Welcome to AST3147 Demographic Techniques II. My name is Pierre Claver Rutayisire, Senior Lecturer of Demography and I am the Module Leader for this course.
I presume that for many of you, this is your first experience with an online course and more specifically with this UR E-learning platform. Online courses provide a different way to study and place different skills from students. In this process, self-motivation and discipline are key to success. This means that you are completely responsible for establishing and maintaining a regular study system. You will be responsible for the same course materials and the same standards of excellence that are required in the face to face courses. While the E-learning team and I will provide you with support during the course but you should be aware of the self-discipline required to successfully complete AST3147. Below are the Module outcomes and the structure of the Module.
This module aims at acquisition of knowledge of development economic theory and its application to real life economic and social problems as well as laying the grounds on how to measure development.
Computers cannot comprehend the significance of life on the other hand, human beings can not handle very complex and huge calculations by hands. Planning a computer program in R to solve problems is of paramount. Similarly,data analysis using SPSS, STATA and R packages is our concern in this module.Welcome all my students to this module !!!
In the past, researchers and other practitioners have faced a challenge related to the analysis of data from populations belonging to parametrized families of probability distributions or whose sample size does not allow the use of usual parametric tests. These challenges still persist today as long as nature continues to produce data of all kinds. Nonparametric methods were born in order to address these challenges. Dear students, welcome to this module which introduces you in detail to these new statistical methods!!!!
Learning how to do research is a lot like learning how to swim. One does not become an expert swimmer by listening to others lecture or even by watching others swim. Rather, one has to be thrown in the pool (hopefully first at the narrow end). Similarly, only by conducting research will you learn the intricacies of the scientific method. Dear students, this module will help you identify specific procedures or techniques used to identify, select, process, and analyze information about a researchable topic. Welcome !!!!
This module focuses on developing a comprehensive understanding of econometric theory. It first introduces the classical linear regression. Other components of the module include relaxing the assumptions of the classical model, and introduction to dummy variables and model specification and diagnostic testing. The computer is a fundamental tool in this module and students will be required to become familiar with the Econometric package (EViews, STATA, etc.)