Data for Decisions Bootcamp

“The world is one big data problem.” - Andrew McAfee

Intro to the Bootcamp

This bootcamp is about doing applied social science research, with an emphasis on quantitative methods. For guidance on how to articulate your research question and determine the best way to answer it, check out the IDinsight Toolkit.

Lessons

Lesson 1: Intro to Stata-Learn how to navigate the Stata user interface and Stata syntax.
Lesson 2: Stata Best Practices-Learn how to write clear and efficient code in Stata.
Lesson 3: Theory of Change-Learn why Theory of Change is important and how to create one.
Lesson 4: Causal Inference-Learn about ways to estimate causal impact and the tradeoffs of each.
Lesson 5: Process Evaluation Design-Learn when, how, and why to conduct a process evaluation.
Lesson 6. Statistical Inference-Learn how to conduct and interpret hypothesis tests.
Lesson 7: Sampling for Surveys-Learn how to optimize sampling design with feasibility constraints.
Lesson 8: Power Calculations-Learn how to conduct and interpret power calculations for causal evaluations.
Lesson 9: Designing Causal Evaluations-Learn how to construct comparison groups for causal evaluations.
Lesson 10: Collecting High-Quality Data-Learn how to set up processes to strengthen data quality.
Lesson 11: Questionnaire Design-Learn how to maximize construct validity and minimize survey error.
Lesson 12: SurveyCTO-Learn how to use SurveyCTO to build survey forms and collect data.
Lesson 13: Qualitative Data Collection-Learn how to collect and select samples for qualitative data.
Lesson 14: Data Cleaning-Learn how to organize folders, manage data, and transform datasets.
Lesson 15: Data Analysis-Learn how to construct, execute, and interpret regression models.
Lesson 16: Data Visualization-Learn how to execute visualization best practices in Stata graphs.

Additional Resources

World Bank DIME Wiki (link)
Running Randomized Evaluations by Rachel Glennerster and Kudzai Takavarasha (book and website)
Intro to Descriptive Statistics on Udacity (link)
Intro to Inferential Statistics on Udacity (link)
Princeton Stata tutorial (link)

Feedback

We'd love to hear your comments, suggestions, and questions about this bootcamp! Please share your feedback in this form. If you want to contact us directly, please email jeffery.mcmanus[at]idinsight.org.

We thank LGT Venture Philanthropy for providing generous funding for this bootcamp.

Banner photo: William Playfair's time series chart showing trade balances, Commercial and Political Atlas, 1786. Accessed from (link).