The next New Zealand Social Statistics Network (NZSSN, http://www.nzssn.org.nz) short course programme is now open for enrolments, marking our 20th year running methods courses! We are offering 8 courses over the weeks of 18–22 and 25–29 November, including our IDI course in collaboration with the Virtual Health Information Network (VHIN, http://www.vhin.co.nz), and two courses new to our roster, focusing on data visualisation. Most courses will run on Massey University’s Wellington Campus, while a few are only offered online via Zoom.

Please pass this information on to anyone you know that might be interested in our courses; that would be very much appreciated. We will decide on Friday 11 October which courses can go ahead, based on enrolments received, so please enrol sooner rather than later. I attach a flyer here, and include details of the courses and links to enrol, below, to cover all bases for you to distribute this information

Enrolment is handled through the University of Auckland’s Event Services, but please note that these courses carry no university accreditation. If you require an invoice for your enrolment or an internal journal transfer within the University of Auckland, please email me at nzssncourses@auckland.ac.nz.

If you are paying by bank transfer or credit card, you can enrol directly from our course pages – please see http://www.nzssn.org.nz for the full list, and there you can click through for more information on course content and links to enrol. Individual links for each course are provided below also.

Courses will run 8:30AM–4:00PM each day; for online courses this is more flexible at the instructor’s discretion, but online courses are not recorded, so you will still need to attend the sessions live each day.

WEEK ONE
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: DESIGNING, DOING, AND GETTING IT DONE: WELLINGTON 18–22 NOVEMBER

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/arts/our-research/research-institutes-centres-groups/compass/nzssn/qualitative-research-techniques.html

INSTRUCTORS: Dr Delwyn Goodrick, Social researcher and evaluation consultant; Rosie Solomon, Ngāpuhi, Qualitative researcher and programme evaluator

This introductory, interactive course covers a range of qualitative research techniques and best practice for collection and analysis, and working with, and for, Māori research communities. The course does not cover software for analysis, but provides an understanding of the key grounding principles for conducting research in Aotearoa.

MIXED METHODS IN SOCIAL RESEARCH: ONLINE ONLY 18–22 NOVEMBER

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/arts/our-research/research-institutes-centres-groups/compass/nzssn/mixed-methods-in-social-research.html

INSTRUCTOR: Dr Gordon Emmerson, Honorary Fellow, Victoria University, Melbourne

A course for researchers who want to know more about using both qualitative and quantitative methods in their research. Gordon delves deeply into the theory on both sides, and the theory and practice of combining methods. Appropriate software for different methods is mentioned, but this course does not explore them.

STORYTELLING WITH DATA IN EXCEL: WELLINGTON 18–19 NOVEMBER

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/arts/our-research/research-institutes-centres-groups/compass/nzssn/storytelling-data-excel.html

INSTRUCTOR: Dr Mark Griffin, Insight Social Research & Statistics, Australia

A new course in our roster this year, this covers data processing and design principles for making Excel graphs that really have an impact on the viewer. Please note that this course will be taught in a seminar room, so a laptop with the software installed will be required.

STORYTELLING WITH DATA IN R: WELLINGTON 20–21 NOVEMBER

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/arts/our-research/research-institutes-centres-groups/compass/nzssn/storytelling-data-r.html

INSTRUCTOR: Dr Mark Griffin, Insight Social Research & Statistics, Australia

Another new course, covering much the same content as the Excel course, but for those wanting to learn the techniques for creating high-impact graphs using R.

WEEK TWO
APPLIED STATISTICAL PROCEDURES: ONLINE ONLY 25–29 NOVEMBER

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/arts/our-research/research-institutes-centres-groups/compass/nzssn/applied-statistical-procedures.html

INSTRUCTOR: Dr Gordon Emmerson, Honorary Fellow, Victoria University, Melbourne

A course giving a good overview of a range of statistical procedures all in one place, taught using SPSS or Jamovi. Topics range from Chi-Square tests to Multivariate Analysis of Variance to Factor Analysis. Gordon defines methodologies and practices to enable participants to match their research designs with their research needs, and uses examples from his own experience to explain appropriate procedures for different types of data.

PROGRAMME EVALUATION: SUPPORTING EVIDENCE-INFORMED PRACTICE: WELLINGTON 25–27 NOVEMBER

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/arts/our-research/research-institutes-centres-groups/compass/nzssn/programme-evaluation.html

INSTRUCTOR: Dr Delwyn Goodrick, Programme Evaluation Consultant

A course for public sector workers and academics commissioning, managing, or conducting evaluations of public policy or programmes, or just interested in undertaking such projects. Delwyn has taught this course all around the world, and once again adds huge value with her interesting presentation of case studies.

INTRODUCTION TO SQL: ONLINE ONLY 25–28 NOVEMBER

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/arts/our-research/research-institutes-centres-groups/compass/nzssn/introduction-to-sql.html

INSTRUCTOR: Daniel Fryer, La Trobe University

A course introducing the basic structures and commands for handling SQL databases. Participants will work natively using Azure Data Studio, on data sets that have been constructed to illustrate SQL structure, and will move through to more complicated queries and integration of SQL with R by way of Tidyverse.

VHIN INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH IN THE IDI / VHIN HE WHAKATAKINGAKI TE RANGAHAU I TE IDI: WELLINGTON 29 NOVEMBER

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/arts/our-research/research-institutes-centres-groups/compass/nzssn/vhin-introduction-health-research-idi.html

INSTRUCTORS: Associate Professor Barry Milne, COMPASS Research Centre, Waipapa Taumata Rau / University of Auckland; Dr Andrea Teng, University of Otago Wellington

A course in collaboration with the Virtual Health Information Network (VHIN), which describes the data sets available in Statistics New Zealand’s Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), and goes through in great detail the requirements and processes for getting started with analysing them. The presenters discuss many studies that have already been undertaken using IDI data, including from their own work, and include other expert users in a panel session at day’s end.