Overview: In the age of information overload, big data, social media and contestation over ‘fake news’ based on ‘evidence’ and ‘facts’, it is more important than ever to equip students of politics with the necessary skills to read, interpret and critically assess conclusions, political claims and government findings based on strong methodological foundations. “Lies, Damned Lies, and Bullshit" aims to turn students into competent producers, and critical consumers, of ‘facts’ or scientifically based information. We will review the process by which facts are developed using a ‘scientific method’, which will include ontology (what is reality), epistemology (nature, sources and justification of reality or facts), methodology (how do we prove/disprove claims about reality) and methods (what methods are available to social scientists). The second part of this course will give particular attention to quantitative methods in terms of i) the quality of political, economic and financial data; ii) introduction to correlation and causation in social sciences. The main aim is to turn students into data aware consumers with some basic statistical skill, before moving to more detailed methodological training in year 2 methods course. Aims: By the end of this course, students should: •                  Be familiar with the scientific method and it’s use in answering research questions •                  Be able to critically assess other research/communication of ‘scientific’ research or media articles which claim to have authentic results •                  Be comfortable working with basic statistical concepts and be able to compute these with a calculator and piece of paper •                  Be able to start thinking critically about statistical applications that may not adhere to the principles of the scientific method (identifying bullshit)