Harvard University
Kennedy School of Government API-205
Graduate School of Education H-013
Empirical Analysis and Program Evaluation
Professor Richard J. Light
l999 - 2000
PROSPECTUS
Goal of this course.
This course has two goals. The first is to present and extend ideas from basic statistics and data analysis to students who arrive here with little or no background in these topics. The second is to apply the ideas of basic statistics to a broad variety of concrete examples from the field of program evaluation that stress applications. Many evaluation examples will emphasize how to make decisions - for example, how to improve the management of a program, or an education intervention, or a health policy. While there will be some theory and explanation of "where the statistical ideas come from," derivations are not the emphasis for this course. Rather, there will be an intense focus on solving concrete problems. The three exams will all focus on solving concrete problems.
Substantive areas.
The techniques and methods we discuss are applicable to an enormous number of settings. But we will emphasize human service areas, especially education and health. Throughout the semester there will be readings and homework problems to supplement the textbook - they will emphasize education, health, job training, and effective human services delivery.
One special feature of this class is that we will emphasize questions such as when various techniques are most appropriate, and what assumptions, sometimes stated and sometimes unstated, underlie various techniques. We will constantly ask and re-ask the questions, "How can we use information to improve a policy, or a law, or a public sector social program, or our own work, in specific ways?" Exams will emphasize this.
Student obligations.
Each student will have several responsibilities. First, you are expected to come to each class session well prepared to contribute to class discussion. And come on time. Second, there will be several homework assignments throughout the semester. Third, there will be three in-class exams and occasional shorter quizzes during the semester. I will return your exams with quick turnaround, since each quiz and test is designed to help you learn. After all, solving problems is what statistics is all about.
Textbook and additional readings.
The textbook everyone should buy is by Neil A. Weiss, Introductory Statistics, Fifth Edition. It is published by Addison Wesley, in l999, and is available at the Harvard Coop. We will go well beyond this book's coverage, and I will hand out additional problems and readings. But the text will form the core of our coursework. It is the one required text.