Web Scraping

Presenter: Erin York

Plan and Prerequisites

We will go over the basics of web scraping and I will introduce two useful packages for doing it in R – rvest and RSelenium.

Prerequisits

• Plese make sure that you have the latest version of Java installed (you can download it here). For those who use Homebrew/Caskroom on Mac, you can also update the Java by typing brew cask reinstall java (or brew cask install java if you didn’t have Java installed through Homebrew/Caskroom before) in your terminal application.
• Download the handout below.

Links to Workshop Materials

• Handout for the presentation
• Slides for the presentation

Ethics and Interviewing

Presenter: Stephanie Schwartz

Plan

This presentation will explore ethical considerations for conducting human-subjects “fieldwork” in conflict-affected environments. We will also explore some of the basics of conducting political ethnography (namely semi-structured interviews and participant observation).

Helpful References for Discussion:

• Schatz, E. (2009). Ethnographic immersion and the study of politics. Political Ethnography: What Immersion Contributes to the Study of Power, 1-22.
• Wood, E. J. (2006). The ethical challenges of field research in conflict zones. Qualitative Sociology, 29(3), 373-386.
• Malejacq, R., & Mukhopadhyay, D. (2016). The ‘Tribal Politics’ of Field Research: A Reflection on Power and Partiality in 21st-Century Warzones. Perspectives on Politics, 14(4), 1011-1028.

What to read when you have no idea what writing an ethnographic study looks like:

• Bourgois, P. (2003). In search of respect: Selling crack in El Barrio (Vol. 10). Cambridge University Press.

Links to Workshop Materials

• Slides for the presentation

Measurement

Presenter: Tara Slaugh

Plan

Empirical research–qualitative or quantitative–relies on our ability to accurately measure concepts of interest. This session will review a few “classic” works on measurement in social science. We will then discuss best practices for applied research in two ways. First, we will examine some recent research that problematizes common practices and/or makes efforts to improve measurement in research that employs commonly-used datasets. Second, we will discuss best practices for improving measurement/construct validity in research employing original data collection.

Prospective students are welcome to participate!

Links to Workshop Materials

Will be posted after workshop

Frequentist Principles in the Context of Bayesian Learning

Presenter: Tom Leavitt

Links to Workshop Materials

• Slides for the presentation
• Article on criticism of the counterfactual conception of causality
• Notes on Bayesian Confirmation Theory by Michael Strevens

Application of Formal Theory

Presenter: Carlo Prato

Plan

I am going to present my work in progress on multi-member districts in a way that will help people developing their own formal models.

The abstract for the paper:

In many political jurisdictions, electoral districts are represented by multiple legislators that are elected according to party lists. By empowering party elites to shape their members’ electoral fortunes, lists contaminate the ability of voters to hold their representatives to account. Why, then, should voters benefit from party lists? When voters are uncertain of their representatives’ commitment to promoting party goals ahead of their constituents, individual incentives may undermine the pursuit of collective goals. We unearth circumstances in which voters value shared control of representatives’ electoral incentives with party leaders, and describe under what conditions multi-member PR lists can balance these trade-offs.