Units / MPH5214
MPH5214 · Demographic methods
2026 Handbook6 credit pointsLevel 5Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine
Last checked: 23 Aug 2026 UTCOverview
This unit gives you a solid foundation in formal demography, where quantitative data and techniques are used to calculate demographic measures. Topics include sources of demographic data and assessment of their quality; calculation and interpretation of basic measures of fertility, mortality and migration; population dynamics, growth and ageing; life tables; Indigenous demography; and population projections. Learning activities include hands-on calculation and interpretation of demographic measures using real-world data. You are expected to be familiar with Microsoft Excel.
Offerings
| Campus | Teaching period | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Alfred Hospital | Second semester | Teaching is all online (ONLINE) |
Assessment
The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.
| # | Assessment | Type | Weight | Hurdle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Standardisation (600 words or equivalent) | Written | 10% | — |
| 2 | Lexis diagrams and life tables (900 words or equivalent) | Written | 15% | — |
| 3 | Migration and family formation (1,500 words or equivalent) | Written | 25% | — |
| 4 | Indigenous demography and models of population structure (1,500 words or equivalent) | Written | 25% | — |
| 5 | Population projections (1,500 words or equivalent) | Written | 25% | — |
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Requisites
The Handbook lists no prerequisite, corequisite or prohibition for this unit.
Learning outcomes
- Identify, locate and critically evaluate quality of different types of population data.
- Choose appropriate demographic methods to calculate demographic measures.
- Calculate and graphically present demographic measures. .
- Interpret demographic measures in the context of changing populations.
- Effectively communicate demographic measures and their interpretation in written, tabular and graphical form to a lay or policy audience.
Workload
6 hours of teacher directed learning activities and 6 hours of self-directed study per week. 12 hours of self-directed study per week.
| Activity | Duration |
|---|---|
| Lectures | — |
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