Although the goal of most social science research is to benefit society, academia does not always train students in the ‘nuts and bolts’ mechanics of applying rigorous social science methods to solve practical policy problems or how to ensure that applied research can also produce publishable results. In this course, we focus on how to do policy-focused research that answers questions of both theoretical and substantive importance, with an emphasis on work that involves direct collaboration with an organization, agency, or firm.
This course is designed for students who have an interest in conducting collaborative applied research for the public good, both within and outside academia. Examples of the topics we will discuss include: finding an implementation partner and negotiating a relationship, data use agreements and working with messy data, designing and implementing a field experiment, ethics and equity in collaborative research, and disseminating results to partners, academics, policymakers, and the general public.
This course is designed as a hands-on workshop. Students will be expected to work through a series of assignments aimed at developing their own collaborative research project on a topic of interest. Each week, we will have a short lecture/discussion and then will engage in project work. It is useful (though not required) if you have an idea for a potential project to work on throughout the semester. However, you do not need to have a partnership established for the project; the work you do during the semester can also be focused on a hypothetical project for which you could imagine approaching a potential partner in your future work.