230154 SE Counting & Accounting: Using quantitative methods to understand S-T-S relations (2011S)

Quantitative methods are often thought of as the simple collection of numbers. This was the original meaning of statistics, the technique used in the analysis of data gathered with quantitative methods. State-istics was a collection of population and economic information vital to the state. But today, statistics is much more than that. It has developed into a scientific method of analysis widely applied in business and all the social and natural sciences. In the study of Science, Technology and Society (STS), one only need review cross-national and cross-sector numerical indices compiled by the World Bank, the United Nations and National Science Foundations/Academies to appreciate how instrumental they are in shaping national and international STS policy. But the practice of quantitative methods also exists within the contested entangled domain of ideology, theory and methodology. It has been suggested that statistics can be employed to support any interest that has the resources to produce them. In this seminar, we will embark on a deeper appreciation for the origins of statistical analysis and its present state of the art.
Moreover, we will seriously consider the controversial application of this technique within various quantitative and qualitative methods employed in the study of STS issues. In addition, graduate students will be challenged to employ a quantitative method & analysis to their ongoing research interests.