Making Sense of Data in the Media

Closed
Course
en
English
9 h
This content is rated 4.5 out of 5
Source
  • From www.futurelearn.com
Conditions
  • Free Access
  • Free certificate
More info
  • 3 Sequences
  • Introductive Level
  • Starts on February 7, 2016
  • Ends on February 10, 2016

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Course details

Syllabus

Increasingly, we’re bombarded with all sorts of data about how society is changing: opinion poll trends; migration data; economic results; government debt levels; and MPs’ expenses claims. More often than not, the data are presented to bolster a (sometimes contentious) claim, so the ability to read such information with confidence is an increasingly important skill for both modern citizens and those studying the social sciences. What do social statistics and economic data really reveal? In this free online course, we’ll look at ways of cutting through the confusion to decide what numbers reveal, and when and why they (sometimes deliberately) mislead. We’ll ask: How do we make sense of all these numbers? How can we decide which ones to trust and which to doubt? And how do we know which might reveal important trends and which are less dramatic than they sound? By the end of the course, you will have improved your data literacy skills; developed an understanding of how social statistics are created and used; and become a more critical consumer and user of social and economic data. Learn with experts in quantitative social science The course is led by a team of experts from The Sheffield Methods Institute at the University of Sheffield - one of 15 centres charged by the Q-Step Programme with improving British social science undergraduates’ quantitative skills. Between them, they have considerable expertise in the use and analysis of social data, and in teaching data literacy and analysis skills in an accessible, engaging yet rigorous way. You can find out more about tricky data with this post on the FutureLearn blog from Dr Andrew Bell: Blue Monday and the problem of junk science.

Prerequisite

None.

Instructors

  • Mark Taylor
  • Aneta Piekut
  • Todd Hartman

Platform

FutureLearn is a massive open online course (MOOC) learning platform founded in December 2012.

It is a company launched and wholly owned by The Open University in Milton Keynes, England. It is the first UK-led massive open online course learning platform, and as of March 2015 included 54 UK and international University partners and unlike similar platforms includes four non-university partners: the British Museum, the British Council, the British Library and the National Film and Television School.

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