Quantitative research in political science and public policy

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

This course provides students with a rigorous introduction to Statistics for Political Science. Topics include basic mathematical tools used in social science modeling and statistics, probability theory, theory of estimation and inference, and statistical methods, especially differences of means and regression. The course is often taken by students outside of political science, especially those in business, urban studies, and various fields of public policy, such as public health. Examples draw heavily from political science, but some problems come from other areas, such as labor economics.

The course is organized into four broad sections: Problems Research Design (Introductory), Mathematics Review, Probability and Random Variables, and Statistical Models and Methods. The course does not require that the students have taken calculus, but the second section of the course instructs students in basic mathematical concepts and tools essential for statistical methods.

Snedecor, George W., and William G. Cochran. Statistical Methods. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 1989. ISBN: 9780813815619.

Bulmer, M. G. Principles of Statistics. New York, NY: Dover Publications, 1979. ISBN: 9780486637600.

Chiang, Alpha C. Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1984. ISBN: 9780070108134.

Goldberg, Samuel. Probability: An Introduction. New York, NY: Dover Publications, 1987. ISBN: 9780486652528. (Discrete Probability)

Rice, John A. Mathematical Statistics and Data Analysis. Belmont, CA: Duxbury Press, 1994. ISBN: 9780534209346. (Mathematical Statistics Course)

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