SUI 252 – Statistics for Social Sciences
Fall 2025
B.A. in Political Science and International Relations - TOBB University of Economics and
Technology
K. Aydın Gündüz, Ph.D.
Weekly Lectures: Tuesdays 08:30 – 10:20 (@ B07), Thursdays 12:30 – 14:20 (@ 307)
Office Hours: Mondays 11:00 – 13:00; Thursdays 11:00 – 12:00. Office hours start in Week 2.
For all other in-office and online meetings, please request an appointment via e-mail.
E-mail: [Link]@[Link] / Office: 336 / Phone: (0312) 292 44 40
Course Description:
Building upon the SUI 251 – i.e., the introductory course in political science research methods, this
class aims to (i) develop a more advanced understanding of variable-oriented research and (ii)
introduce students to the use of statistics and quantitative data for inference-making in the study of
politics1.
Following an introduction to the essentials of descriptive statistics and the fundamentals of quantitative
research, students will familiarize themselves with the inferential statistics, which is the art of
estimating population characteristics based on survey data. The class will conclude with an overview
of the basic statistical tools for bivariate analysis and multivariate statistical models, which provide
some strong hypothesis-testing avenues in contemporary political science and international relations.
As a part of the statistics-in-practice endeavor, there are four assignments that develop students’ skills
in (1) transforming concepts into variables, (2) data collection, and (3) data analysis. They can prepare
these assignments individually, or in groups.
Course Outcomes:
1. Students will be able to define, explain and use key statistical concepts, including but not limited to:
populations, samples, variables (categorical and continuous), levels of measurement, descriptive
statistics (mean, median, mode, standard deviation, variance), probability distributions (normal, t-
distribution, chi-square), and inferential statistics.
2. Students will be able to (a) calculate and interpret descriptive statistics to summarize and describe
data sets, (b) communicate their findings through tables, graphs, and written summaries.
3. Students will be able to apply inferential statistical methods to estimate population parameters from
sample data, including constructing confidence intervals and conducting hypothesis tests.
4. Students will gain a foundational understanding of bivariate multivariate statistical models and their
applications in political science and international relations. They will be able to conduct beginner to
intermediate level quantitative analysis by using a statistical analysis software.
5. Students will be able to interpret quantitative analysis and draw meaningful conclusions about social
and political phenomena. They will be able to communicate these findings to both technical and non-
technical audiences.
Learning Materials:
Textbook: Galderisi, P. (2015). Understanding Political Science Statistics: Observations and
Expectations in Political Analysis. New York: Routledge.
Available in the library catalog. Check “e-books”. Please follow the course schedule and
readings list below and allow yourself one hour to explore the assigned chapters before
classes regularly.
A working PC that you will need during and after the lectures.
You will need to make use of some basic skills which you will learn in the class in some
weekly assignments throughout the trimester.
1
This course is not recommended for students who do not study Political Science and International Relations.
1
Softwares: MS Excel (for data collection and editing- Please keep in mind that Office 365 services
are provided free of charge if you subscribe with your etu e-mail addresses.) and jamovi (a user-
friendly freeware for quantitative data analysis)
Please make sure that you have a properly-working Excel application in your computer by
Week 3; and install jamovi on your computer before Week 5:
[Link]
An up-to-date and free jamovi textbook: Navarro, D.J., & Foxcroft, D.R., (2022). Learning Statistics
with jamovi: A tutorial for psychology students and other beginners. (Version 0.75). DOI:
10.24384/hgc3-7p15
Download: [Link]
A series of ‘how-to’ demo videos is accessible in a Youtube playlist:
[Link]
A standard calculator – no need to buy a scientific calculator. Calculators are the only allowed
devices in the exams, i.e., no cell phones/computers allowed.
PowerPoint presentations and additional readings will be shared through Uzak.
Course requirements and grading:
In line with the university’s attendance requirements, students must attend at least 70% of the
lectures. Students who took the class and fulfilled the attendance requirement previously are exempt
from mandatory attendance rules. Please keep in mind that the attendance records will be collected
during the lectures, and there will be occasional checks to verify whether students are in the
classroom.
Short assignments (25%, four assignments)
will evaluate your skills of (1) transforming concepts into variables, (2) data collection, and (3) data
analysis. You should be present in class when the tasks are assigned and discussed. (You
may see additional warnings about these classes in the Course Schedule and Readings
section. If you miss the class, it is up to you to come to the office hours and take instructions
for the assignment. Besides, you will have to figure out what you need to do for the
assignment on your own, as these classes are also demo sessions for learning the steps
which you need to undertake for the assignments. LONG STORY SHORT, DO NOT MISS
THESE CLASSES.)
You can prepare these assignments individually, or in groups (four students max.). You will
submit all of them through Uzak. (Note on late submissions: 10-point penalty for each day
overdue!)
Short assignments will have pop oral follow-ups in the first lecture after the deadline!
Midterm exam (30%)
covers the lectures in the first six weeks – that correspond to Galderisi (2015) chapters 1 – 6.
WRITTEN EXAM – in Week 7, probably on November 1st, 2025.
Final exam (40%)
covers the second half – that corresponds to Galderisi (2015) chapters 7 – 12.
WRITTEN EXAM – Date TBA by the BTM.
Participation (5%)
Your performance during in-class discussions will make up your participation grade.
Participation is not attendance in the form of “passive presence” in the lectures.
Please note that the end-of-the-year grades will be calculated based on the class average and
distribution. Based on the previous experiences, you may assume 50 as the passing threshold for
now. Grades reflect your performance and the importance you attach to the class throughout the term,
and are non-negotiable.
2
Course Schedule and Readings:
Week 1 – No class on Tuesday. The first lecture of the term is on September 18, 2025 -
Thursday.
Presentation of the course & some key concepts for the scientific study of politics –
[Corresponding part in Galderisi (2015): Chapter 1]
Week 2 – September 23, 2025 - Tuesday [Corresponding part in Galderisi (2015): Chapter 2]
Translating concepts into numbers to provide evidence for causation: variables, correlation, causation
Week 2 – September 25, 2025 - Thursday
Quantitative data, spreadsheet, and introduction to descriptive statistics
Week 3 – September 30, 2025 – Tuesday [Corresponding part in Galderisi (2015): Chapter 3]
More on Descriptive Statistics: Histograms and Measures of Central Tendency
Week 3 – October 2, 2025 - Thursday
Measures of Central Tendency and Measures of Dispersion in Categorical Data: VR, IQV
Week 4 – October 7, 2025 - Tuesday [Corresponding part in Galderisi (2015): Chapter 4]
Measures of Dispersion for Interval Variables: Range, IQR, variance, and standard deviation
Week 4 – October 9, 2025 - Thursday
Introduction to Excel: How does it look like, how to prepare and edit data for analysis?
You will get your first assignment at the end of the class; if you will not prepare it individually, you have
to give me the names of every student who will work together in the group during the class. Tasks will
be assigned randomly. So, if you miss the class and your group mates in this assignment did not take
the assignment topic in your absence, contact me to get the assignment topic that you will work on
individually. Assignment 1 is due October 15 at 23:59.
Week 5 – October 14, 2025 - Tuesday [Corresponding part in Galderisi (2015): Chapter 5]
Pillars of statistical inference: Assumption of normality, standardized scores, and relative observation
Week 5 – October 16, 2025 - Thursday
How to collect quantitative data in social sciences: surveys and indexes
You will get your second assignment at the end of the class; if you will not prepare it individually, you
have to give me the names of every student in the group during the class. Tasks will be assigned
randomly. So, if you miss the class and your group mates in this assignment did not take the
assignment topic in your absence, contact me to get the assignment topic that you will work on
individually. Assignment 2 is due October 27 at 23:59.
Week 6 – October 21, 2025 - Tuesday [Corresponding part in Galderisi (2015): Chapter 6]
Inferential statistics – Interpreting sample statistics to understand the population
Week 6 – October 23, 2025 - Thursday
Inferential statistics – Interpreting sample statistics to understand the population
+REMINDER! Do not forget to download jamovi from the link provided in the “Learning Materials”
section of the syllabus, before Week 7!
Week 7 – October 28, 2025 – Tuesday (No Class)
3
Week 7 – October 30, 2025 - Thursday [Corresponding part in Galderisi (2015): Chapter 7]
Introduction to jamovi: Getting familiar with the interface, menus and using jamovi for descriptive
statistics
Week 8 – November 4, 2025 - Tuesday [Corresponding part in Galderisi (2015): Chapter 8]
Introduction to hypothesis testing: Bivariate statistics
Week 8 – November 6, 2025 - Thursday [Corresponding part in Galderisi (2015): Chapter 9]
Introduction to hypothesis testing: Bivariate statistics
Week 9 – November 11, 2025 - Tuesday
jamovi session on means comparison and contingency tables
You will get your third assignment at the end of the class; if you will not prepare it individually, you
have to give me the names of every student in the group during the class. Tasks will be assigned
randomly. So, if you miss the class and your group mates in this assignment did not take the
assignment topic in your absence, contact me to get the assignment topic that you will work on
individually. Assignment 3 is due November 24 at 23:59.
Week 9 – November 13, 2025 - Thursday [Corresponding part in Galderisi (2015): Chapter 10]
Limits of bivariate statistics: Why one independent variable is not “enough.”
Week 10 – November 18, 2025 - Tuesday [Corresponding part in Galderisi (2015): Chapter 11]
Dealing with interval variables in hypothesis testing: Correlation and linear regression
Week 10 – November 20, 2025 - Thursday [Corresponding part in Galderisi (2015): Chapter 12]
Introduction to multivariate regression models
Week 11 – November 25, 2025 - Tuesday
Linear and logistic regression models
Following articles will be available on Uzak.
Fox, S., & Hoelscher, K. (2012). Political order, development, and social violence. Journal of
Peace Research, 49(3), 431–444.
Broz, J., Zhang, Z., & Wang, G. (2020). Explaining Foreign Support for China’s Global
Economic Leadership. International Organization, 74(3), 417-452.
Week 11 – November 27, 2025 - Thursday
jamovi Session on regression analysis
You will get your last assignment at the end of the class; if you will not prepare it individually, you have
to give me the names of every student in the group during the class. Tasks are going to be assigned
randomly. So, if you miss the class and your group mates in this assignment did not take the
assignment topic in your absence, contact me to get the assignment topic that you will work on
individually. Assignment 4 is due December 9 at 23:59.
Week 12 – December 2, 2025 - Tuesday
Discussion session on two articles
That is an opportunity to increase your participation score. Therefore, I recommend you attend
this class after reading the following articles that will be available on Uzak.
Aliyev, H. (2020). Why Are Some Civil Wars More Lethal Than Others? The Effect of Pro-
Regime Proxies on Conflict Lethality. Political Studies, 68(3), 749–767.
Park, J. (2013). Forward to the future? The democratic peace after the Cold War. Conflict
Management and Peace Science, 30(2), 178-194.
