DEM 601: Introduction to Demographic Analysis
Syllabus · Hacettepe University Institute of Population Studies (HUIPS) · Fall 2026
| Instructor | Faruk Keskin (farukkeskin [at] hacettepe [dot] edu [dot] tr) |
| Lectures | Thursday 09:40–12:30 |
| Office hour | Thursday 14:00–15:00 (drop-in, no appointment needed) |
| Office | Room 319, 3rd floor |
| Credits | 3 (local) / 8 ECTS |
Course description
Demography is generally divided into two branches: technical demography (also called formal demography, or demographic analysis) and population studies (also called social demography). Technical demography collects and analyzes demographic data to construct, examine, and project population indicators. Population studies examines demographic processes in relation to social, economic, political, cultural, and biological factors. DEM 601 focuses on the first of these two branches.
DEM 601 is an introductory master's-level course in the Department of Demography, giving students a comprehensive grounding in technical demography. No prior background in demography is assumed. Students are introduced to demographic terminology and the main types of demographic data, then learn to calculate and interpret core demographic indicators, covering population change and composition, mortality, life tables, fertility, nuptiality, migration, and standardization techniques for comparing populations. Any calculation tool (spreadsheet software, R, or similar) is fine for coursework and assignments. Across the semester, students apply these methods to a population of their own choosing through an individual term project, The Population Blueprint, building up a cumulative demographic profile chapter by chapter. By the end of the course, students will have a solid foundation in demographic measurement and basic models, able to analyze and interpret demographic data on their own.
Learning objectives
By the end of DEM 601, students will be able to:
- Define core demographic concepts and correctly distinguish rates, ratios, proportions, probabilities, and percentages
- Identify and evaluate major sources of demographic data and their limitations
- Calculate and interpret standard indicators of population growth, composition, mortality, fertility, nuptiality, and migration
- Construct and analyze both complete and abridged life tables
- Apply standardization techniques to make valid comparisons across populations
- Independently analyze a real demographic dataset and present findings
Attendance and grading
Attendance at every lecture and recitation is mandatory. Students must attend at least 80% of scheduled sessions to remain eligible to sit the final exam; documented medical or family emergencies are excluded from this calculation, provided the instructor is notified as soon as possible and supporting documentation is provided.
| Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| Final exam | 50% |
| Mid-term exam | 20% |
| Assignments | 20% (2% each) |
| Project | 10% (3% presentation) |
Project: The Population Blueprint
As part of the course, students complete an individual term project called The Population Blueprint (TPB). TPB consists of a sequence of chapters, each building on the one before; several of the semester's assignments double as project chapters, so chapters must be completed in the order the course progresses, since each one is a prerequisite for the next.
Each student selects a population of their own choosing (at the continent, country, or city level) and applies the concepts introduced lecture by lecture to that population. Türkiye may not be chosen, since it is the population used for all in-class and assignment examples throughout the semester. Choose carefully: the same population is used for every chapter of the project. Students must confirm their chosen population with the instructor by the end of Lecture 2.
TPB is worth 7% for the completed project chapters and 3% for the final presentation in Lecture 12 (see Attendance and grading).
Sources
- Newell, Colin (1988) Methods and Models in Demography, London: Belhaven Press.
- Hinde, Andrew (1998) Demographic Methods, New York: Routledge.
- Rowland, Donald T. (2003) Demographic Methods and Concepts, New York: Oxford University Press.
- Wachter, Kenneth W. (2014) Essential Demographic Methods, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
- Carmichael, Gordon A. (2016) Fundamentals of Demographic Analysis: Concepts, Measures and Methods, Springer.
Lecture schedule
See Class format under Policies for the session structure. Handouts and exercise sheets are posted on the course page.
| Lecture | Date | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24-09-2026 | Introduction to the Course and Basic Demographic ConceptsSyllabus, course requirements and grading; demographic concepts and terminology; demographic data sources |
| 2 | 01-10-2026 | Demographic Indicators and Person-Years-LivedRate, ratio, proportion, probability and percentage; person-years lived |
| 3 | 08-10-2026 | Population ChangeComponents of population change and basic demographic equation; population growth and growth rates, doubling time; population replacement, population momentum |
| 4 | 15-10-2026 | Age and Sex CompositionSex ratio and dependency ratios; problems in age reporting; distribution of unknown ages; age pyramid |
| 5 | 22-10-2026 | Measures of MortalityCrude death rate, age-specific death rates and cause-specific death proportion; central death rates and probability of death |
| 29-10-2026 | No class (Cumhuriyet Bayramı, national holiday) | |
| 6 | 05-11-2026 | Standardization of Death Rates & Concepts in Early Life MortalityDirect and indirect standardization of death rates, decomposition; under-5 mortality, child mortality, infant mortality, fetal deaths, perinatal and maternal mortality |
| 12-11-2026 | Midterm Exam | |
| 7 | 19-11-2026 | Life Table ISimple and abridged life tables, cohort and period life tables; definition of life table functions |
| 8 | 26-11-2026 | Life Table IIConstruct and analyze simple and abridged life tables; model life tables |
| 9 | 03-12-2026 | Measures of Fertility IBasic concepts: fertility, fecundity, and infecundity; crude birth rate, child/woman ratio, general fertility rate, age-specific birth rates; total fertility rate, replacement level, proximate determinants of fertility |
| 10 | 10-12-2026 | Measures of Fertility IIPeriod vs. cohort fertility, tempo and quantum effects; gross reproduction rate, net reproduction rate; mean age at childbearing and mean length of generation |
| 11 | 17-12-2026 | Measures of NuptialityMean and median age of marriage; crude, age-specific, and general rates of marriage and divorce; Singulate Mean Age of Marriage (SMAM) |
| 12 | 24-12-2026 | Measures of Migration, Population Projections & Student PresentationsBasic concepts and measures: in- and out-migration, net migration, lifetime migration; population projection methods; student project presentations |
Final exams: 04-01-2027 to 15-01-2027.
Readings by lecture
Rowland is the core text for the course, except in Lecture 5, where Hinde is the core reading. All other sources are supplementary. Chapter titles are listed as they appear in each source's table of contents; consult the full citation under Sources for edition details.
| Lecture | Topic | Rowland | Hinde | Newell | Wachter | Carmichael |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intro, basic concepts, data sources | Introduction | Some Demographic Fundamentals | Introduction; Data Collection | Introduction: Why Study Demography? | Basic Sources, Concepts, Definitions and Types of Measures |
| 2 | Indicators, person-years-lived | Population Change | Some Demographic Fundamentals | Periods and Cohorts | Basic Sources, Concepts, Definitions and Types of Measures | |
| 3 | Population change, growth, momentum | Population Change; Population Growth and Decline | Population Growth | Exponential Growth | Basic Sources, Concepts, Definitions and Types of Measures | |
| 4 | Age and sex composition | Age-Sex Composition | Models of Population Structure | Age and Sex Structure | Stable Age Structures | Basic Sources, Concepts, Definitions and Types of Measures |
| 5 | Measures of mortality | Mortality and Health | The Measurement of Mortality | Mortality and Life Tables | Periods and Cohorts | Analysis of Mortality: The Life Table and Survival |
| 6 | Standardization; early-life mortality | Comparing Populations | Comparing Mortality Experiences | Mortality and Life Tables | Periods and Cohorts; Period Fertility | Comparison: Standardization and Decomposition |
| Midterm Exam | ||||||
| 7 | Life Table I | Life Tables | The Life Table | Mortality and Life Tables | Cohort Mortality; Period Mortality | Analysis of Mortality: The Life Table and Survival |
| 8 | Life Table II | Life Tables; Stable and Stationary Models | Multiple-Decrement Life Tables; Applications of Stable Population Theory | Empirical Model Life Tables; Relational Model Life Tables | Period Mortality | Analysis of Mortality: The Life Table and Survival |
| 9 | Measures of Fertility I | Fertility and the Family | The Measurement of Fertility | Period Fertility | Cohort Fertility; Period Fertility | Analysis of Fertility |
| 10 | Measures of Fertility II | Fertility and the Family | Parity Progression; The Determinants of Fertility | Cohort Fertility | Period Fertility | Analysis of Fertility |
| 11 | Nuptiality | Fertility and the Family | The Analysis of Marriage | Marriage and Divorce | Marriage and Family | Marriage, Marital Status and Relationships |
| 12 | Migration, Projections & Presentations | Migration; Population Projections and Estimates | The Analysis of Migration; Introducing Population Projection; The Component Method of Population Projection | Migration; Population Projections and Forecasts | Migration and Location; Population Projection | Population Distribution, Urbanization and Migration; Population Projections |
Note: In Lecture 6, Wachter's discussion of age-standardization appears in the fertility chapter of that text rather than in a mortality chapter.
Policies
Class format
Each three-hour session, except Lecture 1 and the midterm, opens with a one-hour review of the previous lecture's assignment, followed by two hours of new lecture material.
Assignments
Ten assignments are given across the semester, each covering that lecture's content; see the Lecture schedule for the current list of lectures with assignments. Each assignment is due by 23:59 on the Tuesday before the next lecture and is worth 2% of the final grade; solutions are reviewed in the first hour of that session. Any calculation tool (spreadsheet software, R, or similar) may be used. Some assignments also serve as chapters of the term project (see Project: The Population Blueprint).
Exams
The midterm (12-11-2026) and final exam are closed book: no notes or formula sheets are permitted. A calculator is allowed; no other electronic devices (phones, laptops, smartwatches, etc.) may be used. An ungraded review exercise is distributed ahead of the midterm to support exam preparation; it is not one of the 10 graded assignments. A make-up exam is offered only in cases of documented medical or family emergency, arranged with the instructor in advance wherever possible.
Use of AI tools
Students may use AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude) to clarify concepts or help debug code while working on assignments and the project. Final calculations, interpretations, and written answers must be the student's own; submitting AI-generated answers, interpretations, or code as final work is a violation of the Academic integrity policy below.
Late work
Late submissions receive no credit, except in cases of documented medical or family emergency, arranged with the instructor in advance wherever possible. See Assignments for submission deadlines.
Academic integrity
Students are expected to complete assignments, exams, and the course project independently unless group work is explicitly assigned. Submitting work copied from another student or from any uncredited source, or misrepresenting data or results, constitutes academic dishonesty and will be handled under Hacettepe University's academic integrity regulations, up to and including a failing grade for the assignment or the course.