Quantitative Tool and Techniques

Quantitative Tools and Techniques:

Public Policy and Business

Jibran Hussain

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 Quantitative Tool and Techniques

Table of Contents

1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 03

2 Objective ....................................................................................................... 03

3 Contacting the module instructor .................................................................. 03

4 Pre-Requisites .............................................................................................. 03

5 Teaching and Learning Outcomes ............................................................... 04

6 Teaching Methodology ................................................................................. 04

7 Assessment Scheme ................................................................................... 04

8 Reading Materials ........................................................................................ 05

9 Course Requirement and Expectations ........................................................ 05

10 Academic Dishonesty ................................................................................... 05

11 Module Contents .......................................................................................... 06

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 Quantitative Tool and Techniques
Introduction

Institutional research is an organized and deliberate process through which people in organizations either
private or public efficiently learn new knowledge that helps them improve the understanding of events and
policies based on scientifically proven facts and figures which eventually improves state or organizational
performance. The course is intended to provide students with the necessary guidelines on quantitative tools
and procedures use in research methods and its application in policy matters. This course will survey a
range of quantitative methodologies commonly used in applied policy analysis. The course will cover the
role of the analyst and analyses in policy making, formal models of the policy process, the role of
quantification in problem definition, basic statistics and probability, data and its meaning (including
uncertainties), projection and prediction, decision analysis and game theory, government budgeting, cost-
benefit analysis, and graphical methods.

Objective

This is an introductorylevel course in quantitative methods and their application to public policy. It will
familiarize students with a variety of tools and concepts that can be used to quantitatively analyze policy
issues.
Broadly, the course has three objectives:
(1) to provide students with the ability to adopt a statistical perspective when analysing events around them;
(2) to demonstrate the importance and relevance of statistics in public policy and everyday life;
(3) to equip students with the basic tools and methods of statistical analysis, and a critical understanding of
their practical applications.
The goal of this course is to provide students with a statistical foundation for quantitative analyses of public
policy. The core of the course will address descriptive statistics, probability, inferential statistics, and
bivariate associations. Throughout the course how and when to use various statistical techniques will be
emphasized.
The main objective of this module is to develop participants understanding of a comprehensive, systematic
treatment of the scientific approach to research. This course will emphasize the relationship between
theory, research and practice and integrate various research activities in an orderly framework so that the
student can easily comprehend research in policy process/business.

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 Quantitative Tool and Techniques
Contacting the Module Instructor

You can contact your module instructor in the following ways:

Email: jibranhr@gmail.com
Meeting: Please coordinate through email.
Prerequisites

The students should have sufficient understanding of the statistical methods in business research, basic
computer skills of MS Office (Excel), preliminary courses on Mathematics and Statistics.

After studying this course the participants should be able

Gain a conceptual understanding of statistical description and inference

Be able to interpret and report quantitative research finding

Teaching Methodology

The course is designed in such a way that fundamental topics of the course would be covered through
illustrations, exercises and problems solved in the classroom and application through series of research
projects which students will carry from the beginning. For each week there would be a prescribed
research task or article for discussion, it would enable the students to develop skills in reading and
reviewing research papers and to apply practically what they have been learning in the class room.

The course format will combine mainly lecture and lab work, with occasional seminar style discussions. Each
class will start with a lecture and then proceed to either lab work or seminar style discussions. For lab work we
will walk over to Student Services. Your feedback will come in the form of regular homework , two exams and
class participation.
Students Work in a collaborative way as a team to conduct research project for the course. A project
consists of Six Phases;
1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
3. Methodology
4. Results
5. Discussion
6. Conclusion

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Assessment Scheme

Quiz, assignments, 10%

Research Project 10%
Mid-term examination 30%
Terminal Examination 50%
Course Requirements and Expectations

Grades: Grades will be assigned based on the universitys standard grading scale.
Being Prepared for Class: Student must go through the assigned readings/task before coming to class.
Attendance: Students are required to attend all the classes; minimum attendance requirement based on the
universitys standard rules.
Quizzes: will be announced and there will be no make-up for missed quizzes.
Assignments: Students must complete assignments on time. No extra time will be allowed.
Class Participation: Positive, healthy and constructive class participation is expected from each student.
However, extremists and racial norms are not allowed and will be reported.

Academic Dishonesty

The Department considers academic dishonesty an offence. Any student who is involved in any such activity
will be penalised to the fullest extent possible allowed by university regulations. If you have any doubts
about whether an action constitutes academic dishonesty consult the relevant university rules and
regulations.

Plagiarism and Cheating: the presentation by a student as his or her own work, which must be avoided on
pain of penalty, is actually stolen from some one else. Whenever a student submits a piece of writing
claiming it to be his own authorship, it is generally understood that all the ideas, opinions, facts, figures,
conclusions, revisions, words are the students original work, unless he/she has explicitly indicated otherwise
using citations, footnotes, attribution in the text, and/or used quotation marks.

The use of unauthorised material during an examination in order to secure or give help is against the rules.
Academic dishonesty also encompasses unauthorised copying and distribution of examinations, assignments,
reports, projects or term papers or the presentation of unacknowledged material as if it were the students
own work.

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 Quantitative Tool and Techniques

Module Contents

Lecture No Topic Reference

1 1. Introduction to Research and role of Tools 1. Healey: Chapter 1 & 2
2. Understanding of Economics, Statistical and Mathematical 2. John S. Croucher : Chp1
concepts Required for the course. 3. Frank S Budnick: Chp4
Core Ideas of Statistics 4. Uma Sekaran: Chp1
Fundamentals of Research Methods; measurement,
estimation and Model Building
Equilibrium concepts
Inferences
Functions
Task1: Students are required to one page on idea of research and one
page on introduction to that idea and one page on the back ground of the
idea. APA formate.
2-3 1. Descriptive Statistics 1. Healey: Chapter 3 & 4
Measure of Central Tendency 2. S.L Jackson: Chp 4 & 5
Measure of Variation 3. John S. Croucher :10-16
Types of Distribution 4.
Z-scores
Normal Distribution, Probability and Percentile Ranks
2. Organizing Data
Frequency Distribution
Graphs using Excel
Software: Data analysis through SPSS
Submission of Task1:
Task 2. Students are required to write literature review of five research
papers related to research area.
4 1. Probability Distribution 1. Frank S Budnick: Chp 14
Discrete Probability Distribution 2. John S. Croucher : 15
Continuous Probability Distribution 3. Healey: Chapter 4
Normal Curve
Submission of Task2:
Task 3. Students are required to expand the research idea into five pages
and introduction into three pages and back ground into three pages.
5-6 1. Correlational Methods and Statistics 1. S.L Jackson: Chp 6
Conducting correlational Research 2. John S. Croucher : 17
Magnitudes, Scatterplots and Types of Relationships 3.
Misinterpreting Correlations
Predictions and Correlations
Analysis of Correlation coefficients
Software: Tests correlations through SPSS
Submission of Task 3
Task 4: Students are required write critical review of ten academic
Research papers and expand the literature review to eight pages

7 Midterm
8-9 1. Hypothesis Testing I 1. John S. Croucher : 21
Null and Alternative Hypotheses 2. Healey: Chapter 8
One and Two Tailed Hypotheses
Type one and Type Two Errors
Single Sample Research and Inferential Statistics
2. The z-Test; What It Is and What It Does
The Sampling Distribution
The standard Error of Mean
Calculation and interpretation of One-Tailed z Test
Calculation and interpretation of Two-Tailed z Test
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Statistical Power
Confidence Interval based on z Distribution
Submission of Task 4.
Task5: Students are required to formulate Theoretical Frame for their
Research topic, along with all possible Hypothesis. Also required to
clearly specify if the normality conditions apply to their research
project.
10 1. Hypothesis Testing 1. S.L Jackson: Chp 7
2. The t Test: What It Is and What It Does 2. Healey: Chapter 10
The Students t Distribution
The Estimated Standard Error of Mean
Calculation and interpretation of One-Tailed t Test
Calculation and interpretation of Two-Tailed t Test
Confidence Interval Based on the t Distribution

Software: Data analysis through SPSS

Task 6: Students are required to formulate Theoretical Frame for their
Research topic, along with all possible Hypothesis. Also required to
clearly specify if the normality conditions apply to their research
project.
11 1. The Chi Square Goodness of Fit Test 1. Healey: Chapter 11
2. What It Is and What It Does 2. S.L Jackson: Chp 7
Calculation for the Chi Square Goodness of Fit Test 3.
Interpretation of the Chi Square Goodness of Fit Test
Assumption and Appropriate Use
Correlational Coefficient and Statistical Significance
Submission of Task 5 and 6.

Research Report Presentations

12 1. Experimental Design 1. S.L Jackson: Chp
2. Between-Participants Experimental Designs 2. Healey: Chapter 13 & 14
Control and Confounds Threats to Internal Validity 3. Chapter 10 Bingham and
Nonequivalent Control Group Felbinger (ANGEL)
Regression to the Mean
Instrumentation
Threats to External Validity
Generalization to Populations
Generalization from Laboratory Settings
3. Correlated-Groups Designs
Within-Participants Experimental Designs
Matched-Participants Experimental Designs
Task7: Students are required to apply appropriate tests to their research
topic. They need to specify the logic and reasons for the tests they have
applied also interpretations.
13-14 1. Inference Statistics and Estimation 1. Healey: Chapter 6
t Test for Independent Groups (Samples): What It Is and 2. S.L Jackson: Chp 9
What It Does
Calculations for the Independent-Groups t Test
Interpreting the t Test
Graphing the Means
Effect Size: Cohens d and r 2
Confidence Intervals
Assumptions of the Independent-Groups t Test
2. t Test for Correlated Groups: What It Is and What It Does
Calculations for the Correlated-Groups t Test
Interpreting the Correlated-Groupst Test and Graphing the
Means
Effect Size: Cohens d and r 2
Confidence Intervals
Assumptions of the Correlated-Groups t Test

15-16 1. The logic of Regression and Correlation. 1. Gujrati

2. Multiple Regression Analysis and Time Series data with
3. Causality Concept and Testing
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4. Unidirectional and Bidirectional Causality

Software: Data analysis through E-Views and SPSS

Task 8: Project Report Phase 2; submission of Report progress

17 3. Quantitative Data Analysis: Hypothesis testing . Healey: Chapter 16
4. Concepts of Mediation and Moderations with SPSS - Math Appendix Wooldridge
Healey: Chapter 12
Final Report Presentation

Recommended Books:
1. Healey, Joseph. 2009. Statistics: A Tool for Social Research. Ninth Edition. Thomson & Wadsworth.
2. Mathematical Statistics with Applications. 7th Edition. Brooks. Cole. Wackerly, Mendenhall, and
Scheaffer. (Chapters 2, 3 and 4 )
Additional Books:
3. Analyzing Public Policy: Concepts, Tools, and Techniques, 2nd Edition (2010), by Dipak K. Gupta
4. Business Research Methods (6th edition) by William G . Zikmund
5. Political Science Research Methods, 7th Edition Janet Buttolph Johnson, University of Delaware
H. T. Reynolds, University of Delaware
6. Political Science Research Methods, 7th Edition + Working with Political Science Research
Methods, 3rd Edition Janet Buttolph Johnson, University of Delaware, H. T. Reynolds, University of
Delaware, Jason D. Mycoff, University of Delaware
7. An SPSS Companion to Political Analysis, 4th Edition, Philip H. Pollock III, University of Central
Florida
8. Quantitative Methods in Practice: Readings from PS, David A. Rochefort, Northeastern University
Goldberg, Samuel. Probability: An Introduction. New York, NY: Dover Publications, 1987. ISBN:
9780486652528. (Discrete Probability)
9. Rice, John A. Mathematical Statistics and Data Analysis. Belmont, CA: Duxbury Press, 1994.
ISBN: 9780534209346. (Mathematical Statistics Course)
10. Applied Mathematics for Business, Economics and Social Sciences, 4th Edition, Frank S. Budnick
11. Introductory Mathematics and Statistics for Business, 4th Edition, John S. Croucher

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