Methodology and Research Methods of Political Science

Master 2020/2021

Category 'Best Course for Broadening Horizons and Diversity of Knowledge and Skills'

Category 'Best Course for New Knowledge and Skills'

Type: Elective course (Politics. Economics. Philosophy)

Area of studies: Political Science

Delivered by: School of Politics and Governance

Where: Faculty of Social Sciences

When: 1 year, 3, 4 module

Mode of studies: offline

Instructors: Evgeny Sedashov

Master’s programme: Политика. Экономика. Философия

Language: English

ECTS credits: 5

Contact hours: 64

Full Syllabus

Abstract

This course serves as an introduction to quantitative political methodology. We will first cover the general issues related to research design in political science. We will discuss problems of measurement and operationalization, validity and reliability of measurements, and the basics of writing research papers. After that we will proceed to the discussion of statistical methods and linear regression. We will start from first principles and gradually build skills required for thorough understanding of quantitative methods used in modern political science. Finally, we will also cover some of the topics from causal inference. The class strives to maintain the balance between building theoretical understanding and practical implementation of specific methods. I strongly believe that one is impossible without the other. On the one hand, understanding theoretical underpinnings of a specific method is pivotal for realizing the limits of its use. On the other hand, the theory separated from practical implementation tends to be a bit dry, so getting acquainted with data management and actual implementation of different models is also important.

Learning Objectives

Know the basics of probability theory
Know fundamental concepts and ideas from mathematical statistics
Know major components of political science research
Being able to build research designs and write research papers that address questions from political science and economics
Know the theory behind OLS regression and its main assumptions
Being able to perform basic data management tasks such as merging and reshaping datasets
Being able to implement OLS regression with the tools of Python or R language
Being able to perform basic visualizations that illustrate results of regression analysis and summary statistics
Know main maximum likelihood models that are frequently used in political science and economics

Expected Learning Outcomes

Know the principles of scientific research
Know the main steps of scientific inference
Know basic logical components of theory building
Know the main steps of research design in political science
Know how to find research designs that best fit research questions and theory
Know the stability assumption (SUTVA)
Able to analyze experimental designs for their correspondence to SUTVA
Know criteria for classification of assignment mechanisms
Know the definition of assignment mechanism
Able to classify assignment mechanisms in accordance with individualistic, probabilistic and unconfounded properties
Know the definition of probability space and substantive interpretation of the term
Know Kolmogorov axioms and definition of event
Know the concepts of conditional probability and joint probability
Know the law of total probability
Know the basics of data managements in python, such as reshaping and merging datasets
Know the definition of a random variable
Know the difference between discrete and continuous random variables
Able to derive moments of random variables from moment generating functions and characteristic functions
Know the concepts of covariance and correlation
Know how to derive distributions of sums of random variables
Know basic operations with random vectors and random matrices
Know the properties of a random sample
Know the properties of a sampling distribution
Able to construct a random sample in accordance with basic algorithms
Know basic concepts of random variable convergence: almost sure, in probability, and in distribution
Know the statement of the theorem for the Strong and Weak Laws of Large Numbers
Know the statement of the Central Limit Theorem
Able to illustrate Laws of Large Numbers and Central Limit Theorem using tools from Python or R
Know the basic ideas behind statistical estimation
Know the fundamental properties used to evaluate statistical estimators: consistency, unbiasedness, efficiency
Know the ideas behind basic approaches to derivation of estimators: Method of Moments, MLE, Least Squares, and Bayes
Know the ideas behind difference-in-means test
Know how to derive confidence intervals and compute p-values
Know how to implement difference-in-means test in Python or R
Know how to substantively interpret and illustrate results from bivariate regression
Know how to derive OLS estimates for bivariate regression
Able to perform bivariate regression analysis with the tools of Python or R language
Know the basic ideas behind multiple regression analysis
Know how to derive OLS estimates for multiple regression using matrix notation
Know Gauss-Markov assumptions
Able to perform multiple regression analysis and appropriate visualizations in Python or R
Know the full proof of Gauss-Markov Theorem
Know the asymptotic properties of OLS estimators
Know how to perform hypothesis testing and how to derive confidence intervals in multiple regression settings
Know how to deal with violations in standard Gauss-Markov assumptions
Know the consequences of violations in standard Gauss-Markov assumptions
Able to perform basic tests for violations in Gauss-Markov assumption in Python or R
Know the basic families of MLE models
Know how to derive logit and probit estimates using MLE framework
Able to implement event count and discrete choice models in Python or R
Able to substantively interpret results from basic MLE models

Course Contents

Introduction
Introduction. Course overview. Principles of scientific research.
Research Design
Research design in political science. Research questions, principles of theorizing and data collection.
Elements of Causal Inference & Rubin Causal Model
Causal inference and Rubin Causal Model. Statement of the problem that causal inference seeks to solve. Assumptions of causal inference. Potential outcomes. Assignment mechanisms. Stability assumption (SUTVA). Introduction to randomization.
Basics of Probability Theory
Probability spaces. Events. Kolmogorov axioms. Conditional probability. The law of total probability. Independence.
Random Variables and Their Types
Definition of a random variable. Discrete and continuous random variables. Distributions of random variables. Transformations and expectations of random variables. Moments and central moments of random variables. Moment generating functions and characteristic functions.
Multiple Random Variables
Multiple random variables. Joint and marginal distributions. Conditional distributions. Covariance and correlation. The law of iterated expectation. Laws of total variance and total covariance.
Populations and Samples
Random sampling from a population. Properties of a random sample. Sampling distribution and its properties.
Central Limit Theorem and the Law of Large Numbers
Convergence of random variables. Almost sure convergence. Convergence in probability. Convergence in distribution. Strong and weak laws of large numbers. Central Limit Theorem.
Statistical Estimators and Their Properties
Definition of a statistical estimator. Properties of estimators. Unbiased estimators. Consistent estimators. Efficient estimators. General approaches to derivation of estimators.
Difference-in-Means and Hypotheses Testing
Difference-in-means test. Confidence interval. Hypothesis testing and p-values. Type I and type II errors.
Bivariate Linear Regression and Its Interpretation
OLS estimation of bivariate regression. Interpretation of bivariate regression results. Implementation of bivariate regression in Python.
Multiple Linear Regression and Gauss-Markov Theorem I
Introduction to multiple regression. Multiple regression in matrix form. OLS estimation of multiple regression. Gauss-Markov Theorem. Implementation of bivariate regression in Python.
Multiple Linear Regression and Gauss-Markov Theorem II
Inference in multiple regressions. Hypotheses testing and confidence intervals. Asymptotic properties of OLS estimators.
Multiple Linear Regression – Violations in Assumptions
Violations of standard Gauss-Markov assumptions. Heteroskedasticity. Model misspecification. Non-zero expectation of error terms.
Introduction to MLE models
Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) in economics and political science. Common families of MLE models. Discrete choice and event count models. MLE estimation of binary choice models.
Wrap-up and Final Review
Wrap-up of the class. Final Exam Review.

Assessment Elements

Домашнее Задание 1
Домашнее Задание 2
Домашнее Задание 3
Домашнее Задание 4
Домашнее Задание 5
Домашнее Задание 6
Домашнее Задание 7
Домашнее Задание 8
Промежуточный Экзамен
Итоговый Экзамен
Exam takes place on 13 of June, 13.00 – 15.00. Please note that this time is exact: you need to start at 13.00 and end your attempt before 15.00. Only one attempt is allowed. Please, make sure your Internet connection is stable for the duration of the exam. This examination will be conducted in writing, online, with asynchronous proctoring. The platform for the exam is https://hse.student.examus.net Your computer, camera, and internet connection should satisfy the following technical specifications https://www.hse.ru/en/studyspravka/distance_stud_proctor Please login to the system 15 minutes before the examination starting time. The exam will start and end electronically, on time. Examus allows users to test their system before the exam. To take part in the exam, you will have to ◦ login in the system ◦ turn on/check that your camera is working ◦ confirm your identity ◦ test the system ◦ wait for the first question to appear on your screen. During examination, it is prohibited to ◦ leave the room ◦ communicate with other people in the room (if present), or through social media ◦ open any websites other than through links provided in the exam itself (i.e., the link to the calculator) ◦ use a phone or any other smart device ◦ look outside the camera field of coverage for more than 15 seconds During examination, you are allowed to ◦ use the paper to take notes and perform calculations Your desk should be clear of any objects except a mouse/keyboard, and, if you choose so, couple of clean pieces of paper. If your electronic system/connection is interrupted for less than 5 minutes, the examination can be resumed without penalties. If the interruption is longer than 5 minutes, you will have to re-take the exam at a later time and day. The exam will cover the material from the Module 3. Module 2 part of the course was covered in the Midterm and will NOT be covered in this exam. Exam will consist of a number of multiple choice, insert the number, short answer, and True/False questions. Multiple choice questions have only one correct answer. The total number of questions is 25. Each correctly answered question will give you 4% of the exam final grade. Incorrect answers get 0 % score. You will have a maximum of 2 hours (13.00 – 15.00) to complete the exam. Once you started, there will be only one attempt to complete the exam. The questions will appear one by one, with one question for page. Once you answered the question and confirmed the answer, the new question would pop up. You can go back to the question later if you wish to do so BEFORE you submit your attempt. You will NOT know the total score immediately as short answer questions require the manual grading. You will know the partial score. The maximum partial score is 64 %, or 6.4 out of 10. The weight of the final exam grade in the final grade for the entire course is 20%. Make-up final exam will be similar in form and complexity as the original final exam. In addition to the final exam, you have the access to the short practice test at the examus https://hse.student.examus.net platform. You should take this practice test couple of days prior to the actual exam in order to get acquainted with the system. Practice test is always available to you, and you can take it as many times as you want.
Активность на Занятиях
Домашнее Задание 1
Домашнее Задание 2
Домашнее Задание 3
Домашнее Задание 4
Домашнее Задание 5
Домашнее Задание 6
Домашнее Задание 7
Домашнее Задание 8
Промежуточный Экзамен
Итоговый Экзамен
Exam takes place on 13 of June, 13.00 – 15.00. Please note that this time is exact: you need to start at 13.00 and end your attempt before 15.00. Only one attempt is allowed. Please, make sure your Internet connection is stable for the duration of the exam. This examination will be conducted in writing, online, with asynchronous proctoring. The platform for the exam is https://hse.student.examus.net Your computer, camera, and internet connection should satisfy the following technical specifications https://www.hse.ru/en/studyspravka/distance_stud_proctor Please login to the system 15 minutes before the examination starting time. The exam will start and end electronically, on time. Examus allows users to test their system before the exam. To take part in the exam, you will have to ◦ login in the system ◦ turn on/check that your camera is working ◦ confirm your identity ◦ test the system ◦ wait for the first question to appear on your screen. During examination, it is prohibited to ◦ leave the room ◦ communicate with other people in the room (if present), or through social media ◦ open any websites other than through links provided in the exam itself (i.e., the link to the calculator) ◦ use a phone or any other smart device ◦ look outside the camera field of coverage for more than 15 seconds During examination, you are allowed to ◦ use the paper to take notes and perform calculations Your desk should be clear of any objects except a mouse/keyboard, and, if you choose so, couple of clean pieces of paper. If your electronic system/connection is interrupted for less than 5 minutes, the examination can be resumed without penalties. If the interruption is longer than 5 minutes, you will have to re-take the exam at a later time and day. The exam will cover the material from the Module 3. Module 2 part of the course was covered in the Midterm and will NOT be covered in this exam. Exam will consist of a number of multiple choice, insert the number, short answer, and True/False questions. Multiple choice questions have only one correct answer. The total number of questions is 25. Each correctly answered question will give you 4% of the exam final grade. Incorrect answers get 0 % score. You will have a maximum of 2 hours (13.00 – 15.00) to complete the exam. Once you started, there will be only one attempt to complete the exam. The questions will appear one by one, with one question for page. Once you answered the question and confirmed the answer, the new question would pop up. You can go back to the question later if you wish to do so BEFORE you submit your attempt. You will NOT know the total score immediately as short answer questions require the manual grading. You will know the partial score. The maximum partial score is 64 %, or 6.4 out of 10. The weight of the final exam grade in the final grade for the entire course is 20%. Make-up final exam will be similar in form and complexity as the original final exam. In addition to the final exam, you have the access to the short practice test at the examus https://hse.student.examus.net platform. You should take this practice test couple of days prior to the actual exam in order to get acquainted with the system. Practice test is always available to you, and you can take it as many times as you want.
Активность на Занятиях

Interim Assessment

Interim assessment (4 module)
0.1 * Активность на Занятиях + 0.063 * Домашнее Задание 1 + 0.063 * Домашнее Задание 2 + 0.063 * Домашнее Задание 3 + 0.063 * Домашнее Задание 4 + 0.063 * Домашнее Задание 5 + 0.063 * Домашнее Задание 6 + 0.061 * Домашнее Задание 7 + 0.061 * Домашнее Задание 8 + 0.2 * Итоговый Экзамен + 0.2 * Промежуточный Экзамен

Course Syllabus