INFO 7470 - Understanding Social and Economic Data

The course is designed to teach students basic and advanced techniques for acquiring and transforming raw information into social and economic data. The 2013 version is particularly aimed at American Ph.D. students who are interested in using confidential U.S. Census Bureau data, and the confidential data of other American statistical agencies that cooperate with the Census Bureau. We cover the legal, statistical, computing, and social science aspects of the data "production" process. Major emphasis is placed on U.S. Census Bureau data that are accessible from the Bureau's Research Data Center network. Graduate students and faculty who are planning to use RDC-based data, or are seriously considering it, should pay particular attention to the labs related to the proposal process. The course, created and managed by Cornell University, had participants from 11 sites nationwide, including several nodes and other universities that had recently opened or were considering opening Research Data Centers.