Admission requirements
Mandatory for students who have an exemption for Mathematics for Statisticians.
Description
The Statistics and Data Science master has a diverse population of students from different scientific backgrounds. As most of our application areas fall within the Life and Behavioral Sciences domain an introduction to research into these areas is essential.
Usually, we encounter only the end-product of research: data. But how did these data come about? How do researchers measure the constructs of interest? For example, how do you measure depression? And does depression exist somewhere in the brain? What defines plant growth? Or, how do we decide whether someone has a certain disease?
Course objectives
This course is about what happens before data. What is the philosophical basis of research, and how do we measure ‘things’? At the end of this course the students can:
Identify different philosophical lines of thought.
Identify different phases of the empirical cycle.
Highlight the difficulties with, and intricacies of, measurement in research performed in the Life and Behavioral Sciences.
Apply their knowledge in a small empirical study.
Timetable
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of Instruction
A mix of lectures and workgroups.
Assessment method
Assignments (60%) and a final (group) presentation (40%).
Reading List
Literature will be specified during the course; no books are required.
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
Contact
Remarks
This course is one of the two homologation courses of the master Statistics and Data Science, the other homologation course is Mathematics for Statisticians. It is mandatory to follow at least one of the two homologation courses. Students with a quantitative Bachelor’s degree, such as Mathematics, Econometrics, Statistics, need to follow this course Empirical Research in the Life and Behavioural Sciences.
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.