Data Analysis for Social Scientists

14.310x Data Analysis for Social Scientists is an MITx Online course in the MicroMasters Program in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (DEDP). It introduces the essential ideas of probability and statistics and teaches techniques of modern data analysis with applications drawn from real-world examples and frontier research, including instruction in the statistical package R with opportunities for self-directed empirical work. The topic list moves from data analysis in R and the fundamentals of probability, random variables and joint distributions, through collecting and describing data, special distributions, the sample mean, the central limit theorem and estimation, to assessing estimators, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing. It then covers causality and randomised experiments, nonparametric regression, single and multivariate linear models, practical regression issues and omitted variable bias, endogeneity, instrumental variables and experimental design, and finishes with machine learning and data visualisation.

The course is instructor-paced over 14 weeks at an estimated 12 to 14 hours per week and is designed for anyone who wants to work with data and communicate findings. Auditing is free, and MIT's help centre says audit learners see the same material, coursework and assessments as paid learners apart from the proctored final exam, with archived access kept after the session. The certificate requires that exam and a fee set by annual household income; the page lists a certificate track of $250 to $1,000 with financial aid, and completion can count toward the DEDP MicroMasters.