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Know Your Numbers

5 hours learning
Short Course
Beginner
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Section outline

  • Course Overview

    This course teaches easy ways to nail basic numbers and gives an understanding of why this is important. It explores the relationships between numbers and how this underpins all quantitative research. 

    It will help you develop an understanding of fractions, percentages, and ratios, and teach you to use these to evaluate data and make comparisons.

    Learning Outcomes

    This course will help you to:

    1. Recognize the importance of numbers and use numbers in practical tasks
    2. Recognize, understand, and manipulate fractions, including the seven interlocking rules for dealing with fractions, and apply these rules to assemble and compare numbers
    3. Use tables to interpret and evaluate data, recognizing the value of numbers in rows and columns, and comparing fractions based on rows and columns to tell a story
    4. Turn decimals into percentages to analyze data effectively and draw comparisons
    5. Read different tables and pull useful data to make valuable interpretations
    6. Identify when and how to round numbers up or down and apply rules of rounding to simplify superfluous numbers
    7. Use ratios, percentages, and fractions to describe any comparison between two amounts

    • Course Instructor: John MacInnes

      • John MacInnes

        John MacInnes is Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Statistics at the University of Edinburgh, a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and a Chartered Statistician. He was Vice President of the Royal Statistical Society (2019-2020), Strategic Advisor to the ESRC and British Academy on quantitative skills development, and helped develop the UK Q-Step programme.

        His substantive research interests have ranged from social demography to gender studies, nationalism and employment relations, confirming John Tukey’s claim that statisticians get to play in everyone’s backyard.

        View Bio for John MacInnes

      • Course Resources

        You will need to access certain files and resources throughout the course to get the most out of the activities. You can find them all here. 

      • Video Transcripts

        You can access all video transcripts here.

      • Pre-Course Self Assessment

        Before you dive into this course, spend a few moments reflecting on your familiarity with the topic and your current level of skills confidence. 

        You will then re-visit the same questions in our Post-Course Self Assessment and reflect on how the course has helped you develop in confidence and grow your skills. 

        • Module One: Fluency With Numbers Makes Tasks Easier

          This module will help you to:

          1. Recognize the importance of numbers
          2. Use numbers in practice, to make different tasks easier

        • Module Two: Making Sense of Fractions

          This module will help you to:

          1. Recognize and understand the construction of fractions
          2. Describe and manipulate fractions to make comparisons

        • Module Three: Seven Rules for Handling Fractions

          This module will help you to:

          1. Recognize the seven interlocking rules for dealing with fractions
          2. Apply and practice these rules to assemble and compare numbers
          3. Identify in what situations these rules are useful 

        • Module Four: Making Sense of Tables

          This module will help you to:

          1. Use tables to interpret and evaluate data
          2. Recognize the value of numbers in the rows and columns of a table
          3. Compare fractions based on rows and columns to tell a story
          4. Turn decimals into percentages to analyze data effectively

        • Module Five: Using Rows and Columns to Make Comparisons

          This module will help you to:

          1. Use row and column percentages to draw comparisons between data and make evaluative statements
          2. Read different versions of tables and pull the useful data to make valuable interpretations and comparisons

        • Module Six: Rounding Numbers

          This module will help you to:

          1. Identify when and how to round numbers up and down
          2. Apply the rules of rounding to simplify superfluous numbers

        • Module Seven: Percentages and Ratios Help Make Clear Comparisons

          This module will help you to:

          1. Use ratios, percentages, or fractions correctly to describe any comparison between two amounts

        • Glossary of Key Terms

          In addition to the glossary you’ll find woven throughout the course, you can find the full glossary collated in one place here.

        • Post-Course Self Assessment

          Now you’ve completed the course, spend a few moments reflecting on where your familiarity with the topics and your confidence skills le vels are at now. 

          Has the course helped you develop new skills and grow your confidence?

          You'll need to complete the Post-Course Self Assessment in order to download your certificate. If you didn't do the Pre-Course Self Assessment before starting the course, please go to the top of the page and reflect on your familiarity with the topic and your level of skills confidence before you started the course.

          • Completion: Certificate

            Completing all modules (plus the pre and post-course assessments) will unlock the course certificate, which you can then download here. Your course certificate will only be made available once you have completed all these sections.

            If you have difficulty accessing your certificate, please contact the Sage support team at: onlinesupport@sagepub.co.uk. You can also check out this FAQ page which may be helpful.

            • Give Feedback About This Course

              Did you enjoy the course? Please take two minutes to share your feedback. We use learner feedback in future course updates and developments to provide an excellent learning experience.

            • Accessibility

              We have high standards of accessibility on Sage Campus and as of May/June 2024 all activities within this course are keyboard and screen reader compatible. For more details on accessibility standards, please see the Sage Campus Accessibility Guide.

              For those using assistive technology, please note that within this course:

              • Tab components: JAWS and NVDA behave slightly differently. For NVDA to keep reading, it is best to exit focus mode and go back to browse mode. 
              • Matching: JAWS does not read out question label on dropdown focus. 
              Original Publication date: 07-2021
              Last Updated: 06-2026