CASA0007 Written Investigation

The Task
Define a research question using one of following three datasets as the main topic and
investigate this question, using the quantitative methods from this module as a basis.
Present your investigation and its conclusions as a written report.

Below is the list of datasets. You can augment the selected dataset using other datasets
(e.g. demographic, social, economic, environmental).
• London crime rates (https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/recorded_crime_summary)
• London fire brigade incident records (https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/london-fire-
brigade-incident-records)
• Prevalence of Childhood Obesity, Borough, Ward and MSOA
(https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/prevalence-childhood-obesity-borough)

You are encouraged to transform or aggregate the selected dataset when formulating the
research question and key variables. The selection of spatial scope and unit is crucial. For
example, when studying the burglary crime rate in London, it is not suggested to
investigate the crime rate in London boroughs, as a borough cover a large area and
population and the heterogeneity within a borough is significant.

You are required to use Python as the main language in this investigation, rather than
other programming languages or tools, including but are not limited to R, Excel, SPSS.

This work should be founded on methods covered in the Quantitative Methods module,
possibly extended through your own research. Projects based around methods from a
different module (e.g. Geographically Weighted Regression, GIS, etc.) are not appropriate
for this task.

Weighting
The Written Investigation makes up 70% of the marks for the Quantitative Methods module.

Deadline
Tuesday 14 January 2025, 17:00, UK Time
Late submission of the written investigation will be subject to the standard penalties,
according to UCL regulations.

Submission
Submission is exclusively via Moodle. Work should be submitted in PDF format.
DO NOT submit a MS Word document, as the formatting of a Word document may vary on
different computers.
DO NOT submit any file of code or data on Moodle. If you want, you can upload these in a
GitHub repo and put down the link to the GitHub repo in the submission. This encourages
people to reproduce your work.
DO NOT append screenshots of code blocks or code output in your submission.
Be aware that submissions are run through Turnitin software and checked for plagiarism.
Punishments for plagiarism (following UCL procedures) can be extremely serious, potentially
including disqualification from modules and courses. See the UCL guidelines for details.
In your submission, please add a line of your student number, but avoid including your
name or email address.

Template

We strongly encourage you to use the Microsoft word template of

QM_2024_PaperTemplate.docx, as provided on Moodle. We also encourage you to include
a table of the key variables in the submission (see Table 1 in the template). It is acceptable
to use other Microsoft word template or Latex, if you hope, but we do not provide Latex
template and we do not provide support for Latex.

Length
The maximum length of the text is 1750 words, excluding graphs, tables, other figures and
code extracts. Footnotes are included in the word limit. In addition, the work as a whole
must not exceed 7 pages, with a minimum font size of 11. The word count must be stated at
the end of the text.
The only exception to the above is the bibliography, which should appear on its own page at
the end of the document, and which is not counted in the word limit.
Penalties for exceeding these limits will be in line with UCL regulations.

Assessment Criteria
The assessment criteria are available via Moodle.
Content
Structure Your written investigation should include the following sections:

• Research question
• Literature Review
• Data
• Methodology
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusions

Research Question Your research question must be something that admits a quantitative
(rather than qualitative) analysis, in the broad area of cities research. As seen in the mark
scheme (the “Ambition” stream), credit is given for ambitious and interesting research
questions whose answers may be of genuine value, so consider justifying your choice of
question on this basis. After defining your question, consider setting out some more specific
research objectives and hypotheses.
Literature Review This should be a brief discussion of sources relevant to your work. Be
sure to consider sources relating to both the context of the research question you have
chosen and the methods that other authors have used to address similar questions. Ensure
that you take a critical perspective on the sources you reference and end by summarising
the relevance of what you have learnt for your own investigation.
Data It is likely that you will be working with data that you have obtained from some third
party source (the exception may be if you are doing an investigation based purely on
computer simulation). If so, you should include this section, where you communicate the key
features of your data to the reader through summary statistics and appropriate figures and
tables.
Methodology Your methodology must demonstrate an understanding of quantitative
techniques and their value. Consider which of the methods from the course would be most
appropriate to deploy in the investigation of your particular question. Methods not covered in
the course may also be deployed, provided that they are clearly explained. As seen in the
mark scheme (the “Technical Difficulty” stream), credit is given for the application of more
varied and sophisticated techniques, so be sure to choose an approach that allows you to
demonstrate the true extent of your understanding.
Results Consider the way in which you present your results carefully. The goal should be
clarity of communication. In some circumstances, a table of values may be perfectly
adequate. In other circumstances, a graph or diagram may be more appropriate.
Discussion When discussing your results, you should demonstrate your understanding of
the quantitative methods that you have employed and your ability to clearly interpret any
output that you have observed. Avoid summarising information that has already been clearly
presented by means of a table or graph and concentrate on highlighting key facts and
interpreting outcomes in terms of your research objectives.
Conclusions Your conclusion must relate back to your research question (even if your
results are inconclusive) and must be based on all of the information that you have gained
and the interpretations that you have outlined in the previous sections.
Data
You may use any data from any source that you are legally entitled to use. Some suggested
sources of data will be discussed in the lectures and listed on Moodle. You may also collect
your own data.
Your written work must include a clear explanation of how and where you obtained any data
used in your investigation.
Be aware that using data that includes information about identifiable individuals would
require ethical approval, which is impossible to obtain in the time frame of this assessment.
The legal rules around this issue can be confusing. If you have any doubts or queries about
your data set, please contact us.

Audience
Your work should be clear and comprehensible for an audience with a sound foundation of
quantitative understanding. You should assume a detailed knowledge of the methods
covered in the course. Briefly explain the purpose of each method that you employ.

Frequently Asked Question

Why impose a word limit and a page limit?
Word limits are useful to give students an idea of how much work is expected of them,
and to manage the amount of marking required, allowing staff to get feedback to students
in a reasonable amount of time. However, they can also be difficult to monitor, since doing
a word count on every piece of work submitted is not feasible.

With a page limit (and an accompanying minimum font size), it is much easier to quickly
verify that students have followed the brief. Simultaneously offering a word limit ensures
that students have the clearest possible guidance on the amount of work that is expected.

For this assignment, it should be noted that the figure of 1750 words is a limit, not a target.
Depending on the number of graphs, figures and tables in your work, anything from 1400-
1750 words may be appropriate. Try to fill the seven pages as effectively as possible.

Note that, with reasonable margins and in most sensible fonts, 1750 words of 12 point
text, with single line spacing, equates to between 3 and 3.5 pages of text (without
counting space for titles and headings).

Which reference style and reference management software should I use?

Please use the style of 10th edition of Cite Them Right – Harvard, which is introduced
here.
Regarding reference management software, we recommend Zotero, which is introduced
here. You can also use Endnote or Mendeley, which is supported by UCL (see here).

Can I use AI tools in assessment?

Please read the UCL guidance on using AI tools in assessment: link.