Positive political science involves connecting our observations of the social world with causal mechanisms.  We are going to focus on a particular problem: to what extent can we used observed data to measure, discover, and test underlying causal claims?  The course will include a combination of statistical theory, hands--on data analysis,  and causal reasoning.  The goal of the course is to produce students who can understand, apply, and ultimately further quantitative political methodology.

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Previously offered 2014-15, 2017-2021, Spring Term.