OCTOBER 2016
Congratulations to Jocelyn Lang who has won the CUQM/SAGE prize for highest mark in the 2015-16 SOC5 (Statistics and Methods) exam paper. Jocelyn has won £50 worth of books from SAGE publishers and a £50 Heffers voucher.
Soc5 has been one of the best paper choice decisions that I've made in my 3 years in Cambridge. It has equipped me with very practical skills and knowledge that I continue to use today, and that I am sure will be very valuable in my work in the future. I am currently doing a MSc in Social Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. I believe my background in statistics and methods (given by Soc5) had a significant part to play in the admissions decision. In policy, and in fact in many areas in the real world, numbers do matter. The understanding of numbers - knowing how statistical tools are deployed, being able to interpret outputs, and very importantly, also being able to be critical of them, is an invaluable skill. Delving deep into the theoretical bases of qualitative methods have also given me a sharper and more critical lens towards the use of these different methods in policy evaluation and research. An unequipped eye is so much more likely to jump to simplistic conclusions and conduct simplistic research. I am glad that I was exposed to a paper like Soc5 as an undergraduate which has given me that much more perspective, as well as the practical skills and knowledge to be a potential mover and shaker in the world.