Experiments
Field experiments have become increasingly important ways of studying the effectiveness of political interventions, be they campaign tactics for mobilizing or persuading voters, fundraising tactics for political or charitable efforts, lobbying, recruiting volunteers, or influencing administrative or judicial outcomes through direct communication. In this course, we will discuss the logic of experimentation, its strengths and weaknesses compared to other methodologies, and the ways in which experimentation has been -- and could be -- used to investigate political phenomena. We will discuss a wide array of applications. Students will learn how to interpret and design experiments. In order to better understand the nuances of experimental design and analysis, we will roll up our sleeves and reanalyze some of the data from the weekly readings.
- T 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
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Instructor:
Donald P Green
CULPA: 2 h-index: 87 Info - 2 points
Survey & Polling Methodology
Survey research has played a pivotal role in politics for the better part of the last century, with a wide range of campaign and public policy professionals conducting surveys to gain insight into the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of the electorate and citizenry as a whole. Since the early 2000s, the use of survey experiments has become exponentially more prevalent in the political realm as a way to assess attitudes, anticipate reactions, or measure causal relationships. Recent trends point to the growing importance of the internet and social media to conduct surveys and the linkage of survey data with the wealth of publicly available personal information as well as with information on individuals’ social and economic behavior. In this course, students will learn about the strengths and weaknesses of survey research as well as limitations associated with survey design and various analytical techniques, and they will acquire concrete knowledge of practical tools used in campaigns, advocacy, and election forecasting. Students will be introduced to a set of principles for conducting survey research and analyzing survey data that are the basis for standard practice in the field. Students will be familiarized with terminology and concepts associated with survey questionnaire design, sampling, data collection and aggregation, and survey data analysis to gain insights and to test hypotheses about the nature of human and social behavior and interaction. The course will present a framework that will enable students to evaluate the influence of different sources of error on the quality of data.
- R 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
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Instructor:
Anja Kilibarda
h-index: 3 Info - 4 points
Electoral Data & Predictive Modeling
One of the best ways to predict the future is to study the past. A dizzying amount of data is available to study elections and politics, including survey and polling data on individual preferences, beliefs, demographics, and choices; data on aggregate conditions and outcomes; and, for more recent years, a wide range of social media data. From polling analysts and pundits to campaign managers and career journalists, making sense of this data can create a competitive advantage for professionals working in the field of politics. By analyzing the results of previous elections, insights can be gleaned to enhance understanding of the factors that contributed to electoral wins and be used to build statistical models or to create machine learning models that can predict future outcomes. Students will curate various types of data and work with starter code to build their data wrangling and computational skills. Students will learn how to explore data with these techniques, understand how they work, and derive insights and knowledge based on the analysis results.
- M 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
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Instructor:
Michael Schwam-Baird
Info - 3 points
Big Data & Political Strategy
Some experts on U.S. political campaigns have argued that big data has fundamentally changed the way politicians win elections and pursue policymaking. With the combination of massive amounts of personal data and information about individual voters and society at large, readily available processing power, sophisticated machine learning techniques, and cheap and efficient communication methods, modern political professionals are able to identify likely supporters, understand their issues of interest and concern, make direct appeals with micro-targeted messages, and mobilize these constituencies to donate, volunteer, turnout, mobilize, and vote accordingly. Without a doubt, big data has the potential to inform strategic decision-making across multiple aspects of politics.
In this course, students will learn about the range of big data sources that can be gathered and aggregated, including public data, voter file data, consumer data, and more. Students will become familiar with the ways in which data can be used to gain insights about voters’ sentiments, attitudes, and opinions and to develop strategies to predict and prompt behavior. Most importantly, students will learn to synthesize a variety of data sources into a cohesive strategy and presentation that can be given to decision-makers, whether for electoral or advocacy purposes.
- R 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
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Instructor:
Benjamin Messner
Info - 3 points