SFV4800 Master Thesis Preparation Workshop - Quantitative Methods Course description

SFV4800 The Ungdata Workshop is an interdisciplinary master's course that ties in research, teaching and the field of practice together, and that gives students the opportunity to work with "fresh" quantitative data.Each year, over one hundred municipalities and counties carry out a survey among pupils at the lower secondary level and at upper secondary level in their field (see www.ungdata.no for more information). The questionnaires used in these Undata surveys cover topics such as living conditions, parents and friends, school and the future, recreation, health and well-being, smoking, alcohol and drugs, and questions about criminal activity, violence and other at-risk behaviour. These surveys are relevant at an interdisciplinary level because they contain a wide range of variables, and the data are currently used as a basis for municipal planning and development work attached to public health and to preventative work directed at adolescents.The students will also have the opportunity to work with data from The Norwegian study on life course, ageing and generation (NorLAG). It is also possible for students to work on other data sets related to the master’s thesis.

The students taking the master's course Ungdata Workshop are given the opportunity to apply their knowledge of quantitative methods on "fresh" data about adolescents' life situations and living conditions. They learn to relate empirical analyses to thematic knowledge about the sociology of adolescents, get in touch with a research environment at the Department of Youth Research at NOVA, and experience the practical use of knowledge of quantitative methodology.

The master's course is a cooperation between the Institute for social work at the Department of Social Work, Child Welfare and Social Policy and the research institute NOVA, but is open to other master's degree students affiliated to other faculties at OsloMet that meet the requirements for participation. Special emphasis is placed on the students acquiring in-depth knowledge about the methodological craft by translating their own research inquiries into research questions that can be analysed using quantitative data, independent adaptations of quantitative data, completion and interpretation of pertaining analyses in SPSS.

The lectures and guidance related to NorLAG will be given fully in English, while the lectures and guidance related to Ungdata will be given in Norwegian. Students may choose either NorLAG or Ungdata classes. The two classes will have separate reading lists, lectures and data.

For students taking the Master`s Programme in Applied Social Sciences, one of the courses SFF4100, SFF4110, SIW4200 or SIW4210 must have been completed and passed. Applicants from other master's degree programmes must have completed and passed quantitative methodology, worth a minimum of 5 ECTs.

After completing the course the students are expected to have achieved the following knowledge, skills and competence:

Knowledge

The student has:

• advanced knowledge of different quantitative forms of analysis and practical implementation and quantitative analyses in SPSS

• specialised knowledge of key concepts related to the sociology of adolescents, such as identity, individualisation, negotiations, and knowledge of recreation and family life, education and social inequality, health and risk (Norwegian part)/ Specialised knowledge of key concepts related to the sociology of the elderly, as well as knowledge of health, work quality of life, care, and family relations in the second half of life (40 year+) (English part)

Skills

The student is capable of

• working independently on facilitation, analysis and interpretation of quantitative data

• analyzing empirical research about adolescents based on quantitative data

• understanding quantitative research articles and interpreting figures

Competence

The student is capable of

• linking theories about youth/older adults and quantitative methodology in an adequate manner 

• conducting, applying and disseminating quantitative research to the field of practice

The course consists of lectures, seminars and group supervision. The main emphasis is on student active teaching in the form of workshops.

The student must have submitted 1 compulsory assignment (2-3 pages) before the student can take the exam. The form and scope is determined by the course lecturer. If the requirement has not been approved, the student will be given the opportunity to submit an improved version once by the given deadline.

One individual written report. The report will comprise 10 pages (+/- 10 per cent), calibri, pt.12, 1.5 line spacing, including figures and tables. The report must incorporate the material in the syllabus.

All aids are permitted, as long as the rules for source referencing are complied with.

Grade scale A - F. 

The exam is graded by an internal and an external examiner.

A random selection consisting of at least 25 % of the exam papers will be graded by both an internal and external examiner. This will inform the grading of the remaining exam papers.

You can apply for admission to the course without being a student at the Department of Social Work, Welfare and Social Policy

Marja Aartsen, NOVA, SVA, OsloMet