Click here for a printer friendly version.
Research Method
Week 1: Jan 23rd
The Elements of Research - Course Introduction
Reading: None
Week 2: Jan 30th
Research Questions: Defining and Justifying Problems; Defining Hypotheses.
Readings: Problem Formulation
Week 3: Feb 6th
Theory and Measurement: Causation, Validity and Reliability.
Reading: The Layman's Guide to Social Research Methods
Assignment 1 distributed
Week 4: Feb 13th
Surveys: Asking Questions to Collect Data / Data Coding.
ASSIGNMENT 1 DUE IN CLASS.
Readings: What is a Survey, Survey Design (skim), Survey Research (skim)
Week 5: Feb 20th
(No Class: President's Day)
Week 6: Feb 27th
Experiments: Causal Relationships and Experimental Control.
Reading: The Basics of Experimental Design, Experimental Design (skim, look through the various sections)
Quantitative Methods
Understanding One Variable and the Association Between Two Variables
Week 7: March 6th
Descriptive Statistics: Probability, Distribution, Univariate Data
Reading: HyperState Online: Describing Univariate Data
Week 8: March 13th
Bivariate Statistics: Correlations, t-Tests, Chi-Square.
Reading: The t-Test, Correlation, HyperStat Online: Chi Square
Understanding the Relationship Between Two or More Variables
Week 9: March 20th
Exploratory Data Analysis (Guest Lecturer: Hal Varian)
Reading: TBA
Week 10: March 27th
(No Class: Spring Break)
Week 11: April 3rd
Analysis of Variance.
Reading: Conceptual Introduction to the Analysis of Variance
Week 12: April 10th
The General Linear Model/ Linear Regression (Guest Lecturer: Hal Varian)
Reading: TBA
ASSIGNMENT 2 DUE IN CLASS.
Week 13: April 17th
Finding data for quantitative data analysis and using it
Reading: TBA
Advanced Topics in Quantitative Methods
Week 14: April 24th
Regression for Binary Outcomes: Logistic Regression. (Guest Lecturer: Hal Varian)
Week 15: May 1st
Course Wrap-Up and Preparation for Final Projects
Week 16: May 8th
ASSIGNMENT 3: Project Presentations.
ASSIGNMENT 3: Final paper write up due on Thursday, May 11.