Results for ECON 121: Social Science Field Research Methods and Applications

This course teaches the basics of the design, implementation and interpretation of social science field research. Building on a basic knowledge of statistical methods and economics, the course first introduces observational field research and compares it with experimental field research. Significant attention will be devoted to explaining what can and cannot be learned each type of field research. The details of designing both types of field research projects will then be discussed. The basics theory of the design of statistical experiments will be introduced and applied. Topics covered include sample size selection, power and size of statistical hypothesis tests, sample selection bias and methods for accounting for it. Examples of best practice field research studies will be presented as well as examples of commonly committed errors. Practical aspects of field work will also be covered, including efficient and cost-effective data collection, data analysis, teamwork, and common ethical considerations. Students can apply to participate in a course project designing a field research project and implementing it in a developing country context during four weeks of the summer. Prerequisites: either ECON 1 or 1A or 1V and either STATS 60 or Econ 102A or equivalent.