SOC 424 - Quasi-Experimental Design in R

Congress enacted the Evidence-Based Policymaking Act in 2018, which tasks federal agencies and policymakers with making data more accessible so that we can make better-informed policy decisions by investing in “what works” according to researchers. However, a number of debates – What constitutes good evidence of effectiveness? Whose evidence should we prioritize? What about topics that we can’t study using traditional causal methods? Are quasi-experimental designs (QEDs) rigorous enough? – make it difficult to identify “what works.” This class will equip students to better understand these debates and evaluate for themselves “what works” by learning a variety of analytic techniques in R that are commonly used in program evaluation studies.

Prerequisites & Notes: SOC 304; SOC 306; SOC 320.
Credits: 5
Grade Mode: Letter