The evaluation for this course is based on two components: in-class written exercises (30% of your final grade) and a final 2-hour written exam (70% of your final grade).
The logic of the course requirements is to ensure that with a minimal but reasonable enough effort you get a sufficient exposure to quantitative sociology. My lecture for each session should give you the necessary background, which is why I do not expect from you to read beyond the obligatory background reading for each week.
A second objective of the course requirements and evaluation is to train you to read, analyze and write about applied social science papers from different methodological and theoretical traditions. For this purpose:
Every course week, during the second half of the class session, students receive excerpts from an applied paper to read and discuss in groups of 3 or 4. Together, for about 30 minutes, each group writes down brief notes (in English or French) reviewing the main elements of the study (research question, contribution, hypotheses, data and methods, main results) and identifies strong and weak points. I then present the paper in question and students use their notes to contribute to the eventual in-class discussion of the paper. The group notes are given a collective grade and count for 30% of the final grade of each student. There will be six such graded exercises (weeks 2 through 7); I will take your best 4 grades out of 6. The point of these in-class exercises is to help you prepare for the final exam.
The final exam (in mid-January) follows the same structure as the in-class exercises: you are given excerpts from an applied case-study (not seen in class) for which you write a critical review, which summarizes the main elements of the paper and identifies and justifies strong and weak points. Unlike the in-class exercises, you work on the review alone and have 2 hours to write it (in English or in French). At the exam, you will be given excerpts from three case-studies, each from a different course week, from which you can choose the one to write your review on. The exam grade is worth 70% of your final grade. The review must include the following elements:
describe and explain (around 2 pages), in a clear and concise manner, the following elements of the empirical paper of your choice: research question, relevant debate on the subject, working hypotheses, data and measures, methods, results and conclusions;
comment (around 2 pages) on the paper's contributions (strengths) to advancing our knowledge on the reseach question at hand, in terms of theory, methodology, and/or empirical evidence (1 page); evaluate its shortcomings (1 page). I am looking for two basic things here: how well you understand the article; and whether there are sufficient and convinging elements to justify what you identify as main strengths and weaknesses of the article. I advise you to identify 2 or 3 strong points and 2 or 3 weak points, which you need to succinctly explain and, importantly, justify.
For illustration, here are examples of excellent student reviews from previous years: ex.1, ex.2, ex.3. Please note that these reviews were written as take-home exams and based on the article's full text. I have since changed the evaluation criteria for this course and moved to in-class evaluations - the rampant (mis)use of LLM algorithms has transformed take-home exercises into a brainless copy-paste activity. Logically, I have adjusted my expectations on the quality and depth of reviews written in-class and based on the reading of excerpts rather that the full paper. This being said, the three examples can be useful for you to get a sense of what I am looking for in your work.
Reading requirements
All readings are available on the course website. Everyone is responsible for having a general understanding of the background reading so as to be capable to contribute to the class discussion constructively and to better understand the case-study to read and comment on for the in-class exercise. Note that while a good comprehension of the statistical and/or methodological issues in a paper may be useful, the emphasis in this course will be on the logic and design of the paper: most fundamental problems in any piece of research largely occur before any model is ever estimated.
For those curious to delve further on a given topic, I provide for each week optional background readings as well as a long and diverse list of applied case-studies on different subjects that you are free to read before and after the class.
Attention in class (no smartphones, tablets or computers)
Attention in class is crucial for a good working environment. The course material requires your full attention. The use of smartphones, tablets and computers, which are inevitable distractions for you and to the classmates around you, are therefore not allowed (exceptions are made for students who provide certification from a licenced medical professional). For a clearer statement of my position by fellow professors, see link and link.