University of Sheffield Department of Economics
UG MODULE INFORMATION PACK 2022-23
ECN120
Teaching Team
Module leader
Contact details
Statistical Methods For Economics
Dr. Chiara Orsini
c.orsini@sheffield.ac.uk
Wed: 12:25-13:15
Thu: 17:00-18:00
by booking in the link below
link to book C&F
Prerequisites
All students taking this module must be taking (or have already passed) ECN118 or
ECN119. The module will not use a lot of mathematics but a sound grasp of
algebraic manipulation is important and other mathematical techniques will
occasionally be used where they afford easier or greater understanding of a topic.
Module Description
Statistics comprises the rules and procedures for collecting, describing, analysing
and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data. These skills find a wide range of
uses in economics.
A module syllabus is provided at the end of this document.
Module Aims


To give students an appreciation of the scope of statistics and its interface
with economics;
To give an introduction to statistical methodology and techniques.
Module Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module you should demonstrate:
 An ability to describe, analyse and interpret statistical data, both orally and in
writing;
 An understanding of the methodological framework of statistical inference;
 Competence in using the techniques of statistical inference to examine
hypotheses;
 An ability to perform statistical analyses to explore economic issues;
 Competence in using MS Excel to analyse economic data.
Programme Aims and Learning Outcomes
This module contributes to the learning outcomes of your degree programme. These
outcomes emphasise scholarship in economics and ensure you develop a range of
employable skills over the course of your degree. Please refer to the UG Student
Handbook for a complete description of these outcomes.
University of Sheffield Department of Economics
Academic and Professional Skills and Personal Development
•
Numerical skills;
•
Presentational skills, both oral and written;
•
Application of logical thinking and deduction;
•
Integrating skills acquired across several modules;
•
Data analysis skills using Excel.
Module Schedule
Please refer to the weekly teaching plan published on the module Blackboard site.
Changes to the weekly schedule will be announced via the module Blackboard.
Please always check your emails and Blackboard announcements on a regular basis
in order not to miss out on important updates.
Assessment
The assessment of this module will be by a 1,000 words statistical report (double
spaced, 12 point type, one inch margins) and a final exam
The statistical report, inclusive of figures, tables, and exclusive of references cannot
be longer than 10 pages. There will be no appendix in the report. The report is worth
35% of the final grade on the course. The Statistical report is due on January 26.
The questions you have to address in the Statistical report as well as the data to use
will be made available around in early December on BLACKBOARD.
There will also be an unseen final exam (worth 65%) at the end of the Spring
Semester. The exam will be two hours in duration. A specimen paper will be placed
on the module website in due course. The exam is on the entire program of the
course.
The pass mark for this module is 40% overall. Any change to assessment
arrangements will be announced in lectures and also via BLACKBOARD.
Additionally, there will be two in-class mock tests (one in semester 1, and one in
semester 2). You will be e-mailed early in the morning of the day of the mock test the
text of the mock test and you will work out in class in exam-like condition the
problems in the mock test. Then, you will keep your answers to the mock test and
the following week we will go over the answers in class. In this way you will monitor
your progress in your learning.
The mock tests are scheduled for regular lecture/workshop slots.
Read the assessment guidelines provided on the UG Student Handbook, including
the policies about late penalties, assessment cover sheet submission templates,
Turnitin submission requirements, extension requests and extenuating
circumstances.
Please ensure that you are familiar with the University of Sheffield’s policy on the
use of unfair means to ensure that any work you submit is entirely your own.
University of Sheffield Department of Economics
A specimen exam paper will be provided on the Blackboard module site in due time.
The pass mark for this module is 40% overall. There is a minimum mark required for
every component of 30% and you will only be able to pass the module overall if you
achieve at least a mark of 30% in each assessment component.
The University of Sheffield uses a 100 point marking scale which is available for you
to refer to on your Student Handbook.
Any change to assessment arrangements will be announced via Blackboard and
email.
Reassessment
In the case of students who fail the assessment of this module, repeat assessment
will be by exam. Resit marks will be capped at 40%. Resit candidates must consult
Blackboard for further information, up until the time of the reassessment, not merely
in semester time. Resits will take place in the August assessment period.
Student Feedback
The Blackboard module site has a Module Feedback Report which gives a detailed
account by the module leader of the student experience on this module last year. In
addition, there will be feedback on your understanding of this module during the
course of module delivery. There will be several channels through which you can
receive feedback on your progress in this module. Lectures/Workshops, and tutorials
are interactive and will give regular opportunities to receive feedback on your
understanding of the material. Tutorials will expect you to have prepared answers in
advance so that you can obtain feedback on your progress in each session.
Additionally, there will be individual feedback on the Statistical Report and on the
final exam by question. For mock Test 1 and 2 you will keep your answers to the
mock test questions and you will compare those with answers given in class during a
Lecture/Workshop, so you will be able to see which areas of the curriculum you need
to focus on when studying for the summative assessments. Also, you will interact
with your peers, so you will receive valuable feedback from your fellow students.
Feedback on your understanding as the module progresses as well as on all the
elements of module assessment can be obtained at any time by using C&F times.
Please remember that in order for feedback to be useful you must engage with the
feedback opportunities available to you.
Student Responsibilities
This is a 20 credit module and therefore it is expected it will require 200 study hours
per student (including formal teaching hours). As a rough guideline this means you
should expect to devote just over 13 hours of study time per week to this module
during a 15 week semester.
You should ensure that you have read this Module Information Pack and the weekly
teaching plan on Blackboard thoroughly and contact the module teaching team if
anything isn’t clear to you at the start of the module.
University of Sheffield Department of Economics
Attendance at all timetabled activities is compulsory and will be monitored. It is your
responsibility to ensure that your attendance is recorded correctly at each teaching
session. You should notify the department if you are unable to attend a class due to
illness or other unavoidable circumstances. Unauthorised absence is not acceptable.
Repeating unauthorised absence may result in you being withdrawn from your
programme of study.
Tutorial exercises will be placed on Blackboard at least one week prior to the tutorial
session and you are expected to work through the exercises prior to the tutorial, and
to bring your answers to the class. Students should make use of staff consultation
and feedback times to discuss any issues they have with the module and which are
not resolved in tutorials.
Encore - Making Use Of Lecture Recordings
Please refer to the information about Encore that is available on the UG Student
Handbook.
Digital Accessibility Statement
The Department of Economics is committed to ensuring that our electronic learning
resources can be navigated and understood by all students. This is known as digital
accessibility. The department’s accessibility statement can be viewed on the Student
Handbook.
Module Discussion Board
Questions should be posted in the Discussion Board for everyone’s benefit.
Everyone is welcome to post questions and answers in the Discussion Board.
Further help can be sought via booking C&F.
Module Syllabus and Reading List
The recommended text for this module is:
Barrow, M. (2017). Statistics for Economics, Accounting and Business
Studies, 7th Edition, Pearson
Extensive reference will be made to this text in the course. Students will be expected
to read relevant sections in advance of lectures, as frequently lectures will develop
rather than repeat this material.
Note that the schedule of topics may be altered.
Statistical Tables
For much of the course you will need to make extensive use of statistical tables.
These are to be found at the back of most textbooks and also in Excel and similar
software. The class tests and exam will employ statistical tables derived from the
course text by Barrow and other sources and will be made also available to you on
BLACKBOARD. More details will be given in lectures and on BLACKBOARD.
University of Sheffield Department of Economics
Course Outline
The module will cover the following broad topics: Descriptive Statistics, Probability,
Probability Distributions, Sampling and Data Collection, Point and Interval
Estimation, Statistical Inference, Correlation and Regression, Index Numbers. More
detailed explanation is given in the lecture slides. Book references are to the course
text by Barrow (2017, 7th edition) cited above. More precise page references to the
chapters will be given in advance of lectures. You should ensure you do the reading
before each lecture as frequently lectures will assume you have worked through this
material already.
Also note that other references will be given in lectures. Further guidance will be
given during lectures/workshops where appropriate.