Syllabus

Instructor

Course details

  •   Thu, Jan 08–Mar 22, 2024
  •   9:00–11:50AM and 2:30-3:50PM
  •   Education Building, Room 2024
  •   Perusall
  •   Canvas
Please read the syllabus!

This page has important information about the course, including structure, assignments, grading, and student hours, among many others.

Even Snoop Dogg wants you to read the syllabus!

Course objectives

In this course, you will learn how to apply regression analysis to investigate causal relationships. You will develop three broad skill sets:

  1. Understanding the theoretical framework of various regression models, and their assumptions.
  2. Using regression models to make causal statements.
  3. Applying regression models to real-world data sets with statistical software, in a reproducible manner.

At the end of the course, you will have written a short research paper that uses regression analysis to investigate a causal relationship. You may either (a) write a replication paper and present extensions to an existing study, or (b) write a research paper that uses your own data.

Specifically, at the end of the course, you should be able to do the following.

  • Explain various regression models to others.
  • Interpret regression results and communicate them in plain language.
  • Conduct sample size calculations.
  • Explain what is needed to make causal statements.
  • Understand the main regression models used to investigate causal relationships.
  • Analyze real-world data using these tools.
  • Work with data in a reproducible manner.
  • Become curious and confident in consuming and producing quantitative research.

Expectations

In this course, you will be expected to

  • participate in class,
  • participate in our lab sessions,
  • do all readings, and discuss them outside of class,
  • complete three practice assignments,
  • write four data-analytic memos,
  • take one in-class exam,
  • meet with me at least once, and
  • complete two milestones, which lead up to one final paper.

Connections to other classes

EDUC 288A (Educational, Social, and Behavioral Statistics) is a prerequisite for this course (with a grade of B or better). That said, we will also dedicate a class to brush up on everyone’s foundational statistics skills. The course assumes prior knowledge of Stata or R.

The course provides an introduction to causal inference methods. EDUC 287A (Advanced Quantitative Data Analysis for Causal Inference) and EDUC 287B (Causal Inference: Methods for Program Evaluation and Policy Research) provide more advanced training in this area.

My promise

I promise you can succeed in this course.

This course is all about practical application. You will notice “How will I ever use this?” is a question I consider for every class.

Now, you will have to tool up. You will hear about weird new concepts, use some unfamiliar maths, learn new software, and approach practical questions from a new perspective. Initially, some of this might pose challenges. Most everything will be new to you. But, it’s perfectly normal not to grasp concepts immediately and make mistakes during your initial encounters. This is how you acquire new skills and build a strong toolkit.

Many parallels come to mind. Learning to ride a bike. Learning a new language. Learning how to use a hammer (and when to pick a different tool). Building muscle through training. All of these demand time, grit, and—oftentimes—productive failure. All of them are easier with friends, through apprenticeship, and by working with a coach. Similarly, if you find yourself struggling with some of the course content, that’s a good sign. When you do, take a breather, talk to classmates, ask questions, or contact our teaching team for assistance.

Course structure

This syllabus reflects a plan for the quarter. Deviations may become necessary as the quarter progresses.

Flow of the course

The course will follow a basic flow each week, with small differences if an assignment is due or not.

  • Tuesday: Submit last week’s assignment by 11:55 PM (if due).
  • Wednesday: Complete reading/watching course material for Thursday, submit your reactions by 11:55 PM.
  • Thursday morning: Course meets in-person. Weekly assignment posted.
  • Thursday afternoon: Lab meets in-person.

Aside from our class meetings on Thursday mornings and the lab in the afternoon, there are no other meetings or sections. However, you are required to meet with me at least once outside of class.

Canvas

Our Canvas page is here. There are just two purposes for Canvas:

  1. Assignments and grades. I post assignments. You submit your solutions. I post your grades.
  2. Slides. I post PDFs of my slides.

Everything else is on this website here and on Perusall—not on Canvas.

Nevertheless, I encourage you to update the Canvas settings and notifications to ensure you receive announcements and notifications. Click on “settings” to add another email address and/or a cell phone number to receive notifications. Click on “notifications” to configure how you receive Canvas notifications.

Perusall

We will use Perusall to discuss the class materials. Our dedicated course page is here. You will submit your reading reactions on Perusall (not on Canvas). I will use Perusall for any course communications and announcements. At any point, feel free to ask me questions over Perusall, either on a channel or as a DM. There is no course Discord or Slack.

To avoid getting bombarded with notifications, you may adjust your settings on Perusall. To do so, click on your user profile in the top-right corner. From there, select “manage my notifications” and choose your preferred settings.

Course materials

All reading assignments and videos are available on Perusall. You should engage with our course materials through this platform.

Books

There are three official textbooks for the class.

Articles, book chapters, and other materials

There will also occasionally be additional articles and videos to read and watch. When this happens, links to these other resources will be included on the reading page for that week.

Stata

This course will expose you to Stata—one of the most popular statistical programming languages for the social sciences. Armed with the foundation of Stata skills you’ll learn in this class, you’ll know enough to be able to find how to analyze any sort of data-based question in the future.

You may use UCI’s Virtual Computing Lab to access Stata for free.

There are tons of online resources to help you with Stata. Three of the most important are UCLA’s Stata training site, the Statalist forum, and StackOverflow (a Q&A site with hundreds of thousands of answers to all sorts of programming questions). Also, ChatGPT will sometimes fool you but, as it was likely trained on and (is quickly replacing) StackOverflow, it is quite good at writing Stata code.

An the resources page, you will find a long list of additional resources. All of this is way too much information, but certainly good to have as a backup for any of your future work after our course. And, if all of this sounds overwhelming, don’t worry. Once we get to it, I will point you to all the materials you do need.

R and RStudio

Stata is all you need for this course. You do not need R. Still, because of its increasing popularity, I will show you some R code during the course.

RStudio is the main program to access R. Think of R as an engine and RStudio as a car dashboard—R handles all the calculations and the actual statistics, while RStudio provides a nice interface for running R code. R and RStudio are free, but they can sometimes be a pain to install and configure. To make life easier, you can use the free Posit.cloud service (aka RStudio Cloud), which lets you run a full instance of RStudio in your web browser. Alternatively, you will also find RStudio on UCI’s Virtual Computing Lab. This means you don’t have to install anything on your computer to get started with R! You can find instructions for installing R and RStudio here.

Assignments and grades

Participation

You should actively participate in class, do all the readings, and discuss them outside of class. To that end, you should offer reactions to at least 9 (of our 10) reading assignments on Perusall. Also, you may (and should) engage with questions you see posted by others. However, it’ll be up to me to decide whether a Perusall comment engages with the assigned reading and adds to the discussion, meaningfully.1

Practice assignments

At the beginning of the quarter, you will complete three practice assignments. These assignments will focus on hands-on Stata skills. They will also teach you how to produce reproducible work. You will complete these assignments at home, individually. You may (and should!) work together on the assignments, but you must turn in your own answers. You cannot work in groups of more than three people, and you must note who participated in the group in your assignment.

Data-analytic memos

Over the quarter, you will write four “data-analytic memos” (DAMs). Each DAM will task you to use your newly-acquired data analysis skills. Many of the questions will be similar to what you may be asked to do on a future job (whether as an education researcher, analyst, or practitioner looking for evidence-based programming). You will also work with real-life education datasets.

As with the practice assignments, you will complete these memos at home, individually. You may (and should!) work together with others, but you must turn in your own answers. You cannot work in groups of more than three people, and you must note who participated in the group.

Plus-delta

Twice during the quarter, I will ask you to complete a survey. At the beginning of the course, your answers will help me better understand your personal background and interests. Towards the middle of the course, I will ask you for feedback on how to improve the course and make changes if needed. Finally, at the end of the quarter, please leave a course evaluation on EEE.

Personally, I like the plus-delta approach. Start by telling me what you like. These are things I should maintain and build on. Then, provide opportunities for improvements. These should be action-oriented suggestions as to how I can provide a more effective course.

This feedback is very important to me, and I appreciate your input.

Exam

You will also take one in-class exam, which serves as an important mid-quarter check of your understanding. This exam will be held during one of our lab sessions. It will be closed book and without access to the internet. I will provide more information about the exam as it approaches.

Your final paper

For the final course project, you may either (a) write a replication paper and present extensions to an existing study, or (b) write a research paper that uses your own data. Either route will ask you to carefully discuss how to make causal claims.

Throughout the quarter, there will be two milestones related to the final paper. During the final exam period you will finalize the paper and submit your document to me.

The goal is to execute a reproducible research project that may also lead up to a publishable research article. You will work by yourself but you will be required to submit a replication package of your study, so I (or anyone else) can reproduce your tables and figures.

If you decide to use primary data, you must adhere to UCI’s IRB regulations. Your project must use data that can be shared with other researchers.2

Calendar

You can find a detailed class calendar on the schedule page.

Here, I am providing a brief summary of the assignment dates.

Category Release date Due date
Survey 1 Thu, Jan 04 09:00AM Tue, Jan 09 11:55PM
Assignment 1 Thu, Jan 11 09:00AM Tue, Jan 16 11:55PM
Assignment 2 Thu, Jan 18 09:00AM Tue, Jan 23 11:55PM
Assignment 3 Thu, Jan 25 09:00AM Tue, Jan 30 11:55PM
Milestone 1 Sun, Feb 04 11:55PM
DAM 1 Thu, Feb 01 09:00AM Tue, Feb 06 11:55PM
Survey 2 Wed, Feb 07 09:00AM Sun, Feb 11 11:55PM
1:1 meeting Wed, Feb 14 05:00PM
Exam Thu, Feb 15 02:30PM Thu, Feb 15 03:50PM
DAM 2 Thu, Feb 15 09:00AM Tue, Feb 20 11:55PM
Milestone 2 Sun, Mar 03 11:55PM
DAM 3 Thu, Feb 29 09:00AM Tue, Mar 05 11:55PM
DAM 4 Thu, Mar 07 09:00AM Tue, Mar 12 11:55PM
Final paper Fri, Mar 22 11:55PM
Course evaluation Fri, Mar 22 11:55PM

All reading reactions are due by 11:55PM on the day before class. All times are in Pacific time.

Writing

Your assignments will involve a fair amount of writing. You should not take this writing lightly; an important part of your doctoral training is to learn how to produce publishable work that conveys arguments clearly. You are expected to review your assignments for typos and grammatical errors before submitting them. Aim for simple and precise language in active voice. As you do, feel free to use related online services (such as Grammarly or the Hemingway App). You may also take full advantage of the various on-campus resources to help improve your writing, including the Writing Center.

Grading

You (the student) and I (the instructor) should care the most about what you learn, not what numerical/letter summary of that learning you get at the end of the quarter. So I would love to not have grades at all, but unfortunately we humans are very good at procrastinating on our good intentions when there is no incentive not to. Thus, we have grades to help solve this commitment problem and to encourage you to put effort into learning the course material.

Here is how each of your various course contributions and assignments contribute to your overall grade. There are no group assignments, and all contributions are graded individually.

Category Percent of final grade
Reading reactions 9%
Participation, surveys, feedback 6%
Assignments and DAMs 30%
Exam 25%
Milestones 1 & 2 2% each
Your final paper 26%
Grace policy

When calculating the final assignment and DAM portion of the overall grade, I will drop the lowest score and use the remaining six scores. You may also skip one of the ten reading reactions. Thus, if you have an emergency that forces you to miss a submission, your grade will not be affected.

All grades will be posted through Canvas.

Bump-up policy: I reserve the right to “bump up” the grades of students who have made valuable contributions to the course in the in-person course and discussions (on Perusall). This also applies to students who show tremendous progress and growth over the quarter.

Course policies

Be nice. Be honest. Don’t cheat.

We will also follow UCI’s Code of Conduct.

Attendance and participation

Attendance and participation are important to your success in this course. You are expected to come to all classes prepared—having read the material—and ready to discuss the content. You are also expected to attend all all lab sessions.

Missing a class has the potential to put you significantly behind. Still, life happens and, therefore, you may miss one class and one lab session without contacting me (except for the midterm exam).

If you test positive for COVID-19, hunker down and focus on getting better! Please do not come to class. If you have an absence due to such an unavoidable health or emergency situation, you should message me before class starts. Similarly, if you have to miss a class due to religious reasons, please remember to message me before the affected class starts.

You are expected to arrive before the start of each class to allow us to begin on time. Unexcused absences and late arrivals will be considered in your course participation score.

If you have to miss the midterm exam, you will need to take a similar make-up exam during UCI’s final exam period (I would assign a date and time). If at all possible, try to avoid this. There at least three reasons. First, I deliberately scheduled the class’ only exam during a period in which you do not have to worry about other exams. Second, the make-up exam may also include the additional content we will have covered after the midterm exam. Third, the midterm exam is meant to prepare you for your final paper—you would miss an important opportunity to check your knowledge before finalizing your research project.

Staying focused during class

Evidence from multiple randomized experiments indicates that students who take notes on their laptops or tablets learn less than those who take notes using pen/pencil and paper. They are also more likely to adversely affect their peers’ learning and grades (see Prof. Susan M. Dynarski’s summary of the evidence). Therefore, using a laptop or tablet is prohibited during class.

There are only three exceptions:

  1. I may prompt you to take out your laptop (e.g., to complete a survey).
  2. You may use a tablet that lays flat on your table, with a stylus pen (i.e., without typing on a keyboard).
  3. You have an accommodation plan requiring a tablet or laptop.

Similarly, cell phone use is prohibited during class (unless I ask you to take out your phone). Please stow your phone away.

Finally, no eating is allowed during class. If you eat during class, you are likely to disrupt the classroom dynamic. You may bring a water bottle or coffee/tea in a covered container.

Let’s stay focused!

Late assignments

You should budget enough time to submit all course assignments well ahead of each deadline. Late assignments will not be accepted, regardless of how late they are. No extensions will be granted due to religious holidays, sickness, or any other reasons. Instead, I will disregard your assignment with the lowest score. I suggest using this option cautiously, just in case something happens, you foresee needing time to observe a religious holiday, or any other issue that may keep you from submitting your assignment on time.

Academic honesty

Violation of the UCI Academic Senate Policy on Academic Integrity will result in an F in the course and possible disciplinary action.3 Violating the Academic Integrity Policy is unacceptable, devaluing the teaching and learning experience for the entire community. All violations will be formally reported.

When it comes to academic integrity and generative artificial intelligence (AI), I follow the approach of UCI’s Composition Program. That is, I assume that work submitted by students—all process work, drafts, low-stakes writing, final versions, and all other submissions—will be generated by the students themselves, working individually or in groups. The following would be considered violations of academic integrity: if a student has another person/entity do the writing of any substantive portion of an assignment for them, which includes hiring a person or a company to write essays and drafts and/or other assignments, research-based or otherwise, and using AI affordances like ChatGPT. I make an exception for statistical programming—you may write and debug your code using AI-supported tools (such as ChatGPT or GitHub Copilot).

Recordings

We will record our in-person classes and labs. On Fridays, we will post the recordings on the YuJa tab of our Canvas page. You are not allowed to record the class yourself unless you have an accommodation plan that requires you to do so.

Drop policy

Following UCI’s policy, no drops are allowed after the second week of instruction.

Doing well

A personal note

If you tell me you’re having trouble, I will not judge you or think less of you. I hope you’ll extend me the same grace.

You never owe me personal information about your health (mental or physical). You are always welcome to talk to me about things that you’re going through, though. If I can’t help you, I usually know somebody who can.

If you need extra help, or if you feel like you’re behind or not understanding everything, do not suffer in silence. Talk to me! I will work with you.

Student hours

Please watch this video:

Student hours are set times dedicated to all of you (most professors call these “office hours”; I don’t).4 This means that I will be waiting to come by to talk to me—either remotely or in-person—with whatever questions you have. This is the best and easiest way to find me and the best chance for discussing class material and concerns.

It is easiest to meet with me online. Make an appointment with me here—the confirmation e-mail will contain a link for a Zoom meeting (the default). If you prefer an in-person meeting, (1) schedule a Zoom meeting first, then (2) contact me via e-mail or Perusall, at least one day before our meeting.

On-campus resources

Life at UCI can be complicated and challenging. Fortunately, UCI offers a wealth of resources to support you.

Please take the time to seriously consider the following (confidential) resources available to you.

One of the (very few) things I regret from college is that I did not ask for enough help. I’m sure at least one of the above can help you do better—do reach out.

Safety

I will listen to and believe you if someone is threatening you.

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. UCI police provides a 24-hour safety escort (949-824-5223) and a 24-hour non-emergency line (also at 949-824-5223). Safe this number.

Please double-check and make sure you are signed up to zotAlert.

If you are experiencing sexual assault or misconduct, domestic or relationship violence, stalking, or retaliation, please report it to me and I will connect you to resources. The University of California, Irvine is committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which all persons who live, work, and learn in our campus community can be free of sexual assault, sexual misconduct, relationship violence, stalking, and retaliation. Every member of the University community should be aware that sexual violence is prohibited by law as well as our University policy and will not be tolerated.

At any time—even if you are in doubt, or would like to know more about what you can do to prevent cases—do not hesitate to reach out to UCI Care and the Sexual Harassment/Title IX Officer (SHO).

Accommodations and accessibility

If you wish to request academic accommodations you may do so through the Disability Services Center (DSC). To obtain services, please register with DSC and complete the DSC Intake Form. You should then make an appointment with me during the first week of class to discuss any accommodations that need to be made.

I will do everything possible to make sure our course materials are accessible. Please let me know if you know of ways to improve on this further. Even a short message on, say, the colors I use on a slide can help a lot.

Petr

Once you have read this entire syllabus and the assignments page, please click here and e-mail me your favorite picture of Peter the Anteater.5 Extra credit if it’s animated.

Peter the Anteater giving a thumbs-up

Footnotes

  1. “Yey” won’t do.↩︎

  2. You may have to de-identify data. Also, you must have the necessary rights to share your data with me (or anyone else).↩︎

  3. So seriously, just don’t cheat or plagiarize! If you have not already, review this website.↩︎

  4. There’s fairly widespread misunderstanding about what office hours actually are! Many students often think that they are the times I shouldn’t be disturbed, which is the exact opposite of what they’re for!↩︎

  5. Petr stickers are great. Fun facts count, too.↩︎