PředmětyPředměty(verze: 945)
Předmět, akademický rok 2021/2022
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Researching International Politics: Quantitative Methods - JPM628
Anglický název: Researching International Politics: Quantitative Methods
Český název: Researching International Politics: Quantitative Methods
Zajišťuje: Katedra mezinárodních vztahů (23-KMV)
Fakulta: Fakulta sociálních věd
Platnost: od 2021 do 2021
Semestr: zimní
E-Kredity: 6
Způsob provedení zkoušky: zimní s.:
Rozsah, examinace: zimní s.:1/1, Zk [HT]
Počet míst: 130 / 130 (130)
Minimální obsazenost: neomezen
4EU+: ne
Virtuální mobilita / počet míst pro virtuální mobilitu: ne
Stav předmětu: vyučován
Jazyk výuky: angličtina
Způsob výuky: prezenční
Způsob výuky: prezenční
Další informace: https://dl1.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=3445
Poznámka: předmět je možno zapsat mimo plán
povolen pro zápis po webu
při zápisu přednost, je-li ve stud. plánu
Garant: Dr. rer. pol. Michal Parízek, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Vyučující: Dr. rer. pol. Michal Parízek, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Třída: Courses for incoming students
Neslučitelnost : JPM157
Je neslučitelnost pro: JPM303, JPM157
Je záměnnost pro: JPM285, JPM303
Anotace - angličtina
Poslední úprava: Dr. rer. pol. Michal Parízek, M.Sc., Ph.D. (01.09.2023)
The purpose of this course is to introduce the students of international relations and security studies to political research methods, and specifically to their quantitative branch. Somewhat less formally, students will learn how to create or collect quantitative political data and how to use them to solve practical and/or theoretical political problems. Quantitative data -- information about political phenomena captured and summarized in numbers -- is available literally on every corner, waiting just to be collected and analyzed. In this class, students get the chance to learn how to do it. Being familiar with quantitative methods enables one to make policy decisions on the basis of a solid analysis of hard(er) empirical evidence, and to conduct systematic inquiry into the nature of international political and security phenomena. Last but not least, knowing quantitative methods enables one not be fooled by others when they try to support their arguments with lousy but seemingly sophisticated (because quantitative) analysis. The class does not assume any prior knowledge of statistics or mathematics, essentially beyond elementary school. It does assume, however, a good deal of motivation on the part of students, as the learning curve may be somewhat steeper for some of the students. The powerful (yet free) statistical package called R will be used in the class, in combination with the interface RStudio. Students are well advised to attend all classes and to keep up with the assigned readings as the material covered is highly cumulative.
Cíl předmětu - angličtina
Poslední úprava: Dr. rer. pol. Michal Parízek, M.Sc., Ph.D. (01.09.2023)

The specific objectives of the course are:

  • to help students understand and appreciate the most important components of research design
  • to help students understand the key principles of causal inference and the way statistics can help them in it
  • to help students understand and use the key tools of descriptive statistics
  • to help students understand and use basic tools of inferential statistics, including linear regression analysis
  • to help students appreciate the possibilities stats give them for their own future careers (or academic research)
Podmínky zakončení předmětu - angličtina
Poslední úprava: Dr. rer. pol. Michal Parízek, M.Sc., Ph.D. (01.09.2023)

Successful completion of this course requires first and foremost active interest in the subject matter. On the formal level, this means you should:

  • if possible, regularly attend the classes (this is recommended but not formally required)
  • read carefully the required textbook readings and do the quizzes based on these readings (always available on the course Moodle site, altogether 20%)
  • do all the problem sets that help you understand and familiarize yourself with the material covered in each of the classes (always available on the course Moodle site, altogether 20%)
  • take the mid-term test (10% of grade); no specific threshold for passing is set
  • take the final test (50% of the grade) and obtain more than 50% of the points available
  • actively participate in the discussion fora on Moodle (up to 5% bonification)


The following grading scheme is applied:

  • 100-91: A
  • 90-81: B
  • 80-71: C
  • 70-61: D
  • 60-51: E
  • 50 or less: F (fail)


Please note that as much as 40% of the grade is based on your regular assignments during the semester. This means your final grade will build up over the entire course in a very cumulative manner. Having said that, doing well on the mid-term test and especially on the final test is equally important.

The grading scheme is designed so that everyone who regularly prepares himself/herself for the classes will have no problem passing. The relatively benevolent grading scheme notwithstanding, please note that this course does require continuous work. If one loses track of what is happening in the course, it may be extremely difficult to catch up. So students should understand that continuous work on the assignments and the readings is a necessary condition for the success in this course. On the other hand, if one is able to do well on the weekly homework, one is more than likely to score very well also on the tests.

Mid-term review takes place after class 8.

Literatura - angličtina
Poslední úprava: Dr. rer. pol. Michal Parízek, M.Sc., Ph.D. (01.09.2023)

Core textbok:

  • Kenneth J. Meier, Jeffrey L. Brudney, and John Bohte, Applied Statistics for Public and Nonprofit Administration, 8th ed. (Wadsworth, 2010)

Useful alternative textbook, providing a slightly different framework and explanations:

  • Gerring, John, and Dino Christenson. Applied Social Science Methodology: An Introductory Guide. Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017.

Additional readings:

  • Alan Bryman, Social Research Methods (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012).
  • Andy Field, Jeremy Miles, and Zoë Field, Discovering Statistics Using R (London: Sage, 2012).
  • James, Gareth, Daniela Witten, Trevor Hastie, and Robert Tibshirani. An Introduction to Statistical Learning: With Applications in R (New York: Springer, 2013).
  • Gary King, Robert O. Keohane, and Sidney Verba, Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994).
  • Michael S. Lewis-Beck, Applied Regression: An Introduction (SAGE Publications, Inc, 1980).
  • Rein Taagepera, Making Social Sciences More Scientific: The Need for Predictive Models (Oxford University Press, USA, 2008).
  • John Verzani, Simple R: Using R for Introductory Statistics, 2002.
Metody výuky - angličtina
Poslední úprava: Dr. rer. pol. Michal Parízek, M.Sc., Ph.D. (01.09.2023)

The course consists of weekly lectures. Attendance is highly recommended, although strictly speaking this is not a formal requirement. From week 3, a significant element of individual work on data analysis is present, whereby students perform at home, on their computers, statistical analysis in MS Excel and in R. This is time-consuming and, for many, a demanding part of the course, but ultimately this individual work is a key part of the learning process.

In addition to the weekly classes, across the semester there will be several tutorial sessions with Tereza Plistilova, mostly for troubleshooting purposes. These are meant especially for those who might struggle with some technical aspect of the course or with specific parts of the material covered.

Požadavky ke zkoušce
Poslední úprava: Dr. rer. pol. Michal Parízek, M.Sc., Ph.D. (21.12.2023)

The mid-term will be available on Moodle from November 21 to November 24. Within that period, you will need to pick a time-slot of up to 3 hours within which you will do the mid-term.

The final exam slots are available for registration in SIS.

The exam takes places via Moodle, from home, under class 12 (https://dl1.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=3445). Students are advised to carefully check the information about the exam under class 12 in section "Final exam". This includes information about the possibility to practice the calculated assignments provided from class 5 onward, announced earlier in the classes.

Sylabus - angličtina
Poslední úprava: Mgr. Tereza Plíštilová (03.12.2023)
  1. Introduction and motivation; (quantitative) research as seeking answers to the right questions (Tereza Plíštilová)
  2. Research design, inference, and causalit
  3. Data, data, data: measurement theory, measuring things, levels of measurement
  4. Data, data, data in practice
  5. Key descriptive statistics: measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion
  6. Probability; standard normal distribution, binomial distribution (class on November 9 at 17:00, instead of 12:30).
  7. Statistical inference and hypothesis testing
  8. T-test (testing the difference between two groups) and experiments
  9. Categorical and ordinal variables analysis: cross-tabs and chi-square; measures of association
  10. Bivariate regression, principles, assumptions, and fit
  11. Multiple regression
  12. Model specification, interactions, and what's next

The troubleshooting tutorials are scheduled for:

  • 19.10. at 17:00 in B229
  • 16.11. at 17:00 in B216 (change of date from 15.11. to 16.11.)
  • 14.12. at 16:00 in B229
 
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