PLS 392: Introduction to Social Science Data Analytics
Course Description
Social science data analytics is a dynamic and fast growing field that draws from disciplines such as Statistics and Computer Science. Its growth has been prompted by the emergence of massive amounts of data that we increasingly recognize as having unique and explicit structure. This structure can take the form of texts such as political speeches, spatial structures that map where conflicts and protests take place, and networks that define how pairs of actors relate to one another within closed arrangements such as the global trading system.
This course provides a hands-on introduction to how to study these and other types of data structures to answer social science questions. To do so we will be working within the R language for Statistical Computing. This course will begin by introducing the basics of R. Then we move towards working on a number of projects to learn how to use the variety of data structures that emerge in the social sciences today to further our understanding of events such as conflict and trade.
Class Information
- Instructor: Shahryar Minhas
- Time & Place: TR 3pm-420pm in 104 Giltner Hall
- Office Hours: TR 430pm-530pm in 317 South Kedzie Hall