ECON 121: Social Science Field Research Methods

ECON 121: Social Science Field Research Methods and Applications
(PUBLPOL 120, PUBLPOL 220)
5 units
Spring Quarter 2015
Tuesday and Thursday, 1:15-3:05pm
Instructors:
Frank Wolak (wolak@stanford.edu)
Holbrook Working Professor of Commodity Price Studies, Economics
Director, Program on Energy and Sustainable Development
Mark Thurber (mthurber@stanford.edu)
Associate Director, Program on Energy and Sustainable Development
Ognen Stojanovski (ognen@stanford.edu)
Research Scholar, Program on Energy and Sustainable Development
Course description:
Imagine yourself suddenly set down surrounded by all your gear, alone on a tropical
beach close to a native village, while the [small boat] which has brought you sails away
out of sight. Since you take up your abode in the compound of some neighbouring white
man, trader or missionary, you have nothing to do, but to start at once on your
ethnographic work. Imagine further that you are a beginner, without previous
experience, with nothing to guide you and no one to help you. For the white man is
temporarily absent, or else unable or unwilling to waste any of his time on you. This
exactly describes my first initiation into field work on the south coast of New Guinea.
The above words were written almost 100 years ago by Bronisław Malinowski, a founder of modern
anthropology/ethnography, in the now-famous introduction to his seminal Argonauts of the Western
Pacific (1922). And yet the experience of undertaking field research (in anthropology, economics or any
other social science) has not changed much since. While it is undeniably exciting to be thrown in the
deep end and learn field research methodology “on the fly” – especially if it involves the prospect of
intensive fieldwork in exotic locations – it can also be highly problematic. Indeed, one of Malinowski’s
great contributions was to point out that:
The results of scientific research in any branch of learning ought to be presented in a
manner absolutely candid and above board. No one would dream of making an
experimental contribution to physical or chemical science, without giving a detailed
account of all the arrangements of the experiments. . . In [social science,] where a candid
account of such data is perhaps even more necessary, it has unfortunately in the past
not always been supplied with sufficient generosity, and many writers do not ply the full
searchlight of methodic sincerity, as they move among their facts but produce them
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before us out of complete obscurity. It would be easy to quote works of high repute, and
with a scientific hall-mark on them, in which wholesale generalisations are laid down
before us, and we are not informed at all by what actual experiences the writers have
reached their conclusion.
This, too, has unfortunately not changed much in the century since Malinowski first carried out his
research. If anything, the recent proliferation of social enterprises, NGOs, investors, and consultants
conducting much-publicized but opaque (or even downright disingenuous) research, means that it is
now more important than ever to highlight the importance of proper design, implementation and
interpretation of social science research.
The goal of this course, therefore, is to lay strong foundations that you can build upon in order to
conduct field research that, in addition to being exciting and personally rewarding, is scientifically valid
and actually useful in answering important questions about the world we live in. Building on a basic
knowledge of statistical methods and economics, the course first introduces observational field research
and compares it with experimental field research. Significant attention will be devoted to explaining
what can and cannot be learned from each type of field research. The details of designing both types of
projects will then be discussed. The basic theory of the design of statistical experiments will be
introduced and applied. Examples of best practice field research studies will be presented, as well as
examples of commonly committed errors. Throughout the course, we will highlight important practical
aspects of field work, including efficient and cost-effective data collection, data management,
teamwork, and ethical considerations.
By the time you leave the course you should feel confident in your abilities to read and critically assess
social science research findings in the popular press, academic journals, and other forms. You should
also have a strong sense of the theoretical and practical demands of sound field work, and a plan for
how to acquire the additional training and knowledge that you will need in order to embark on your
own exciting field research.
Prerequisites:
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ECON 1
STATS 60 or ECON 102A or equivalent.
Requirements:
The requirements of this course are much the same as any other at Stanford. Since there is no official
textbook, attendance, taking notes, and asking questions will be your keys to success. If you show up,
pay attention, and do the homework, you should be just fine. If you don’t show up or are the type that
likes to “multitask” (i.e. browse or email) during class then you will likely learn little. Specific
requirements are:
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Attendance
Completion of the required readings
Participation – most lectures will include a discussion of the readings
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Homework assignments – in addition to readings, there will be weekly problem sets
Final group project – working in groups of 3-4, develop an in-depth research proposal (10 pages
maximum) on a topic/question of your own choosing
Grading:
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Attendance and participation – 25%
Written homework assignments – 25%
Midterm exam (focus on statistical analysis concepts and applications) – 25%
Final group project – 25%
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COURSE OUTLINE
Tuesday, March 31
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Course introduction and background
Overview of the different “flavors” of field research and their applications
The goals of social science field research
Intro to STATA software
Thursday, April 2
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Observational field research basics
Class discussion of observational field research readings
Tuesday, April 7
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Experimental field research basics
Thursday, April 9
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Experimental field research basics (continued)
Class discussion of experimental field research readings
Tuesday, April 14
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Data analysis
Review of basic statistics
Developing a theoretical model and regression model specification
Thursday, April 16
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Data analysis (continued)
Errors of predictions and least squares
Regression models
Tuesday, April 21
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Data analysis (continued)
Hypothesis testing
Thursday, April 23
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Data analysis (continued)
Power, sample size, and sampling bias
Tuesday, April 28
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Data analysis (continued)
Overview of more advanced statistics concepts that are commonplace in field research
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Thursday, April 30
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Midterm Exam (open book, open notes)
Tuesday, May 5
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Ethical considerations in field research – background and why it matters
Class discussion of the Stanford Prison Experiment and other ethics readings
Thursday, May 7
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Ethical considerations in field research (continued)
The importance of context
Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocol overview
Tuesday, May 12
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Data collection
Survey/interview design
Additional/complementary sources of data for primary field research
Thursday, May 14
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Data collection (continued)
Survey administration techniques and tools
Recruiting and retaining study participants
Finalizing a project’s population, geography, and time
Class discussion of survey design homework assignment and readings
Tuesday, May 19
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Data management
Storage, transmission, access and confidentiality
Data validation
Data “corrections”
Brief intro to software tools (Excel, SAS, STATA, Matlab, R, SPSS)
Class discussion of readings
Thursday, May 21
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Intro to qualitative research
Class discussion of readings
Tuesday, May 26
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Managing the practical and day-to-day requirements for field research
Exploratory projects, pilot studies, and refining the experimental design
Project and team management
Budgets, costs, and efficiency
Considerations for work in developing country environments
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Collaborations with other research groups, governments, or the private sector
Other considerations
Thursday, May 28
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Becoming a critical consumer – evaluating field research
The academic peer review and publication process
Theory of change
Class discussion of evaluation and publication readings
Tuesday, June 2
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Becoming a critical consumer – evaluating field research (continued)
Discussion on the appropriate role of field research in the social enterprise space
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