Data Analysis for Public Service

Catalog description

Data Analysis for Public Service (PAF 9271) is a data analysis and research methods course that prepares students for domestic or international careers in management, fundraising, budget analysis, and other practice areas. It uses data, applications, and methods relevant to such work. Students develop skills to evaluate program effectiveness and identify successful practices. They learn to extract relevant and accurate information from existing analyses, to commission useful analyses, and to conduct basic quantitative and qualitative analyses within organizations. Specific topics include: logic models and causal mechanisms; qualitative data collection and analysis; developing and curating administrative data; analyzing quantitative data using spreadsheets; sampling error, confidence intervals, and statistical significance; randomized experiments (A/B testing); pre-post, interrupted time series, group comparison, and difference-in-difference analysis; organizational interventions for impact assessment; and natural experiments. Course sections will use applications tailored towards students’ interests and concentrations (e.g., sections more populated with MIA students will have a greater international focus). (Students who took PAF 9170 or PAF 9172 cannot get credit for this course.) Open to Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs MPA and MIA students; others with Marxe School permission.