Quantitative analysis in social sciences: An brief introduction for non-economists

In this paper, I present an introduction to quantitative research methods in social sciences. The paper is intended for non-Economics undergraduate students, development researchers and practitioners who although unfamiliar with statistical techniques, are interested in quantitative methods to study social phenomena. The paper discusses conventional methods to assess the direction, strength and statistical significance of the correlation between two or more variables, and examines regression techniques and experimental and quasi-experimental research designs to establish causality in the analysis of public interventions.