ICPSR Short Workshop: Introduction to Causal Inference (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research)
Making causal claims can be difficult. How can we reliably draw valid inferences about causal relationships? Since the advent of the credibility revolution, social science has paid increasing attention to issues of research design and causal identification. This short course introduces students to tools for thinking about and making causal inferences, with a focus on observational (i.e., quasi- or non-experimental) data. Material we will cover includes regression and matching methods, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity designs, difference-in-differences, and synthetic control models. Emphasis will be placed on understanding why particular methods work, when each is appropriate, and best practices for how to implement them.
POLS 3395: Money in American Politics (University of Houston)
Polling shows that the influence of money on our political system ranks as a top concern for Americans across the partisan spectrum. In many people’s minds, the American political system serves the interests of wealthy donors and large corporations, providing little opportunity for the average citizen to have their views represented. How accurate is the popular characterization? What are the mechanisms via which money talks? And if money has so much influence, what can be done to provide those without it political voice? Our goal this semester will be answering these and related questions. We’ll do so from the perspectives of social scientists, which means we’ll dig into detailed theories and examine what the evidence says. We’ll use tools and approaches from political economy, combined with insights from legal studies, sociology, policy analysis, and more. The class format is a seminar, meaning there will be a mix of group discussion, lecture, guest speakers, activities, and workshops.
POLS 3316: Statistics for Political Science (University of Houston)
Today’s world is data driven. The massive amount of data produced by the 21st century world brings promise as well as peril. Simply turn on the TV or glance at your favorite social media homepage to find example after example of people using data of various sorts to make a point. Quantitative analysis can both inform and mislead, so understanding foundational principles of statistics is more important now than ever. In this course students will walk away equipped with these statistical foundations. We’ll use examples from politics and public policy to learn how to comprehend, interpret, and conduct statistical analyses. Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on 1) intuition and 2) application. Students will learn how to conduct their own data analysis using R, a free, widely used statistical programming language. Significant class time will be devoted to working together in 8 data labs over the course of the semester to gain proficiency with the language.
POLS 6364: Graduate Seminar in Legislative Process (University of Houston)
Dating back to Woodrow Wilson’s scholarship on Congress, inquiry of legislative politics and policy outcomes has been central to the intellectual history of American political science. The study of American legislatures has been at the forefront of methodological innovation in both theory and empirics, a trend that persists today. This graduate seminar is designed to advance the following three goals. First, students will become familiar with the political science literature on legislative process and obtain a deeper understanding of why legislatures operate in the way they do. Second, students will be introduced to the craft of modern institutional research, a form of analysis that employs a variety of tools but uniformly puts a premium on detailed, precise theory and research designs that can credibly test those theories’ prediction. Finally, the third goal is that students develop a variety of fundamental skills, including critical thinking, clear writing, and the ability to conduct their own research.
GOVT 2305: American and Texan Government (University of Houston)
This course is part of a two-course sequence (along with GOVT 2306) that introduces students to the structure of democracy in the United States and Texas. The primary aim is for students to better understand national and state-level politics, and how they can be informed and effective participants. This portion of the two-course sequence focuses on political institutions (legislatures, executives, courts, bureaucracy, etc.), the constitutional framework that allocates power to these institutions, and the public policy these institutions create. In addition to providing students with a better knowledge of the machinery of government, a secondary goal of this course is that students learn to analyze political processes and outcomes from the perspective of political science. The discipline of political science has developed a wide array of tools and insights for understanding why political actors (elected representatives, bureaucrats, political parties, interest groups, etc.) do the things they do and why we see the (often messy) outcomes that result. The lectures of this class will take the readings as a starting point but provide additional viewpoints, content, and application to current events. Over the course of the semester students should grow in their critical thinking skills and be better equipped to evaluate political developments.
WWS 600B: Introductory/Intermediate Statistics for Public Policy (School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University)
This course equips public policy students with the tools of quantitative analysis, with a focus on application. Content begins with descriptive statistics and covers probability, inference, regression and causality. Class involves a substantial lab portion during which students are taught to use Stata, and assignments include both analytical problem sets and hands-on data analysis.