1. Introduction to, and overview of, the DHA class.  

1. Some introductory remarks

The DHA class, like all classes on the Economic Management and Policy Programme, is interactive in form and structure. You use your computer and the internet, together with our on-line materials, as vehicles for learning: these technologies allow you to interact with your fellow students, with us (your tutors), and in some ways with yourself. Learning is far more effective that way than by working alone as if you were taking a simple "correspondence course". This class (as with all parts of the Programme as a whole) has been designed to be studied online and interactively.
You will find that your fellow participants in this DHA class consist of two categories:

1. those who have already started on the MSc EMP Programme (and have taken one or more classes already) but have not yet taken the DHA class
2. those who are starting the programme now with the DHA class being their first class

After a short interlude, all will find that this distinction becomes irrelevant. Right now though, the existence of some experience (in Category 1) will benefit newcomers; and the addition of fresh faces and personalities will enrich the class for "old hands"! 
For this topic only (Topic 1, that is) there is virtually no interactive material. Its purpose is simply to give you some idea of what DHA is all about, and what to expect as you work through it. It also gives you some advice about effective ways of studying and learning DHA. 
From Topic 2 onwards, however, you will be unable to learn effectively, without being online to not only access the materials but also to interact with your colleagues as you progress.
However, we will make pdf documents available for each lesson, to lesson the impact of having to read large volumes of information directly from a computer screen (and to give you something to read when you travel!).

2. Some administrative matters  

Data Handling and Analysis (DHA, from now on) is one of the four core classes on the Economic Management and Policy (EMP) programme. Successful completion of this class, together with the three other core classes, leads to the award of Postgraduate Certificate in Economic Management and Policy. From this base, you can proceed to study for the Postgraduate Diploma and later on to the Masters Degree (MSc).

As with all classes on this Open Learning mode of study, the DHA syllabus and class content is identical to that taken by those studying by full or part-time "in attendance" study. If you wish to inspect a formal Course Outline for DHA you can download one from the web page http://www.economics.strath.ac.uk/pg/programme.html

However, I recommend that you do not do so. That particular course outline was written for full or part-time study, and so some of its references to semesters and dates will not apply to you, and are likely to be confusing as a result. Moreover, the outline is also constructed in jargon that is useful for internal and external quality assurance purposes, and is not necessarily of much use to you. You can find an implicit course outline in either of two ways:

1. By looking at the structure of the course as it is displayed on the DHA pages on the Moodle VLE.
2. By reading through the rest of this Topic here.

Our objectives in this first Topic are as follows:

• Explain what the DHA class is all about, and what its aims and objectives are.
• Outline its intended learning outcomes.
• Take you on a brief guide through the content of the class.
• Give some recommendations about study techniques and approaches so that you can get the most out of the DHA class.
• Explain the assessment methods in DHA.

3. What is the role of the DHA class in the EMP programme?  

DHA plays two roles in the programme:

1. It develops competencies and techniques that are needed by those working as, or with, economists
2. It develops competencies and techniques that are used in other classes on the programme, primarily ones that are quantitative in nature or that involve the analysis and interpretation of data.

With respect to the first of these two roles, an important part of the work of economists - and of those whose work includes an economics or business dimension - includes the analysis of issues and problems. There are two facets to this.

• The first facet involves analytical skills per se. You need to be able to set an issue or problem in an appropriate framework, and then use logical reasoning processes to understand the problem and to deduce (or at least get insight into) what policy responses might be appropriate. The framework needed will often consist of some kind of model, a simplified abstraction of complex reality, that is intended to capture the essentials of the matter at hand. Modelling in turn is greatly facilitated by mathematical techniques. That is why you will find a lot of the early material takes you through some elementary and intermediate maths. This may appear at first somewhat dry and not especially related to economics, nor to management and policy. However, in the later parts of the Mathematical Methods and Techniques section, the economic applications come to the fore. When you have completed that first part, you will be able to write your own macro-economic models and do simulation and policy analysis with such models. You will also be able to do impact analysis using input-Output models. Very few, if any, of your colleagues outside this course will have such skills.
• The second facet concerns empirical skills. Empirical analysis concerns the use of information to shed further light on a question, policy issue or problem at hand. Much of that information will be in the form of data: quantitative and qualitative information usually collected and assembled in an organized or structured form. Not surprisingly, therefore, a sizeable chunk of this class develops your fundamental skills in statistical techniques, before going on to apply them in various ways.

Your learning during DHA develops the skills, techniques and confidence to handle, process and analyze data and to derive from those processes valuable insights, inferences and recommendations. Some of these skills and techniques will be ones that you already possess; in that case you will find that they are substantially enhanced. Others will be ones that are new to you. Feedback from previous DHA students leads us to be confident that your marketability will be substantially increased; the skills we deal with are highly regarded and in great demand in a very wide range of careers that require analytical skills.

When you have completed this class, I expect that you will have a strong knowledge of, and practical experience in, those data handling, mathematical, statistical and modelling techniques that are likely to be used by practicing economists and those whose work involves them in dealing with economics policies, issues and problems.
You will also be well-prepared in the quantitative skills required for the other classes offered on the EMP programme.

4. Intended learning outcomes  

A little more detail about what outcomes we seek to achieve from your learning on the DHA class is to be found in the following extract from the Class Outline for DHA.
"Some specific outcomes sought, that reflect skills the student is expected to have learned and mastered, include:

(a) Knowledge and Understanding

• Knowledge of data sources: searching, downloading, storage, and processing techniques.
• Knowledge and understanding of various forms of data sets: cross-section, time-series, panel and longitudinal.
• Fluency in using Excel (or a similar spreadsheet package) as a simple database and a means of processing and analysing data.
• The ability to transfer information between various database, processing and reporting packages (including Excel, Word, web pages, and PowerPoint).
• Mathematical and statistical techniques and applications

(b) Practical Professional Skills

• Fluency in using software packages to carry out applied mathematical and statistical analysis quickly, confidently and accurately.
• Acquisition of the skills required for learning and using new software packages as they are developed.
• The ability to present empirical findings in the form of a written report that effectively and simply communicates its main findings.
• Team working skills where complex mixtures of knowledge are required as inputs to deal with a problem.
• Oral presentation skills: the ability to present findings from empirical analysis to an audience of colleagues, customers or clients, and to justify and defend those findings."

An impressive list, indeed. I hope that you find that this class does achieve these outcomes. We are confident that it will.

5. A brief guide to the content of the DHA class  

Topic 2. Software

The next Topic of the DHA class is about software, specifically competencies in using statistical and mathematical software. The Topic is very short: we do not teach you to use particular software programmes at this point. Instead, we outline the software that you will be expected to become familiar with. The actual learning of the software packages is a continuous process that will take place as you go through the DHA class.

Most business and economics professionals would agree that fluency in Excel (or an equivalent spreadsheet package) is a precondition for being quantitatively literate. I doubt that any one taking this class will not already be reasonably competent at using Excel. We will use Excel in simple and also in novel and advanced ways. You will gain experience in a whole raft of powerful uses to which a spreadsheet can be put of which you were probably unaware. You cannot complete this class without having become a highly proficient Excel practitioner!
When large-scale or complex number crunching is the order of the day, or you wish to do "serious" statistical analysis, you would be well advised to turn to a specialised statistical package. The most widely used statistical package seems to be SPSS. We shall not expect you to use that package here, nor will we "teach" it in the DHA class. (A voluntary Open Learning primer in SPSS is available later in the Programme, though, should you feel that a working knowledge of SPSS basics is a useful addition to your portfolio of skills.) What we do instead is to use the statistical package known as GiveWin/PcGive. This does most of the things that SPSS can do, and many that are beyond the bounds of SPSS. In many ways, too, it is far easier to use. Moreover, all the skills learned using PcGive (to which we shorten its name from now on) are transferable, and so if your organisation uses any other of the many specialised statistical packages - such as E-views, Microfit, or SPSS to name a few - what you have learned to do with PcGive can be easily done in that other package. You will also discover, incidentally, that Excel can - with not much effort - be used to carry out quite sophisticated statistical analysis, and a lot of maths and economic modelling too.

Topic 3. Mathematical techniques and mathematical modelling in economics

Topics 3, 4 and 5 will take up most of your DHA study and learning time. These topics are very 'large', and will require a lot of reading and completion of exercises and tasks. On the plus side, however, the DHA class is completely self-contained in terms of reading; there are no textbooks for the class, and we do not expect you to buy any. The materials we have placed on these DHA web pages are, at the very least, the equivalent of a textbook in themselves.

A complete list of what you will cover is daunting. Here is a précis-form list of particular skills or areas of application that we develop just in the mathematical techniques/economic modelling area, for example!

1. Calculus as a tool for analysis of economic relationships and as an optimisation tool
2. Economic modelling using Excel and Maple
3. Understanding growth processes and growth rates
4. Knowledge and understanding of the applications of simple and compound interest rate formulae
5. Uses and applications of exponential and logarithmic functions
6. Mathematical techniques in finance and investment, including compounding, discounting and present value
7. Investment appraisal criteria and techniques
8. Project appraisal: private and social perspectives, and Cost-Benefit Analysis
9. Dealing with risk and uncertainty
10. Macro-economic modelling
11. Input-Output analysis

(Note the marked word above; this is one example of the Glossary facility you will come across as you work your way through the various classes on our Programme. If you see a word or phrase that is 'Glossaried', just click on it to see the entry. It is also possible for class participants to set up glossaries, although tutors may overrule what you enter should it be inappropriate!)

You may be a little worried at the prospect of having to do more mathematics. Indeed, you may have forgotten much of what you learned previously in the more advanced parts of your math education (or maths education - these notes use the English English version of that word!). But there is no real cause for concern. Unlike many Economics degrees, the EMP programme does not use difficult maths. But we do use a lot of simple maths throughout the programme. What you will find novel about our approach is that you will do much of your maths work with Maple, a specialised mathematical package. With Maple, even relatively difficult maths work, such as optimisation using calculus, becomes extremely simple and intuitive. We will, for example, show you how to do macro-economic modelling using Maple. Another skill, highly demanded in public sector employment and by management and economics consultants, is the ability to carry out Input-Output analysis. This is trivial in Maple, and also very easy to do in Excel as you will find out over the next three months.

You would not have allowed you on this programme were the staff not confident that you can learn all of these things and be confident of using and applying them afterwards. Very few of our students over the years have been maths "high-flyers". Virtually all became highly proficient in these areas, whatever their background.

In our brief preview of the next two Topics (4 and 5), we shall do nothing more here than just list what you will cover. The previous point applies just as much for these items as it did for the mathematical techniques Topic.

Topic 4. Statistical methods

1. Purpose of statistical methods
2. Descriptive statistics
• Forms of data
• Summary measures
• Presentation of statistical information
• Measures of average
• Measures of variation (spread or dispersion)
• Measures of relationship between variables: covariance and correlation, trendlines, independence
3. Populations and samples.
4. Statistical inference
5. Regression analysis

Topic 5. Forecasting

1. Forecasting using Trendlines
2. Regression-based forecasting
3. Leading indicators
4. Consensus forecasting

Topic 6. Data sources

Anyone who works with data should also know how to acquire it, and from where it can be acquired. Topic 6 of this class gives you some help in these respects. Until the last decade of the 20th century, most data was only available in printed form. Students and academics would get most of the data they needed from printed sources, often located in University or other Libraries. Those working in commercial or public organisations would also have been heavily reliant on printed sources, albeit ones that were often purchased from commercial providers. Large data sets were often provided on magnetic tapes, or later on computer disks as data files in various formats.

None of this has entirely disappeared, of course. But the spread of internet-based Information Technology has led to a situation in which most data is now obtained from electronic sources, either with restricted internal access (through intranets) or through external access (via the internet and web).

Much of this information has public access, and much of that in turn (although certainly not all) is free of charge. We exploit this heavily during the EMP programme, while expecting that in your career "outside EMP" you are likely to have far more access to data purchased on subscription or through restricted access/special user arrangements.
What we shall do in Topic 6 is to introduce you to a wealth of data sources available publicly and without charge via the internet. This constitutes a fantastic asset to you here on DHA, throughout the whole EMP programme, and in your career.

6. Recommendations about study techniques to get the most out of DHA.  

Study Techniques

When studied in attendance, either full or part-time, the DHA class is conventional in the way in which it seeks to achieve its intended learning outcomes. This is particularly true for the way it is delivered, consisting of distinct and clearly separated:

• Lectures provide an introduction to each of the topics covered in this class, to lay out the general principles involved and to take students through specific applications to illustrate the general techniques.
• Computer laboratory sessions give instruction and practice in the techniques required to apply mathematical and statistical data analysis and modelling techniques. 
• Tutorial sessions provide an opportunity to discuss and reflect upon the theoretical material and its applications.

The Open Learning mode of study can not adopt a format that employs this tripartite division of labour explicitly, but it does do all these things in a different way. Thus what could be thought of as the lecture material constitutes the bulk of the written text on the web pages.

As you move forwards and backwards through the Moodle-based topics and lessons, what you are doing in effect is to go from one page of lecture material to another. (The division of DHA Open Learning materials into Topics, Lessons, sections etc. does not, though, correspond in any simple way to the division of full-time-mode DHA materials into standard one-hour or two-hour lecture slots.)

Rather than having 12 individual computer lab sessions, the OL programme divides up practical software-based work into many smaller chunks which you do on a nearly continuous basis as you work your way through the programme. Moreover, by following the various links you can get - for some tasks - instantaneous feedback on what you are doing "as if" there were a tutor sitting next to you. For other tasks, you will be getting help, advice, suggestions etc. from your fellow class members, so feedback be substantial but not immediate.

From time to time, we do give you substantial, long exercises to work through. But this is always supported by online interactive help and advice, and by model solutions.
However, there is another valuable resource at your disposal. If you find that the pre-programmed help and advice is not sufficiently helpful and informative on some occasion, just contact the tutor via the Forum pages.

You can post your query to the Discussion Forums, and allow fellow students to share their similar frustrations with you, or to help you solve your immediate problem. Your DHA tutor will be moderating these discussions regularly, and posting tips, advice etc. Not only you will be able to read this but so will all of your colleagues. And you can read discussions started by other current DHA students. Please use this resource intensively; it is one of the principal advantages you possess over students studying DHA by any other mode than Open Learning.

A few words about the pace of your study. Open Learning Programmes are designed to be flexible, so that the times and pace of your study fit with the rest of your commitments. But there are two constraints on this.

1. We have to set a maximum time for which the DHA class (and indeed every other class) will be active. The reasons for this have been explained elsewhere.

2. You will learn best by interacting with other participants on the Programme. But that can only function effectively if you and your colleagues are reasonably closely synchronized at certain critical points in the class. For example, some exercises ask you to post your initial responses to a Discussion Forum, to read and digest the responses of your fellow students, and then to submit a considered final response. Obviously this does require that we define some boundaries in terms of starting and finishing times. We will do this only infrequently. These are not rigid requirements, but you will get the most from your studies if you do stick to those boundaries. To help you synchronise with others, a suggested study timetable is posted for this class (and for all other classes.) We have done our best to make this generous in terms of the intervals between Topics that it implies, while recognizing that many applicants have expressed an interest in completing the programme rapidly! [Incidentally, you will also note from the timetable for the MSc EMP Programme as a whole that we have kept the (Northern hemisphere) summer months much lighter in terms of study committments than the rest of the year. That is largely in recognition of the 'fact' that studying (and teaching) does require some lengthy breaks in any one year if it is to take place enjoyably and efficiently.
Finally, by its very nature, an OL programme cannot arrange for you and your colleagues to all (literally) to be in the same room at the same time. But we can mimic this virtually. That is just what the Discussion Forum facility is there for. Unlike any conventional text-based distance learning or correspondence course, you will get to know your tutors and fellow students very well. But this does require that you make the necessary input, regularly, consistently and adventurously. Once again, please exploit this facility to its very fullest extent.

7. Assessed coursework  

For the DHA class, you will be assessed exactly as our FT and PT students are. The formal assessment for this class is based on two equally weighted classwork assignments, corresponding roughly to material studied in the first half of DHA (up to and including Topic 3 - Mathematical Methods) and material studied in the second half (Topic 4  - Statistical Methods - onwards). Each assignment will consist of multiple parts, chosen to cover most parts of the class content. In each of the two assessed classwork exercises, you are expected to write up the results of problems and exercises set in the form of Academic Reports (with Technical Appendices if appropriate) but with the additional requirements that what is written must be complete, self-contained, and clear and communicative.
We will, of course, give you more advice on what is required closer to the time in question, and each of these assignments has a Discussion Forum associated with it where questions and comments can be put to your tutors and fellow participants (and so all will be able to see any item posted). Meanwhile, if you wish to preview the questions, please follow the links here.

8. A guide to the formats of the questions, exercises and task we set for you  

The use of the Forum facility was briefly mentioned earlier. This is one component of a set of devices which make the learning process interactive. As you work your way through the lessons in DHA, there will be a variety of "tasks" you are asked to carry out at specified points in the lesson materials. These mainly fall into five categories (I say mainly because there are some exceptions!):

1. Check Your Understanding questions: these arise when we wish to help you check whether you have understood a particular concept or idea. Often this type of question is farmed with a multiple-choice format set of answers: you choose what you think is the correct answer - and we tell you if you are right. Whenever possible - and where your response was incorrect - we try to explain why you might have arrived at a wrong answer. Generally, the correct response is accompanied by an outline of why this particular response is the correct one. For these tasks, we do not ask you to post your answers to a Discussion Forum, nor to your tutor.
2. Reflective Question: these arise when some general concepts have been covered, and where the material tends to be rather complex. We want you to "pause" from time to time to ponder over (i.e. reflect upon) what you have just read, and so to think about it more carefully or in a different way. For these tasks, we ask you to post the outcomes of your reflection to a particular Discussion Forum, but not to your tutor. Your tutor will be moderating these responses on a regular basis, and will usually post some summary comments or suggestions to that Forum at an appropriate time. All responses to these Reflective Questions will be available for all in the class to view.
3. Exercise: These arise when some complex material or techniques have been covered. Again, we want you to "pause", reflect on what you have just read and practice using the ideas or techniques being considered. Sometimes the Exercise is short and simple. But more often it is reasonably complicated, often in several steps. For these tasks, we ask you to post the outcomes of your reflection to a particular Discussion Forum and to your tutor. As with all postings to forums, your tutor will be moderating these responses on a regular basis, and will usually post some summary comments or suggestions to that Forum at an appropriate time. All responses to these Reflective Questions will be available for all in the class to view. The tutor may also contact individuals about their postings when he or she thinks that would be useful to you. Such contacts will be private.
4. Discussion Question: these are the most similar of our various "task" formats to what happens in tutorials for those studying by an in-attendance mode. They will often involve each memeber in the class - or in a group within that class - doing some substantial preparation and then sharing his or her ideas with colleagues. discussion of the various inputs is central to what goes on here. Responses should be posted to the appropriate Forum. We ask each of you to comment on and also to 'rate' postings to and contributions of others. The tutor will play an active role in this too.
5. Problems: These are common in DHA (unlike in the next class, MMP, in contrast). They are substantial pieces of individual work. We ask you to post your proposed solutions to the problem to your tutor. You may also wish to share your responses with others in the class by posting to the appropriate forum (or by starting a new discussion yourself).
   
   All of these techniques are designed to help your understanding and your learning. So they are a very important component of the learning package in this module. Their role in this class is explained further below. They give the opportunity to clarify and develop understanding of, and facility with, the analysis developed in the on-line class materials. Some of these formats will also provide the opportunity to see the implications of different perspectives on economic issues and to practice writing for different audiences. They provide the opportunity to practice research skills and to interact with peers taking the module. Finally, they provide an opportunity to explore the use of concepts in the context of possible pathway specialisations that you may intend to pursue.
   Taken as a whole, these activities should allow you to demonstrate

• an analytical approach to understanding
• an awareness of the requirements in presenting economic analysis for a policy audience
• ability to communicate and discuss economic ideas with peers
• competence in the analytical material relevant to the issues discussed
• an ability to select relevant theories and models and make use of evidence

9 A Guide to the Structure of the DHA pages on Moodle  

A Guide to the Structure of the DHA pages on the Moodle VLE

The image below is a partial screenshot of the appearance of the top-level (or "main" Moodle page for the DHA class). [Actually, it is a slightly out-of-date image, as the page has been updated since the screenshot was taken; but the changes are only minor and do not affect what is written below].

The image below is partial in that it only shows the top part of the page, and because it omits the 'blocks' on the right-hand side. The comments below the graphic are designed to help you find your way around.

Look first at the column on the right of this graphic under the heading Topic outline. (This is actually the central section of the DHA main page itself.)

The first block in this column comprises a number of items of relevance to the DHA class as a whole. The block on the left called Activities identifies what kind of items these are. As you work through the class you will make use of some of these items from time to time (such as Assignment 1 and Assignment 2, where you will find details of the two assessed assignments and links through which you will submit electronically your assignments at a later date).

Underneath this block, you will see a number of blocks successively numbered 1, 2, and so on. These are DHA Topics. For example, Topic 1 is Introduction, Topic 2 is Software, and so on.

Each Topic consists of a number of Lessons. The lessons are the main element of this class (and all others on the programme). Each lesson is indicated by the "3 rectangle" icon shown on the Activities block to the left. To access any lesson, simply click on the lesson title; it will automatically open up and you can then work through it at your own speed.

Associated with each lesson are various items (not all of which are present for every lesson). These comprise:

1. A pdf file which allows you to print off a hard copy of the contents of any lesson (these are always labelled as "Printable version" and have a standard pdf file icon associated with them.) Please note that these printable versions are not always completely up-to-date; edits to the web pages made after the class starts its running will not be reflected right away in updates to the printable versions.
2. Forums, shown by the "two faces" icon. These are of two type, a "General Forum" for each Topic (where you can post any general queries or comments relating to the topic in question); and specific forums concerning particular tasks or exercises you are asked to do in the lessons (these are always slightly indented). Forums are the key interactive learning vehicle in this class. You must use them routinely and actively if you are to get the most out of this degree programme.
3. A collection of other resources that you will be asked to use from time to time. (These are also always slightly indented on the page). They consist of Maple, Word and Excel files in the main, but some other things too from time to time. The Word and Excel icons are ones you will be familiar with. You will probably not recognise the icon we use for Maple (but will do soon!) All of these items are "linked" to at various places in the lessons where you are asked to refer to them or otherwise make use of them. They have also been placed here on this main DHA page so that you have easy access to them without having to search to find which lesson page they are linked from.

10. Good luck!  

I hope you enjoy the DHA class, and learn well from it. This is a difficult class; many will find it the most difficult on the EMP programme. It is certainly a "huge" class. There is more reading material, and more exercises to undertake, than any other class on the EMP programme. It is also likely to take you more time than any other unit.
But DHA has the potential to give you a huge return both on your studies elsewhere on your degree here (as many EMP classes will use the techniques we cover here in DHA) and in your careers. Those with good numeracy skills, and adept at doing data analysis, are scarce resources!