Political Science 138:
Quantitative Reasoning in Political Science

Course Schedule

Week 1.  Introduction: Just Plain Data Analysis
read: Preface (Thursday) Chapter 1 (next Tuesday)
Homework: HW1: Creating a web page (by Friday)
HW2: Data search assignment (Tuesday, noon)

• Klass notes: How President Bush Lowered the Poverty Rate
• Klass notes Social Indicators 

Week 2: Finding Data
read: Chapter 7 (draft: Word documnet)

• Klass Notes (powerpoint):
  |   Where do numbers come from? [LINK FIXED]
  other notes
• HW2a: What's the evidence?
   
• reliability and validity (ppt)
  
   

Week 3: Presenting the Data: Data Tabulation
read: Chapter Two
Tuesday: bring to class a book, with data in it, related to your data profile topic.

In-class exercise on tables
HW3: Formatting Tables
 

Week 4: Pie and Bar Charts
Read: Chapter 3:
HW4 Rotated Bar Chart

bad charting

Week 5: Analyzing Times Series Data
HW5: Times Series Chart using Poverty Data
Read: Chapter 6:

Week 6: Analyzing Poverty
Read:  Poverty and Inequality (note: old website)
HW5: Analyzing Poverty

Week 7: Work on paper:

1. An introduction, brief outline of the charts and tables that will be included.
2. Prepare two charts or tables for presentation on Tuesday October 2nd

Week 8:  Scatterplots and Boxplots
Read: Chapter 3
HW7 Scatterplot

HW8: The Boxplot

Week 8:  Public Opinion Polling Data

HW9

• Notes: on polling
• Kaisernetwork.com  Tips on Using Polling Data
• International Polls:  
  • The Comparative Study of Electoral Systems
  •  International Social Survey Programme,
• The National Council on Public Polls "20 Questions A Journalist Should Ask About Poll Results".
• LAB5: Finding Survey data
• sampling error exercise
• example of polling chart

Week X Analyzing Election data

Week XX Analyzing Educational Achievement


Week XXX In-class Presentations

Introduction to analyzing data

Klass Notes: Your Data Profile Assignment

LAB1: Create your own web page

Aug 24th Introduction

Tabular display of data

• Presenting Data:  Constructing Good Tables
• Klass Notes: Principles of Tabular Display (powerpoint)
   
•  Reliability and Validity

Finding Cross National Data

• Statistical Abstract section 30
• Lab 2: Cross-National Data Tabulation
• Lab 3: Cross National Bar Chart
• Data Resources

Graphical display of data

• Presenting Data:  Constructing Good Charts
• Klass Notes: Principles of graphical display
• example good and bad charting

Writing about numbers

• HW2: Explaining your data
• HW3: Initial Literature Review

Analyzing Budgets

• Presenting data: Analyzing Budgets
• LAB4: Times Series Chart

Analyzing Survey Data

• Notes: on polling
• Kaisernetwork.com  Tips on Using Polling Data
• The National Council on Public Polls "20 Questions A Journalist Should Ask About Poll Results".
• LAB5: Finding Survey data
• sampling error exercise
• example of polling chart

Using deflators:

• Presenting data website:  Divide

More kinds of Data

• Crime: 
  Department of Justice, The Nation's two crime measures (adobe version) 
  HW4:  Crime Rates
• Poverty: Oregon Center for Public Policy, How We Measure Poverty  --- (view poverty data -excel file)
  
  HW5: Poverty
  Klass Notes: Measuring Poverty  

• Voter Turnout:
  Presenting data: Measuring Voter Turnout.
  Notes: Election data

• Unemployment: Bureau of Labor Statistics, How the Government Measures Unemployment
  Klass Notes: Inflation and Unemployment
   
• Prices: Measuring Inflation, see also: Purchasing Power Parity
  government outlays (excel file)

Bibliography and Abstract due Nov. 7th

50-state Infant mortality data

50-state education data

Lab 8: Correlations

HW 6: Interpreting Correlations

Klass notes (Word doc)   
 

MALLARD QUIZZES

 (excel file).

• Guessing Correlations applet
• Guessing Correlations applet #2
• Guessing Correlations applet #3

Amy Caiazza, "Does Women’s Representation in Elected Office Lead to Women-Friendly Policy?" Institute for Women's Policy Research, IWPR Publication #I910
Excel file

Political Corruption (excel file)

Stephen D. Krashen, School Libraries, Public Libraries, and the NAEP Reading Scores SLMQ Volume 23, Number 4, Summer 1995 (read up to table 2).

Upload Final Termpaper

Douglas B. Kirby and Nancy L. Brown, Condom Availability Programs in U.S. Schools

Research Design: Threats to Internal and External Validity

Miller, Chapter 3: Causality, Statistical and Substantive Significance
Klass Notes: Internal and External Validity
Example: "Department of Politics and Government Assessment Program Report" (Word doc)

Donald Campbell, "Reforms as Experiments," Amer. Psychologist (April 1969)

Campbell, Donald T. and H. Laurence Ross, "The Connecticut Crackdown on Speeding: Time Series Data in Quasi‑Experimental Analysis," in Edward R. Tufte, ed., The Quantitative Analysis of Social Problems (Reading, MA.: Addison‑Wesley, 1970). (Milner Library Reserve)

Internal Validity links:

• GUIDE 4:(scroll down a bit)
• Psych 404 (very good, check items a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i)
• Psych 202 (briefer) (.pdf file)
• Educational Psychology Interactive

• Campbell & Stanley: Threats to Internal and External Validity

• Charts and tables  (note, use tabs at the bottom for different worksheets)
• External\Internal Validity examples
• Charts with problems

Paper resources:

• previous papers