exam), have to retake the course unit:
If the student failed a certain assignment, a replacement assignment will be given that is always made as an individual assignment, the replacement assignment still has the same weight in the final result. For assignments for which a pass was obtained in the 1st examination period, the points are transferred to the 2nd examination period, unless the student submits the corresponding replacement assignment in the 2nd examination period.
The various partial results are not transferred to the next academic year.
- Allowed unsatisfactory mark
- The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.
Academic context
This offer is part of the following study plans:
Bachelor of Philosophy and Moral Sciences: default (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Communication Studies: Standaard traject (only offered in Dutch)
Bridging Programme Master of Science in Communication Studies: Standaard traject (only offered in Dutch)
Preparatory Programme Master of Science in Communication Studies: Standaard traject (only offered in Dutch)