Research Methods and Quantitative Techni

This course is about social science research methods, with a heavy focus on quantitative techniques. Students in this course will learn to formulate research and policy questions amenable to empirical inquiry and to identify and apply appropriate methods of measurement and analysis to answer these questions.

This course begins with a discussion on the formulation of research questions derived from policy and management objectives, followed by the collection and organization of data, and finally the presentation and analysis of facts.

This course emphasizes the conceptual understanding of statistics that can be readily applied in the practice of public management and policy. In terms of statistical methods, the course covers descriptive statistics for univariate and bivariate analysis, including concepts and measures of central tendency, dispersion, and contingency tables. It also covers inferential statistical techniques, such as the chi-square, difference in means, and simple and multiple regression analysis.

To complement the lecture, students are introduced to the use of STATA, a computer- based data analysis tool. Later in the semester, the class is divided into groups to work on problems relating to environmental policy and research. The groups formulate research questions and model, collect, code, clean, and analyze data. Towards the end of the class, students are required to present their finding, and produce an analytical report.