MIT OCW 14.310x Data Analysis for Social Scientists (Spring 2023)

This course introduces methods for harnessing data to answer questions of cultural, social, economic, and policy interest. We will start with essential notions of probability and statistics. We will proceed to cover techniques in modern data analysis: regression and econometrics, design of experiments, randomized control trials (and A/B testing), machine learning, and data visualization. We will illustrate these concepts with applications drawn from real-world examples and frontier research. Finally, we will provide instruction on the use of the statistical package R, and opportunities for students to perform self-directed empirical analyses.

本课程旨在介绍利用数据解答文化、社会、经济和政策相关问题的方法。课程伊始，我们将探讨概率论与统计学的基本概念。随后，我们将深入探讨现代数据分析技术：回归分析与计量经济学、实验设计、随机对照试验（及A/B测试）、机器学习以及数据可视化。我们将通过实际案例和前沿研究中的应用来阐述这些概念。最后，我们将提供关于统计软件R的使用指导，并为学生提供进行自主实证分析的机会。