Courses

Prerequisites: POLS W4710 or the equivalent. 

We will go through the second half of the book, Regression and Other Stories, by Andrew Gelman, Jennifer Hill, and Aki Vehtari (Cambridge University Press).  This is a follow-up to the course, Principles of Quantitative Political Research 1 (POLS 4710), which covers the first half of the book, including measurement, data visualization, modeling and inference, transformations, and linear regression. 

Topics covered in the course include: 

•    Applied regression:  logistic regression, generalized linear models, poststratification, and design of studies.
•    Causal inference from experiments and observational studies using regression, matching, instrumental variables, discontinuity analysis, and other identification strategies.
•    Simulation, model fitting, and programming in R.
•    Key statistical problems include adjusting for differences between sample and population, adjusting for differences between treatment and control groups, extrapolating from past to future, and using observed data to learn about latent constructs of interest.
•    We focus on social science applications, including but not limited to:  public opinion and voting, economic and social behavior, and policy analysis.