Course aims:

Acquiring the basic knowledge and skills necessary to apply descriptive and inferential statistics in the analysis of social phenomena.
Understanding the fundamental concepts of probability, distributions, estimation, and hypothesis testing
- Use of computer programs for statistical calculations and graphical representations.
- Critical interpretation of statistical results in sociological contexts

Course Entry Requirements:

N/A

Course contents:

1. Introduction to statistics
- The role of statistics in scientific research
- The use of statistics in the sociologist profession
2. Preparing data for analysis
- Measuring the characteristics of variables
3. Presentation of a statistical analysis program (SPSS, PSPP)
- Building a database
4. Descriptive statistics - univariate
- Frequency distributions
- Graphical presentation of frequency distributions
- Relative frequencies, cumulative frequencies
5. Indicators of central tendency
- Mean
- Mode
- Median
- Mean deviation, standard deviation and variance
6. Indicators of dispersion
- Amplitude
- Standard deviation
7. Descriptive statistics - bivariate
- Testing statistical links depending on the type of variables
- Discrete variables and continuous variables
8 Contingency tables
- Definition and calculation of the HI squared size, statistical significance and association coefficients based on this value

9. linear covariance of two variables
- Correlation coefficient (Bravis-Pearson)
- One-Way ANOVA
- Calculating the correlation coefficient with the SPSS, PSPP program
- Interpreting data from correlation tables in SPSS, PSPP
10. Independent simple t test (t test) and Mann Whitney U test (for ordinal variables)
11 Regression analysis - Linear regression in the case of two variables
- General aspects, regression equation
- Interpreting the point cloud that graphically expresses the relationship between two quantitative variables
12 Association of nominal qualitative characteristics
- Symmetric indicators of the association of nominal qualitative characteristics
- Asymmetric indicators of the association of nominal qualitative characteristics
13 Association of ordinal qualitative characteristics
- Coefficient τa (Kendall's) and Coefficients τb and τc (Kendall's)

Teaching methods:

Lecture, Conversation, Example

Learning outcomes:

A1 – Uses specialized computer applications and programs to manage databases with socioeconomic and cultural indicators.
R3 – Analyzes empirical data and critically evaluates sociocultural research efforts.
R6 – Constructs and evaluates relevant social indicators for social and cultural research.

Learning outcomes verification and assessment criteria:

– Define and choose statistical methods for social research. Identify appropriate methods, techniques, procedures and tools for the statistical analysis of social phenomena

Recommended reading:

Dusa A., Elemente de analiză comparativă, Tritonic, Bucuresti, 2014, 160.
Rotariu, T., Iluț, P., coord, Metode statistice aplicate în științele sociale, Polirom, Iasi, 1999, 420.
-, Social Statistics, SAGE Publications, -, 2010, -.