Special Topics in Political Science (390-0-23)

Topic

Experiments in Political Science

Instructors

Alexander Coppock

Meeting Info

555 Clark 230: Tues, Thurs 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

Randomized experiments have become indispensable tools for businesses, nonprofits, and social scientists for assessing causal effects. Tech companies like Meta, Spotify, or Netflix subject nearly every element of their interfaces to intense testing via randomized experimentation to optimize engagement. Political organizations randomize the type and frequency of voter contacts to maximize their chances of electoral and legislative success. Social scientists use the results of randomized experiments to develop and test theories of human behavior.

At the end of this course, all students will be able to design, execute, and analyze randomized experiments. The goal is to enable students to evaluate the impact of real-world interventions on well-defined political, economic, and social outcomes. We will cover field and survey experiments, though nearly all of the design and analysis principles extend to lab and so-called "natural" experiments as well. While some research methods classes (rightly) cover a wide variety of research tools, this course will focus narrowly on the strengths and weaknesses of a single method: randomized experimentation.

Registration Requirements

The only prerequisites is any introductory probability or statistics course. If you have conducted a formal hypothesis test of any kind, you are probably prepared for this course. We will not be using any mathematics (with one exception) more complicated than addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, though we will be doing those operations frequently -- and in combination!

Learning Objectives

At the end of this course, all students will be able to design, execute, and analyze randomized experiments. The goal is to enable students to evaluate the impact of real-world interventions on well-defined political, economic, and social outcomes.

Teaching Method

seminar / lecture mix

Evaluation Method

Attendance and participation (10%),
Problem Sets (40%),
Midterm Exam (10%),
Final Exam (10%),
Final Project (30%).

Class Materials (Required)

Gerber, Alan and Green, Donald P. Field Experiments: Design, Analysis, and Interpretation, W.W. Norton, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-393-97995-4

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration -- Reserved for Political Science students until the end of preregistration, after which time enrollment will be open to everyone who has taken the prerequisites.

Associated Classes

DIS - University Library 3722: Fri 10:00AM - 10:50AM

DIS - Annenberg Hall G28: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM