Admission requirements
This course is only available for students in the BA International Studies.
Limited places are also open for exchange students. Please note: this course takes place in The Hague.
Description
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the principal indices used by regulators, lawmakers, and economists throughout the world to quantify important global trends. This includes bodies such as the UN, The World Bank, and international NGOs. Those who wish to regulate global political, economic and judicial systems (as many of our students will have a hand in doing in the future) require accurate indices and data sets in order to make intelligent policy decisions. This course not only introduces students to these data sets, but shines a strong light on their limitations and the manner in which they have been compiled. Thus we ask: What precisely is being measured? How could it be done better? Do the conclusions drawn by regulators follow logically from the available data? The course includes instruction on basic statistical techniques and excel.
Topics covered include: population, production, human development, poverty, fractionalization, governance, trust, state frailty, state size, and happiness.
The course is 10 ECTS and also incorporates blended learning. Thus, it has three main parts:
1. A lecture serires accompanied by 6 ‘Lecture’ tutorials (5 ECTS)
2. A CTW Project, accompanied by 6 additional ‘Project’ tutorials (5 ECTS)
3. Blended learning, which will aid in both 1 and 2.
Course objectives
Students will learn to:
Locate and employ datasets
Execute elementary statistical exercises
Examine differences between regions and nations at national and sub-national levels
Critically evaluate the accuracy and biases in statistical evidence
Present evidence in a visually effective way
Present their findings in a clear and concise English
Posit hypotheses of causal relationships between phenomena
Understand how statistics helps verify or refute causal relationships
Timetable
The timetable is available on the BA International Studies website
Mode of instruction
Part 1: Lecture series: One two hour lecture per week; bi-weekly Lecture Tutorials
Part 2: Project series: 6 Project Tutorials.
Attending all tutorial sessions is compulsory. If you are unable to attend a session, please inform the tutor of the course in advance, providing a valid reason for your absence. Being absent without notification and valid reason or not being present at half or more of the tutorial sessions will mean your assignments will not be assessed, and result in a 1.0 for the tutorial (30% of the final grade).
Course Load
Total course load for this course is 10 EC (1 EC = 28 hours), this equals 280 hours, broken down by:
Part 1.
Atending lectures: 2 hours per week x 12 weeks: 24 hrs
Atending tutorials 2 hours per two weeks: 12 hrs
Assessment hours (midterms and final exam): 4 hrs
Lecture Reading: 42 hours
Tutorial Reading/Preparation: 24 hours
Studying for mid-term and final: 24 hours
Tutorial presentation: 10 hours
Part 2.
Atending attending tutorials 2 hours per two weeks: 12 hrs
Tutorial Prep: 36 hours
Project Research: 60 hours
Project Creation: 32 hours
Assessment method
There will be separate grades recorded for Part I and Part II.
Part 1: The Lecture Tutors will be responsible for grading Part I.
Assessment
Midterm exam:
Written examination with closed questions (eg multiple choice)
Written examination with short open questions
Written examination with essay questions
Final exam:
Written examination with closed questions (eg multiple choice)
Written examination with short open questions
Written examination with essay questions
Weighing
Tutorials 30%
Midterm Exam 30%
Final Exam 40%
To complete the final mark, please take notice of the following: the final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average.
If the final grade is insufficient (lower than a 6), there is the possibility of retaking the full 70% of the exam material, replacing both the earlier mid- and endterm grades. No resit for the tutorials is possible.
The resit exam will be a
Written examination with closed questions (eg multiple choice)
Written examination with short open questions
Written examination with essay questions
Part 2: The Project Tutors will be responsible for Part II.
In-class assignments (30%)
Project Outline (20%)
Project (50%)
The final grade will be the average of both.
If the final grade is insufficient (lower than a 6) for the CtW course, you will have to complete a resit.
For the CtW course you can resit the following exams and assessments:
Lecture Tutorial (5ECTS):
Multiple choice exam re-sit (for 70% of lecture tutorial grade)
Resit Project Tutorial (5ECTS):
Individual project re-submission (for 50% of project tutorial grade)
To complete the final mark, please take notice of the following: the final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used. For tutorial groups: please enroll in blackboard after your enrolment in uSis
Students are requested to register on Blackboard for this course.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available in English and Dutch
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable