August 2021
An Introduction to Mixed Methods for Social Scientists (Online)
This course will be offered via Zoom only. However, this course will not be recorded. This is a 2-day (8/25 and 8/27) course, that runs from 10am - 4pm each day. Social scientists are often interested in untangling complex social issues, which require creative and expansive data and methods to address. Mixed methods research typically refers to research design and implementation that combines qualitative and quantitative data collection and/or analysis techniques. The goal of this two-day course is to introduce…
Find out more »Academic Publishing 101: From Idea to Article…and Beyond (Online)
This course will be offered via ZOOM only. However, this course will not be recorded. Although graduate school teaches you many things, many Ph.D. students complete their dissertations having never been fully trained in academic publishing. How does academic publishing actually work? Where should you publish your research? How do you actually get papers accepted in strong academic journals? In this talk, we will discuss several major ideas in academic publishing (focusing on the social sciences). We will discuss: …
Find out more »Introduction to the New Qualtrics Interface (Online)
This course will be offered via Zoom only. However, this course will not be recorded. This training will cover the new Qualtrics interface rolled out in Spring 2021. Qualtrics is a web-based survey system used to develop and conduct online surveys. Users will be guided through the new interface to showcase where features have been moved, how old features are now implemented, and a demonstration of new features added in the latest update. Users with a prior knowledge of Qualtrics…
Find out more »September 2021
beginR: An Introduction to R (Online)
Learning R on your own? Want some help along the way? beginR is a series of virtual meetings organized by the University Libraries and the Odum Institute that provides support to students, faculty and staff who are learning the R programming language. The first week, the instructors will introduce attendees to R, help them install the software, and share the materials that will be covered in subsequent meetings. In the following weeks, beginR attendees will learn R by following the…
Find out more »Introduction to Focus Groups (Online)
This course will be offered via Zoom only. However, this course will not be recorded. Focus groups are commonly used to capture rich information about attitudes and beliefs. This class will prepare prospective students to organize and moderate focus groups. Students will learn the most appropriate uses of focus groups, how to segment and recruit audiences, how to develop a moderator’s guide, and how to moderate focus groups. The class will be supplemented with real-life examples and hands-on exercises. This…
Find out more »Text Analysis Using R (Online)
This course will be offered via Zoom only. However, this course will not be recorded. This course explains how to clean and analyze textual data using R, including both raw and structured texts. It will cover multiple hands-on approaches to getting data into R and applying analytical methods to it, with a focus on techniques from the fields of text mining and Natural Language Processing. Instructor Bio: Alison Blaine is a Data Visualization Specialist, currently working at Red Hat, who…
Find out more »Introduction to Structural Equation Modeling (Online)
This course will be offered via Zoom only. However, this course will not be recorded. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is a general statistical method that can be employed to test theoretically derived models. In this introductory short course, we cover the fundamental concepts and skills to conduct SEM using R/lavaan and Mplus. Specifically, we will use real data with a step-by-step implementation in R/lavaan and mplus: 1. to conduct confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to evaluate measurement validity, 2. to conduct…
Find out more »Identifying and Correcting Errors in Big Data (Online)
This course will be offered via Zoom only. However, this course will not be recorded. While Big Data offers a potentially less expensive, less burdensome, and more timely alternative to survey data for producing a variety of statistics, it is not without error. But, the construction of, access to, and overall data structure of Big Data make it difficult to know where to start looking for errors and even more difficult to account or correct for them. In this course,…
Find out more »Methods for Cross Cultural Research (Online)
This course will be offered via Zoom only. However, this course will not be recorded. Methods for Cross-Cultural Research is a 2.5 hour short-course focused on designing and implementing social science research cross-culturally, with a particular emphasis on collecting interview data. In the face of increasing globalization, concerns for external validity, and the importance of capturing the diversity of human experience, there is a need to consider how to implement research cross-culturally. In this course, participants will consider different definitions…
Find out more »October 2021
Time Series Analysis (Online)
This course will be offered via Zoom only. Attendance is required as the course will not be recorded. This online course will provide a basic introduction to time series analysis and its applications in social science research. We will cover time series regression and exploratory data analysis, ARIMA models, model identification/estimation, intervention analysis and other models used for causal inference. This course will use examples and hands-on labs in STATA. Participants should have a thorough understanding of regression analysis and…
Find out more »The Roles of Social Media and Crowdsourcing in Survey Research (Online)
This course will be offered via Zoom only. However, this course will not be recorded. The ubiquity of social media in the world today presents new opportunities and challenges when it comes to social research. This course considers the use of social media in survey research. Throughout the survey lifecycle (questionnaire design and testing, subject recruitment, respondent tracking, and longitudinal panel retention), social media and crowdsourcing platforms offer some new ways to reach respondents at a time when traditional methods…
Find out more »Introduction to Qualtrics (Online)
This course will be offered via Zoom only. However, this course will not be recorded. This is a hands-on introductory workshop. Participants will create a basic survey, add display and skip logic, and use content validation, piped text, and embedded data. We will create a contact list for distributing survey invitations, and overview the elements of Survey Flow. We will create “chained” surveys to collect personal information from participants that is stored separately from survey responses for distributing survey incentives.…
Find out more »Writing Questions and Visual Design of Surveys (Online)
This course will be offered via Zoom only. However, this course will not be recorded. This course focuses on best practices for writing questions and visual design for surveys, with a focus on holistic designs in which question wording and visual design work together to produce good measurement. It draws on the empirical literature to provide practical guidelines for questionnaire design and considers mixed-mode and mixed-device surveys. The course will include PowerPoint slides and whole group and small group discussion.…
Find out more »November 2021
Data Collection Using Mobile Phones in Developing Countries: New Approaches with SMS, IVR, Web, and CATI (Online)
This course will be offered via Zoom only. However, this course will not be recorded. The rapid growth of mobile phones in developing countries opens up new possibilities for data collection. Short message service (SMS), interactive voice response (IVR), online surveys (web) and computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) can produce data faster and less expensively than face-to-face surveys. This course will introduce students to the design and implementation of SMS, IVR, Web, and CATI surveys in low- and middle-income countries. In…
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