About this course

This course is an introduction to data science. We have three primary aims. First, to introduce you to the logic of quantitative research design. Second, to familiarise you with statistical models that scientists and policy-makers use to answer social science questions. Third, to help you acquire the necessary skills to conduct your own quantitative research projects. No prior statistical knowledge is assumed.

We will use the statistical software R and RStudio on top. R is a on object oriented programming language similar to Python. It is used in frontier research in many fields, it is especially powerful when it comes to graphics and it is free of charge. More and more organisations switch over to R from older less versatile applications such as Stata, SPSS, Excel and so forth. To get started, download R here and then install it on your computer. Finally, we use RStudio to work with R. It is an editor that makes working with R alot more comfortable. Download RStudio here and then install it.

On this website you will find all material to implement everything we have learned in class using R. My advice is to learn applied, i.e., try doing all the exercises in R on your own.

My email address is k.northmore-ball[@]qmul.ac.uk. My Advice and Feedback Hours are Wednesdays 3-4PM (Online) and Thursdays 4-5PM (In person Arts 2.27B/Online). Please book via Calendly.