PUAD 660: Quantitative Methods

As a future leader in public affairs, whether as a public manager or a policy analyst, you will need to understand statistics. This course provides those foundations. You will learn how to think about and describe populations and samples, how to make inferences about populations from samples, and how to use samples to make predictions about population patterns. Policy professionals will explain how you can process and apply this knowledge. You will also gain hands-on experience using statistical software to work with large datasets, a skill that directly enhances your resume. By the end of the course, you will hold in hand a quantitative research project that you can use as a writing sample for interested employers.

Those who understand patterns and trends by means of quantitative data can make better policies and manage programs effectively. In your career, you will likely need to conduct or interpret quantitative analysis of data. You will also need to understand quantitative studies that may influence your own decision-making. This course prepares you for both of these essential tasks.

This course was developed by Professor Anna Amirkhanyan, an associate professor at American University.

Course objectives:

  • Understand how to use quantitative data as a tool for solving problems and conducting analysis
  • Learn from policy professionals who explain the process and application of this knowledge
  • Understand basic statistical principles so you can evaluate the quantitative analysis conducted by others
  • Review and understand a variety of quantitative studies that may influence decision making at your workplace
  • Run basic statistical procedures with SPSS, a software program for statistical analysis and graphical presentation of data 

Course topics covered include:

  • Introduction to statistics and data visualization
  • Descriptive statistics: Measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion
  • The normal curve and sampling distributions
  • Inferential statistics: Confidence intervals
  • Hypothesis testing
  • Measures of association: Bivariate measures, correlations, scatterplots, and regression analysis 

Learn more today. Call us at 855-725-7614 to speak to an admissions representative or request more information here.