Final Project

Overview

Your goal in this project is to apply the skills and tools we have learned this semester to answer an International Affairs related question that is of interest to you.

You are free to select your own question and your own dataset. This is your chance to practice the skills we are using, apply them to a question of interest to you, and to work on generating conclusions from data that can inform policy decision making in International Affairs.

Group or Individual Work

  • You may work in groups of up to 3 members. If you work in a group, you must also submit a paragraph indicating how each of the group members participated. Our expectation is that all group members will actively contribute.

  • You may also choose to work on your own.

Select a Dataset

  • In this project, you will select your own dataset for analysis. This should be a dataset that is relevant to your interests.

    • A list of possible datasets is on the Datasets page

    • You may select one of these, or find another data source on your own.

    • Let us know a topic you want to work on, and we can help you find the data.

    • We will review how to read datasets in to R (and we have examples from class)

  • If you are not sure what to do, it is OK for you to use the vdemlite data for this project, but please analyze a variable (or variables) we have not already discussed at length in this class.

Identify a Research Question

  • Select a research question that you can answer with your data.

  • The question can be policy related, or related to social science arguments.

  • It should be clearly stated in your write up.

Components of your Project

Each project should include the following:

  • At least TWO professional quality data visualizations. Select visualizations that will help you convey the story you are trying to tell with your data.

  • At least ONE regression model, with appropriate interpretation.

  • At least ONE hypothesis test, with appropriate interpretation.

You are of course encouraged to include more elements (analyses or visualizations) that can help to answer your question or convey your argument most effectively.

Policy Implications

  • Each project should accurately summarize the findings and discuss policy implications.

  • You should also have a clear answer to your question that is clearly communicated.

Product

You have two choices for your final product:

  • A 3-5 page policy memo that motivates your question, introduces the data, presents your findings and highlights important policy implications (or implications for general knowledge about politics or international affairs). You should render and submit your policy memo in PDF format.

  • A slide deck that motivates your question, introduces the data, presents your findings and highlights important policy implications (or implications for general knowledge about politics or international affairs). You can use any software that you would like for the slide deck. We can provide examples from revealJS that show you how to put together slides in Quarto/RStudio if that is of interest.