Quantitative methods in political science and policy research are changing rapidly. The rise of the internet has brought in new sources of text, network, geographical, image, video, and other data. Meanwhile, computing storage and processing capabilities continue to expand, while data and code sharing norms have made it so that anyone with a computer and internet connection can have access to a growing set of tools and methods for modeling and interpreting patterns. This course focuses on the extraordinary work that is emerging in politics and policy as a result of these recent advances, with a broad set of applications ranging from health and defense to environmental and agricultural policy. The course highlights current trends, challenges, and new directions for political and policy researchers in academia, government, and the private sector, focusing on how these new data sources and methodologies are being used to solve problems in social science and public policy.
Data Types: Numerical, Categorical, Networks, Maps, Images
Methods: Network analysis, Descriptive statistics, Frequentist inference, Machine learning, Visualization, Human Subjects
Substantive Areas: Discrimination/Inequality, Environment/Sustainability, Ethics/Privacy, Health/Medicine, Security/Defense, Web/Social Media
Programming Languages: R, Python, Unix