Restriction: Must be in Government and Politics PhD program.

Data science is a rapidly evolving field where new data and methods are continuously developed, updated and shared. The objective of this class is to train students in continuous self directed and collaborative learning approaches. The content of the class consists of several data science modules. All of the modules teach a common foundation for continuous self directed methods training. Common components within each module include the development of a strategy to find and gather the most appropriate data for the analytical task at hand, the selection and use of appropriate methods (including programming language, software and packages, algorithms and statistics, and troubleshooting code) for the analysis of that data, and the storing and sharing of the data. Students will apply the analytical techniques taught in the class to research problems with real world implications.