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Multiple Correspondence Analysis for the Social Sciences
This course offers an introduction to MCA, which is a method that allows researchers to observe the patterning of complex data sets through representing categorical variables as points in N-dimensional space. Although it was developed from the later 1960s, MCA has not previously had a large Anglophone following, but it is an increasingly popular method because of (a) its association with Pierre Bourdieu’s high profile sociology, (b) its capacity to lend itself to visualisation of clusters and (c) its potential for mixed methods research.
Who is this course aimed at?
This course is suitable for:
- PhD students, post-doctoral fellows and academic staff in the social sciences, who are interested in one of the main methods for the clustering of categorical data
- those interested in learning about the methods used by Pierre Bourdieu for the analysis of cultural fields and social relations
- market researchers, other commercial researchers, and public sector professionals wishing to learn MCA as a means of clustering complex data sets, and presenting attractive and intuitive visualisations.
Course benefits
This course will provide students with:
- a comprehensive introduction to MCA
- training in how to use SPAD software
- awareness of key exemplars in social science using MCA and an awareness of the theoretical principles it draws upon.
Prerequisites
No statistical knowledge is necessary, but it will be advantageous. Applicants must be at PhD level or higher.
Course outline
This course will offer a comprehensive introduction to the principles of multiple correspondence analysis. Comprehensive training is also provided in using SPAD software, the most accessible and flexible package to use when carrying out MCA.
Issues covered include mathematical principles of geometric data analysis, the difference between the active space of modalities and the use of supplementary variables, coding issues, working with the cloud of modalities and the cloud of individuals, clustering methods within MCA, and the use of inferential statistics within MCA.
The course will be delivered by a series of lectures by leading international experts in MCA in the morning, with practical sessions in a computer lab in the afternoons.
This course is offered as part of the LSE Methods Summer Programme, a summer school of intensive short courses in social science research methods for students, researchers and professionals. A number of social events will be held throughout the programme. Participants will be provided with a transcript and certificate upon completion of the course. For more information on the Methods Summer Programme, please visit our website at lse.ac.uk/methods.
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