Spring 2025 Workshops

Thank you for your interest in the workshops offered by the Social Sciences Quantitative Laboratory! This page lists all workshops planned for Spring 2025. Information about the times and registration for each workshop will be added throughout the semester. You can fill out the following form to be notified as we update information about the workshops being offered at http://tinyurl.com/ssql-interest.

Stata Workshop Series

  • Stata is a statistical analysis software widely adopted by economists for empirical analysis. You will be using the software extensively in Econ 31 for your problem sets, group projects, and possibly exams. The workshops are designed to align closely with the timing of the lectures and problem sets, and will complement in-class illustration through real-time structured hands-on experience of using Stata to complete basic tasks required at various stages of the course.

    • The tentative schedule for Spring 2025 is listed below:
      Week 2 (Jan 27/28)         Intro to Stata and Descriptive Statistics
      Week 4 (Feb 10/11)         Data Visualization and markstat
      Week 7 (Mar 3/4)             Confidence Intervals and Hypothesis Testing
      Week 11 (Mar 31, Apr 4)  Regression
      Week 13 (Apr 14/15)        Replication Project

  • Time and location: Mondays and Tuesdays 7.30-9pm Singer 222
How to Read a Quantitative Paper
  • Many books and papers present regression results to support their arguments. There are some simple ways to scan these tables that let you quickly understand the main points and common pitfalls. We cover how to read regression tables and graphs efficiently, what the numbers for coefficients and statistical significance mean, and common ways regressions are misused.
  • Time and location: Monday Mar 3 or Tuesday Mar 4 7 - 8.15 pm Kohlberg 116
  • Signup optional.
Introduction to R
  • The Social Sciences Quantitative Laboratory is running a workshop to introduce you to R. This will be hands on, practical experience: each participant will be using the program in real time. We will cover:
    • basics of opening files
      manipulating variables
      creating histograms, scatterplots, and regression lines
      how to deal with errors (inevitable, but manageable), in any statistical package
      working the R Markdown documents
  • Sessions will be offered starting in late February. Details to be announced.
Preparing for a Quantitative Graduate Program
  • Learn the skills you need, types of pre-doctoral programs and other ways to prepare, possible career tracks, and more!
  • Expected to be offered in April.
Manipulating and Visualizing Data in Excel
  • Excel provides an intuitive tool to create multiple numeric descriptions of data, as well as scatterplots, bar charts, maps, and more.
  • Beginners workshop: 
    • obtaining Excel from Swarthmore
      Manipulating data in Excel
      Using keyboard shortcuts to move through Excel quickly
      Basic formulas like adding cells and creating averages
      Resizing rows and columns Basics of pivot tables
  • Intermediate workshop: 
    • steps of common data analysis projects
      setting up your data
      creating descriptive statistics and visuals (advanced pivot table and graphics)
      Excel shortcuts such as paste values, relative row and column references, altering value storage types, and more
Summer Research Workshop
  • The SSQL will host a workshop for students doing summer research with a professor. The workshop should be quite helpful especially for new research assistants getting into quantitative research. The Lab Staff and student associates will draw on our experience and discuss the following topics:
    • Big picture - what to expect
      Organization, documentation and communication
      Independence, being proactive and asking for direction
      Talking with other RAs, Econ summer seminar series
      Coding cheat sheets
      Opportunities after the summer
  • Expected to be offered in later April or early May.