Research Methods: Survey Research
Full course description
For those who would like to further improve their quantitative research skills, this course is an optional follow-up training. Students will design, conduct and analyse surveys for NGO’s, the university, the business sector, and cultural organisations in Maastricht and across the Euroregion Maas-Rhine. The course culminates in a presentation of the research findings and policy recommendations to the client organisations, and the presentation of the research findings in a policy brief.
Please note that this is an elective skills training and available places may be limited; in period 4 students choose one out of the three offered skills of 4 ECTS each.
Course objectives
At the end of this course, students will possess:
- The ability to respond to the demands of professional organisations and to develop a research design for quantitative data analysis in a ‘real’ policy-making context;
- The ability to plan and carry out surveys among a larger population;
- The ability to report the research findings to a non-academic audience;
- The ability to formulate policy recommendations.
- The ability to work in a team.
Prerequisites
Participation in and completion of Research methods: Introduction to quantitative methods (Year 2, EUS2514), or equivalent course at another faculty (including applied statistics).
Recommended reading
- Sapsford, R. (2007). Survey Research. (2nd ed.). London: SAGE Publications.
- Field, A. (2017). Discovering statistics using SPSS. (5th ed.).London: SAGE Publications.