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Bring data and statistics to life

Data is everywhere

The Seminars in Applied Economics brings data and statistics to life.

The first half of the course introduces all the basics from scratch. You go from zero you hero in data analysis and data science and will become data fluent and learn major skills that you can use in your academic and business career.

You learn about types of data (numbers, text or images). Is the data structured like a spreadsheet or unstructured like a text message. You learn about primary data gathered by the researcher himself and about secondary data collected by someone else. We will use various datasets from the real world.

We explore different technologies and software to handle data. We apply on R, Github and Datacamp (and others). R is a free and open statistical software for data analysis. Github is a system for version control and file sharing. Datacamp is a learning platform to enhance learning languages like R and fundamental concepts of data and data analysis.

A wordcloud of 25 students answers (2020) on the question: "What do you expect to learn in this seminar?" Also check Course Evaluations.

The second half of the course focuses on research projects. We try to answer apparently simple but intriguing questions from daily life. For example:

  • Can beauty affect employment chances and income level?
  • How does unemployment affect happiness?
  • Does owning a pet makes you live longer?
  • Can working from home increase employee's work effort?
  • Why can't money buy happiness?
  • What is the impact of a vegetarian diet?
  • Are lefthander different from righthander?

Students are given the opportunity to work on a personal project under intense supervision. We use state of the art questionaire data (SOEP) and learn and practice critical, statistical thinking based on complex rectangular panel data. The topics stem from the field of happiness research and labour market discrimination.

The seminar is a good preparation for an (empirical) thesis.

Quick Start

Onsite
The seminar is given onsite and may be supplemented by hybrid sessions. It takes place during the entire semester (starting from 21.04.2022 to 28.07.2022). Attendance is compulsory.
Language
The working language is English.
Grading
Your grade is composed of weekly assignments.
Hardware
You need to bring your own computer to classes.
Target Group
Students with different study programs or levels and diverse backgrounds are welcome.

Bachelor Students (IBA, IBWL, WiR, BWL) with core area European Economics or Quantitative Methods. Master Students from IBA (with Finance & International Economics track) or MES (with Economics Core Area).

Is this the right seminar for me?
All students are welcome! The majority of successful former students did not had any prior programming experience.

Explore the course material carefully. Check whether you are interested in some of the topics and what former students tell you about the seminar, see course evaluations.