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Spring One-Credit Courses in Methodology |
Home  Training Spring 2010 Course Offerings
Every spring semester, The Methodology Center organizes a series of three one-credit courses in research methodology. Each course in the series provides an advanced introduction to a specific advanced methodological topic. Typically these are topics that are important for behavioral scientists to be exposed to, but for one reason or another are rarely covered in graduate courses. The courses are aimed at advanced graduate students but are also attended by post-docs, research associates and faculty. In many cases the course is a version of a workshop that might cost hundreds of dollars to take outside of Penn State.
All courses will be held Wednesdays, 5:15 to 7:45 p.m. in the Conference Room of The Methodology Center at 204 E. Calder Way, Suite 400. The building is labeled Calder Sqaure II on campus maps. (Note that this not the room listed on the "Course Schedules Lookup" for any of these courses - these courses will be held in The Methodology Center and not in the rooms listed on the Registrar's webpages.)
Please contact Donna Coffman with questions.
HD FS 597A - Causal Inference in the Social Sciences
CRN: 424462
Instructors: Dr. Donna Coffman, Research Associate, The Methodology Center
Course Dates: 1/13, 1/20, 1/27, 2/3, 2/10
Prerequisites: HDFS 519 or equivalent
Course Description: This course will provide an introduction to causal inference under the potential outcomes framework. We will discuss the meaning of an average causal effect (ACE) and how it differs from a regression coefficient. We will learn about the various methods for estimating an ACE and also extend the notion of an ACE to models which include moderating or mediating variables. Social and behavioral scientists will be provided with practical tools for estimating causal effects from observational data. All techniques for estimating the ACE and computing standard errors will be illustrated with R code and worked examples. Knowledge of computing with R will be beneficial but not required. Course grade will be based on homework assignments and class participation.
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HD FS 597C - Social Network Analysis
CRN: 424468
Instructor:
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, Professor of Sociology;
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, Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies
Course Dates/Times: 2/17, 2/24, 3/3, 3/17, 3/24
Prerequisites: One year graduate social statistics sequence.
Course Description: This course provides a brief introduction to the concepts and methods of social network analysis. We will focus on peer networks in childhood and adolescence, and especially on concepts and measures that may be useful in developmental or intervention studies. For example, we will discuss measures of network centrality that can be used to describe an individual's potential for influence within a peer network, and measures of cohesion, cliquishness and status hierarchies that can characterize entire networks. Each class will include an introduction of new concepts and methods, a demonstration of their application to peer network data, and time for students to practice applying the methods with example data sets.
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HD FS 597B - Experimental Design for Building and Evaluating Behavioral Interventions: Introduction to Phased Experimental Approaches
CRN: 424465
Instructor: Dr. Linda Collins, Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Dr. John Dziak, Research Associate, The Methodology Center; Dr. Inbal Shani, Research Associate, The Methodology Center
Course Dates/Times: 4/1, 4/8, 4/15, 4/22, 4/29
Prerequisites: HDFS 516 and 519 or equivalent, and a basic working knowledge of SAS.
Course Description: Most behavioral interventions are developed a priori and evaluated as a package. If the intervention is found to be efficacious, little attention is paid to whether the intervention is as potent as it could be. An alternative approach is to take a systematic, phased experimental approach to optimize the potency of the intervention. In this course we will discuss experimental design for use in phased experimental approaches to building optimized behavioral interventions. Factorial, fractional factorial, and Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial (SMART) designs will be covered.
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