Unit QUANTITATIVE METHODS FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH
- Course
- Social policies, welfare systems and non profit sector
- Study-unit Code
- A004871
- Curriculum
- In all curricula
- Teacher
- Michela Gnaldi
- Teachers
-
- Michela Gnaldi
- Hours
- 60 ore - Michela Gnaldi
- CFU
- 8
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2025
- Offered
- 2025/26
- Learning activities
- Caratterizzante
- Area
- Formazione politica, economica e statistica
- Academic discipline
- SECS-S/05
- Type of study-unit
- Opzionale (Optional)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- Italian
- Contents
- PART I The measurement of social phenomena PART II The construction and validation of measurement scales Composite Indicators PART III Students’ project works
- Reference texts
- The reference text is listed below. The chapters to be studied will be indicated during the lectures. The presentations used by the lecturer in class and any other support materials will be shared through the Unistudium platform. Specific dispensatory and compensatory tools will be adopted for students with disabilities and/or specific learning disorders (SLD). OECD. (2008). Handbook on constructing composite indicators: Methodology and user guide. Paris: OECD Publishing, OECD.
- Educational objectives
- The course, which belongs to the quantitative methodological area, aims to provide the methodological foundations for understanding the complexity of social phenomena and their measurement, with particular emphasis on the construction of composite indicators as tools for their synthesis. The master's course in Quantitative Methods for Social Research aligns with the objectives of the master's degree program in Social Policies and Services as it equips students with the knowledge and skills necessary to comprehend and analyze social complexity through quantitative tools, essential for the training of specialist social workers and managers of social enterprises.
- Prerequisites
- Previous knowledge of introductory statistics is hoped pre-requisite
- Teaching methods
- Lectures, practical work and project work
- Other information
- None
- Learning verification modality
- Written exam, and project work. The written exam lasts an hour and a half and aims to verify the knowledge of the main concepts and methods covered in the lectures. It consists mostly of open-ended questions. The project work is carried out by the student independently in the final part of the course, with guidance and instructions provided by the instructor. It aims to verify the ability to apply the concepts and methods taught in the lectures to real-world contexts. Specific dispensatory and compensatory tools will be adopted for students with disabilities and/or specific learning disorders (SLD)
- Extended program
- PART I MEASURING SOCIAL PHENOMENA Development of measures: from statistics to indicators: • Definition of the hierarchical design and measurement model • Macro-level measurement system: indicator systems • Micro-level measurement system: questionnaires Managing and synthesizing complexity: • Data structure reduction • Combining indicators • Indicator modeling • EXAMPLES: BES (Equitable and Sustainable Well-being) indicators PART II CONSTRUCTING AND VALIDATING SCALES Numerical properties and types of scales Reliability and validity of scales Types of questions The most well-known scales (Likert scale, Guttman scalogram, semantic differential, Rasch scale) Question validation in questionnaires and analysis of reliability and validity • Methods for measuring the reliability of a scale • Methods for measuring the validity of a scale: (in particular) Classical Test Analysis and Item Response Theory (IRT) COMPOSITE INDICATORS Functions of composite indicators Construction methodology: • Selection of indicators • Definition of weights • Aggregation techniques • Robustness verification: sensitivity analysis • Critical issues in the construction and use of composite indicators • EXAMPLES: International composite indicators (e.g., Human Development Index, deprivation and poverty indices) PART III STUDENT PROJECT WORK BES (Equitable and Sustainable Well-being) indicators, ISTAT. Project work "The well-being of the province of [.]". Students work on real data downloaded from the web related to the BES domain, with the aim of constructing a synthetic or composite indicator of well-being for the province of [.].
- Obiettivi Agenda 2030 per lo sviluppo sostenibile
- Salute e benessere (3) Uguaglianza di genere (5)