Hauptseminar: Field Experiments

Course Details

Course Instructor: Nan Zhang (Office hours by appointment)

Course Website: https://nanzhang-polisci.github.io/QMCP_FSS26

Date and Time: Tuesday, 10:15-11:45 in B143 Seminarraum (A 5, 6 Bauteil B)

Course Description

This seminar will provide a collaborative and immersive research experience where students work together with the instructor to design, implement, and analyze a field experiment. Upon completion of this course, students will have first-hand experience with the entire “research process cycle” from study design and pre-analysis planning, through fieldwork and data collection, to statistical analysis and communication of the final results.

Course Structure and Requirements

Class-time will consist of a mix of lecture, group discussions and exercises, and student presentations. In preparation for some of our in-class activities, you will also have to do some group homework assignments. These ultimately build up to two important homework submissions:

  • Ethics application (submit before 9 October)

  • Pre-analysis plan (submit before 6 November)

In addition, the final weeks of the semester will be devoted to collecting your own data. You will present your results in class on 8 December.

Diligent preparation and active participation is central to what we do in class! For this reason, I will be keeping a record of attendance. You are allowed two unexcused absences during the semester. Any additional absences should be approved by me beforehand.

Assessment

Your grade is based on a Hausarbeit (final paper), addressing the following elements:

  • What is the research question?
  • What are your hypotheses?
  • What is your experimental protocol?
  • How did you analyze the data?
  • Were there any deviations from your pre-analysis?
  • What did you find?
  • What do you conclude about the answer to your research question?

Please email me your final paper by TBD. Each group of students should jointly submit one paper!

Of course, I understand that, as with any type of group assignment, some people do more work than others. In order to recognize your own individual contributions, you may optionally submit a short write-up explaining an extra roles or responsibilities that you took on throughout the semester.

You can use this opportunity to justify why you deserve a grade which is different from your group’s grade on the final paper.

However, I reserve the right to alter your grade as appropriate, based on my own evaluation of your performance and progress in the course as a whole.

Weekly Schedule

Note: the current version of the syllabus will likely change, depending on our progress throughout the semester.