Reading Group: Advanced Methods in Social Science

Notes and discussion materials for our research reading group

Author

Sean Sylvia

Published

September 17, 2024

Tip

Reading Group Members: Access to these notes is restricted to group participants.

Current Reading Schedule

September 2024

Week 1: Causal Inference Foundations

Reading: [Author, Year] “Paper Title”

Key Points: - Main contribution to the field - Methodological innovations - Limitations and critiques

Discussion Questions: 1. How does this approach differ from previous methods? 2. What are the key assumptions? 3. Where might this method be applicable in our research?

Week 2: Machine Learning Applications

Reading: [Author, Year] “Paper Title”

Summary: [Brief summary to be added]

Lead Discussant: [Name]

October 2024

Upcoming Papers

Week 3: Experimental design in field settings
Week 4: Mixed methods approaches
Week 5: Reproducibility and replication

Discussion Archive

Previous Sessions

August 2024: Difference-in-Differences

Paper: [Citation]

Key Takeaways: - Parallel trends assumption is crucial - Event study designs help validate assumptions - Staggered treatment timing creates complications

Group Consensus: This method would be useful for [specific research context].

Follow-up Reading: [Additional papers suggested by group]

July 2024: Regression Discontinuity

Paper: [Citation]

Discussion Highlights: - Sharp vs. fuzzy designs - Bandwidth selection methods - Power calculations and sample size

Critiques Raised: - Limited external validity - Sensitivity to functional form - Need for robustness checks

Resource Library

Software Resources

R Packages

tidyverse: Data manipulation and visualization
broom: Model output tidying
estimatr: Robust standard errors

Python Libraries

pandas: Data analysis
statsmodels: Statistical modeling
matplotlib: Visualization

Meeting Information

When: Every other Friday, 2:00-3:30 PM Where: [Location/Zoom link] Format: - 30 min: Paper presentation - 45 min: Discussion - 15 min: Planning next session

Upcoming Presentations

Date	Presenter	Paper	Notes
Oct 4	[Name]	[Citation]	Focus on methodology
Oct 18	[Name]	[Citation]	Applications discussion
Nov 1	[Name]	[Citation]	Replication exercise

For questions or to suggest readings, contact [organizer email].

--- title: "Reading Group: Advanced Methods in Social Science" date: "2024-09-17" author: "Sean Sylvia" description: "Notes and discussion materials for our research reading group" format: html: toc: true number-sections: false code-fold: false --- ::: {.callout-tip} **Reading Group Members**: Access to these notes is restricted to group participants. ::: # Current Reading Schedule ## September 2024 ### Week 1: Causal Inference Foundations **Reading**: [Author, Year] "Paper Title" **Key Points**: - Main contribution to the field - Methodological innovations - Limitations and critiques **Discussion Questions**: 1. How does this approach differ from previous methods? 2. What are the key assumptions? 3. Where might this method be applicable in our research? ### Week 2: Machine Learning Applications **Reading**: [Author, Year] "Paper Title" **Summary**: [Brief summary to be added] **Lead Discussant**: [Name] ## October 2024 ### Upcoming Papers - Week 3: Experimental design in field settings - Week 4: Mixed methods approaches - Week 5: Reproducibility and replication # Discussion Archive ## Previous Sessions ### August 2024: Difference-in-Differences **Paper**: [Citation] **Key Takeaways**: - Parallel trends assumption is crucial - Event study designs help validate assumptions - Staggered treatment timing creates complications **Group Consensus**: This method would be useful for [specific research context]. **Follow-up Reading**: [Additional papers suggested by group] ### July 2024: Regression Discontinuity **Paper**: [Citation] **Discussion Highlights**: - Sharp vs. fuzzy designs - Bandwidth selection methods - Power calculations and sample size **Critiques Raised**: - Limited external validity - Sensitivity to functional form - Need for robustness checks # Resource Library ## Recommended Background Readings ### Causal Inference - [Book 1]: Comprehensive overview - [Book 2]: Applied examples ### Statistical Methods - [Article 1]: Recent methodological advances - [Article 2]: Practical implementation guide ## Software Resources ### R Packages - `tidyverse`: Data manipulation and visualization - `broom`: Model output tidying - `estimatr`: Robust standard errors ### Python Libraries - `pandas`: Data analysis - `statsmodels`: Statistical modeling - `matplotlib`: Visualization # Meeting Information **When**: Every other Friday, 2:00-3:30 PM **Where**: [Location/Zoom link] **Format**: - 30 min: Paper presentation - 45 min: Discussion - 15 min: Planning next session ## Upcoming Presentations | Date | Presenter | Paper | Notes | |------|-----------|-------|-------| | Oct 4 | [Name] | [Citation] | Focus on methodology | | Oct 18 | [Name] | [Citation] | Applications discussion | | Nov 1 | [Name] | [Citation] | Replication exercise | --- *For questions or to suggest readings, contact [organizer email].*