Mathematics For Social Scientists

Written for social science students who will be working with or conducting research, Mathematics for Social Scientists offers a non-intimidating approach to learning or reviewing math skills essential in quantitative research methods. The text is designed to build students’ confidence by presenting material in a conversational tone and using a wealth of clear and applied examples. Author Jonathan Kropko argues that mastering these concepts will break students’ reliance on using basic models in statistical software, allowing them to engage with research data beyond simple software calculations.

Written for social science students who will be working with or conducting research, Mathematics for Social Scientists offers a non-intimidating approach to learning or reviewing math skills essential in quantitative research methods. The text is designed to build students’ confidence by presenting material in a conversational tone and using a wealth of clear and applied examples. Author Jonathan Kropko argues that mastering these concepts will break students’ reliance on using basic models in statistical software, allowing them to engage with research data beyond simple software calculations.

This book of worked-out examples not only accompanies Timothy M. Hagle's earlier book Basic Math for Social Scientists: Concepts, but also provides an informal refresher course in algebra sets, limits and continuity, differential calculus, multivariate functions, partial derivatives, integral calculus, and matrix algebra. Problem sets are also provided so that readers can practice their grasp of standard mathematical procedures.

This book is aimed at students in social sciences programs that include some course in quantitative methods. Stats for social sciences is frequently the subject of textbooks, while maths for social sciences is often neglected: monographs on specific themes (like, for instance, social choice systems or game theory applications) are available, but they do not adequately cover the topic in general. This textbook stems from the Bocconi University’s new "Bachelor in Government", which was launched in 2015, and is intended for undergraduate students who do not exclude maths from their toolbox. It discusses various concrete applications in political economics, political science, sociology, and demography and explores topics like Grexit, Macron’s success, immigration effects and the Arab Spring.

In this book Lee Rudolph brings together international contributors who combine psychological and mathematical perspectives to analyse how qualitative mathematics can be used to create models of social and psychological processes. Bridging the gap between the fields with an imaginative and stimulating collection of contributed chapters, the volume updates the current research on the subject, which until now has been rather limited, focussing largely on the use of statistics. Qualitative Mathematics for the Social Sciences contains a variety of useful illustrative figures, introducing readers from the social sciences to the rich contribution that modern mathematics has made to our knowledge of logic, structures, and dynamic systems. A beguiling array of conceptual systems, topological models and fractals are discussed which transcend the application of statistics, and bring a fresh perspective to the study of social representations. The wide selection of qualitative mathematical methodologies discussed in this volume will be hugely valuable to higher-level undergraduate and postgraduate students of psychology, sociology and mathematics. It will also be useful for researchers, academics and professionals from the social sciences who want a firmer grasp on the use of qualitative mathematics.

"More than ever before, modern social scientists require a basic level of mathematical literacy, yet many students receive only limited mathematical training prior to beginning their research careers. This textbook addresses this dilemma by offering a comprehensive, unified introduction to the essential mathematics of social science. Throughout the book the presentation builds from first principles and eschews unnecessary complexity. Most importantly, the discussion is thoroughly and consistently anchored in real social science applications, with more than 80 research-based illustrations woven into the text and featured in end-of-chapter exercises. Students and researchers alike will find this first-of-its-kind volume to be an invaluable resource."--BOOK JACKET.

Basic Mathematics for the Biological and Social Sciences deals with the applications of basic mathematics in the biological and social sciences. Mathematical concepts that are discussed in this book include graphical methods, differentiation, trigonometrical or circular functions, limits and convergence, integration, vectors, and differential equations. The exponential function and related functions are also considered. This monograph is comprised of 11 chapters and begins with an overview of basic algebra, followed by an introduction to infinitesimal calculus, scalar and vector quantities, complex numbers, and the simplest types of differential equation. The use of graphs in the presentation of data is also described, along with limits and convergence, rules for differentiation, the exponential function, and maxima and minima. Techniques of integration, vectors and their derivatives, and simultaneous differential equations are explored as well. Examples from biology, economics and related subjects, probability theory, and physics are provided. This text will be a useful resource for mathematicians as well as biologists and social scientists interested in applying mathematics to their work.