Quantitative Social Research
PostgraduateGRF-CCJ7362025
Course information for 2025 intake View information for 2024 course intake
Sharpen your ability to process and analyse raw quantitative social science data using SPSS for Windows. Study the use of statistics in criminal justice, the description of samples and the tools to describe data and relationships.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Enrol by
- 23 Feb 2025
- Entry requirements
- Part of a degree
- Duration
- 13 weeks
- Price from
- $3,438
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- FEE-HELP available
Quantitative Social Research
About this subject
After successfully completing this subject you should be able to:
- Appraise and select the appropriate analytical technique to address a research problem
- Use SPSS to perform commonly used statistical techniques
- Interpret and write up these analyses appropriately
- Develop an understanding of statistical techniques that will assist you as a competent consumer of empirical criminological, and social science, research.
- Describing data
- Variability
- Sampling and distributions
- Measurement
- Hypothesis testing
- Examining differences and associations
- Correlation and regression
- Multiple regression
- Bringing it together
This subject was previously known as Quantitative Skills for Criminologists.
This subject is designed to equip students with the skills needed to process and analyse raw quantitative social science data.
We see statistics everywhere. "There was a 20% reduction in crime rates in the past year"; "offenders with social support networks are 1.4 times more likely to successfully complete drug court orders". Where do these numbers come from? How do we interpret them? And how do we know whether we can trust them? Learning about how to interpret, carry out, and report quantitative analyses is important in criminology and in social sciences in general, as it provides the skills to understand, interpret, and criticise the statistics that surround us. Further, it will provide a range of fundamental skills critical to doing research and evaluation projects in a number of different sectors.
This course will cover the nature and use of statistics in criminological and criminal justice research, the description of samples and populations, as well as the tools to describe data and relationships, to test statistical hypotheses, and begin to examine multivariate analysis. It will also introduce formats for reporting and writing about quantitative data.
The value of statistics is not limited to academic projects. These are very marketable and valuable skills that are of use in other public and commercial organisations.
- Analysis Report 2 (50%)
- Online Quiz (20%)
- Analysis Report 1 (30%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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- Times Higher Education Ranking 2024:
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Entry requirements
Part of a degree
To enrol in this subject you must be accepted into one of the following degrees:
Elective
- GRF-MCJ-MAS-2025 - Master of Criminology and Criminal Justice
- GRF-MCJ-GCE-2025 - Graduate Certificate in Criminology and Criminal Justice
- GRF-FMH-MAS-2025 - Master of Forensic Mental Health
Equivalent subjects
You should not enrol in this subject if you have successfully completed any of the following subject(s) because they are considered academically equivalent:
GRF-MCCJ7036 (Not currently available)
Additional requirements
- Software requirements - IBM SPSS Student Version 24.0
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
Related degrees
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
Master of Criminology and Criminal Justice
PostgraduateGRF-MCJ-MAS
Graduate Certificate in Criminology and Criminal Justice
PostgraduateGRF-MCJ-GCE
Master of Forensic Mental Health
PostgraduateGRF-FMH-MAS