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Course & Unit Catalogues


SP52104: Knowledge and data in public policy

[Page last updated: 15 August 2024]

Academic Year: 2024/25
Owning Department/School: Department of Social & Policy Sciences
Credits: 20 [equivalent to 40 CATS credits]
Notional Study Hours: 400
Level: Masters UG & PG (FHEQ level 7)
Period:
Modular - June Start (M11)
Assessment Summary: CWES 40%, CWOG 20%, CWRA 40%
Assessment Detail:
  • Blog (CWRA 40%)
  • Methods review (CWES 40%)
  • Group presentation (CWOG 20%)
Supplementary Assessment:
Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations)
Requisites:
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the unit, students will be able to:
  • evaluate how politics of knowledge production generates gaps and blind spots in public policy including how methods and knowledge practices are responding to digitisation and datafication;
  • critically interpret data and evidence produced for public policy from a range of sources and approaches, including digital data;
  • critically evaluate the relevance and applicability of specific types of data and evidence for different policy areas and types of policy problem and understand different modes of policy evidence generation through practices of policy co-design and co-production;
  • design, undertake and evaluate research projects incorporating digital methods, tools and data using a variety of data analysis and visualisation tools.



Synopsis: Gain an advanced understanding of data, knowledge and evidence, and how their changing conceptualisation has shaped historical and contemporary policy work. During this unit, you'll review major scientific approaches, and look at the politics of knowledge and evidence production and how this shapes public policy. You'll explore the conceptual issues, politics and ethics of knowledge and data use for public policy in the digital era.

Content: This unit provides advanced introduction to data, knowledge and evidence and how their changing conceptualization has shaped public policy historically and in contemporary policy work. It reviews major approaches and techniques to the use and evaluation of data, knowledge and evidence in public policy, the politics of knowledge and evidence production and how this shapes public policy, and explores the conceptual issues, politics and ethics of knowledge and data use for public policy in the digital era. It also provides advanced introduction to a variety of quantitative techniques of policy evaluation such as Randomized Control Trials (RCTs), Regression Discontinuity, Difference-in-Difference and Cost-Benefit Analysis, as well as qualitative techniques like theory-driven evaluation and critical realist evaluation.

Course availability:

SP52104 is Compulsory on the following courses:

Department of Social & Policy Sciences

Notes:

  • This unit catalogue is applicable for the 2024/25 academic year only. Students continuing their studies into 2025/26 and beyond should not assume that this unit will be available in future years in the format displayed here for 2024/25.
  • Courses and units are subject to change in accordance with normal University procedures.
  • Availability of units will be subject to constraints such as staff availability, minimum and maximum group sizes, and timetabling factors as well as a student's ability to meet any pre-requisite rules.
  • Find out more about these and other important University terms and conditions here.