040081 UE Empirical Methods II (MA) (2022W)

This course complements “Empirical Methods I” and builds on the knowledge acquired in that introductory class. The goal of this follow-up course is for students to learn how to work with data and analyze it against the backdrop of a given research question. After a brief recap of the contents of “Empirical Methods I”, we will delve into data analysis both in an applied and theoretical manner. Our theory sessions will mainly focus on descriptive and inference statistics for cross-sectional data. Our applied sessions will revisit the STATA skills and theoretical know-how of students and introduce data analysis using statistical programming software. Students will participate by reading and presenting scientific articles in some of the highest ranked strategy journals. Knowledge gained in this course and its preceding class “Empirical Methods I” is also applied during a project where students actively conduct their own empirical research working with real-world data they obtained during Empirical Methods I.

This course is highly interactive and built around the idea of a laboratory setup as is typical for social sciences. The setup necessitates certain software and IT equipment. To provide every student the same opportunity to successfully participate in the course, it is held in one of the PC-labs at the OMP 1. Given the always-changing Covid-19 situation, but also our goal to maintain a high quality and interactive class, the class should be held in-person with two selected (non-theory) sessions held via Zoom. The exact format of individual sessions will be announced during Session 1! For both online meetings, students are required to ensure stable Internet connection and be able to join using their web cameras as well! Hence, not only an audio connection, also a video connection is required! The majority of all sessions, as well as the exam will be held in person.