Quantitative Methods

A Public Policy and Management Subject in the Tools and Skills Domain

Quantitative Methods

This public policy and management subject, under the Tools and Skills domain, focuses on enhancing the ability of students to analyze and assess empirical quantitative research. A major objective of many courses in this subject area is to enable students to distinguish between good and poor quality empirical research. Courses in this subject area may also aim to provide students with the knowledge and experience necessary to perform their own quantitative social science research. A major theme in this subject is the connection between social science research and the policy process. Courses taught in this subject are intended to help students develop a greater understanding of the practical applications of empirical research to real-world policy decisions. Topics covered in this subject area include probability theory, statistics and decision analysis. Some courses in this subject area instruct students in the use of software packages that are useful for statistical analysis such as STATA, SPSS and Microsoft Excel.