Instructions

The centerpiece of the course is a quarter-long project, done in groups of 2–3 students (justified exceptions are possible).

Project types

Synergies with your work are welcome!

For example, you may consider applying the concepts and best practices covered in this course to an ongoing research project. The research project should exhibit enough complexity and involve a data collection and analysis component.

Project report

We expect your project report to be a living document, subject to continuous improvements and revisions. We expect your report to be written in LaTex.

For each project assignment, please export a snapshot of your entire report (as a PDF) and submit it to Canvas for evaluation.

Timeline

Exact due dates are listed on the course website and on Canvas.

Week 3: Project proposal

Select a group, select a project, and submit a short (1–3 pages) project proposal.

The proposal should include a problem statement and outline the research methodology. Be sure to motivate your project. Your report should start with a problem statement and an overview of the guiding research questions. Clearly motivate your scientific questions and why it is important to answer them.

Week 4: Revised proposal

Meet with the instructors for feedback and submit a revised version of your report. Additionally, start solidifying your research methodology.

Week 5: Project methodology

Submit a preregistration for your research project.

Your preregistration should not contain vague descriptions or missing aspects of the methodology. It should clearly define the study protocols, including constructs of interest, proxy variables, and analysis procedures. The preregistration should contain enough details such that a reader could replicate (same guiding questions, different operationalization and artifacts) your study.

The preregistration should also provide a discussion of study validity together with a justification for why your chosen proxies are the right ones, what insights they reveal about the constructs of interest, and what their limitations are.

Week 6: Revised methodology

Meet with the instructors for feedback and submit a revised version of your preregistration. Additionally, submit a revised version of your project report with at least the following sections: Introduction, Related work, Methodology.

Week 8: Data collection and initial results

Submit a version of the report that includes partial results and drafts of tables and graphs. (You may use mock data for tables and graphs to demonstrate how you envision to consolidate and communicate your data.)

Week 10: Project presentations

You should plan to talk for about 10 minutes, followed by 5 minutes for questions (though the questions may come during rather than after the talk).

As with any talk, be sure to practice it before you present in class. Be sure to include plenty of examples! (Even after receiving this advice, most groups fail to include enough to make their ideas comprehensible.) See this advice on giving a talk.

Week 10: Final report

Submit the final version of your report, including the finalized results.