Editing Statistics and Statistical Programming (Spring 2019)/Problem Set: Week 1

== Programming Challenges ==

Because this is our first week, there are no real programming challenges this week. Instead, these are some setup tasks you can do before class to prepare you to complete future programming challenges.

:'''PC1.''' Download and install R — You can do that from [https://cran.rstudio.com/ this webpage] where you will have to choose based on your operating system.
:'''PC2.''' Download and install RStudio — Download and run the "installer" from the "Installers" sections of [https://www.rstudio.com/products/rstudio/download/ the RStudio download page]. You'll want to choose the one that is appropriate for your operating systems (e.g., Windows, Mac OSX, or GNU/Linux).
:'''PC3.''' (a) Create and save a new RStudio "Project" ('.Rproj'). Then, within your new project, (b) create and save a new RMarkdown file ('.Rmd'). Finally, (c) write a combination of text notes and R code in your RMarkdown file and "knit" the output into HTML.
:'''PC4.''' Compress everything from your project into a "zip" archive (feel free to use some other compression format if you like) and upload it to Canvas.

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:'''PC3.''' Get setup with git and Github — You should do two things before class.
:* First, [https://github.com/join?source=button-pricing create an account on Github.com]
:* Installing [https://desktop.github.com/ GitHub Desktop] which includes versions for Windows and Mac. If you use Linux, contact me. Completing the setup will involve logging in your Github account.
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== Statistical Questions (from OpenIntro) ==
'''Exercises from OpenIntro (Diez, Barr, and Çetinkaya-Rundel) §1'''

:'''SQ0.''' Any questions or clarifications from the OpenIntro text or lecture notes?
:'''SQ1.''' Exercise 1.6 about identifying cases, variables, types, and research questions
:'''SQ2.''' Exercise 1.12 about populations, samples, and generalizability
:'''SQ3.''' Exercise 1.52 about means and medians from a histogram
:'''SQ4.''' Exercise 1.56 about skewness and choosing appropriate statistics
:'''SQ5.''' Exercise 1.64 about selecting certain types of visualization over others

Several of these questions draw from Study 4 of the following paper (although I don't think it's critical to look at the paper to answer the questions):

:Piff, Paul K., Daniel M. Stancato, Stéphane Côté, Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, and Dacher Keltner. 2012. “Higher Social Class Predicts Increased Unethical Behavior.” ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'' 109(11):4086–91. [[http://www.pnas.org/content/109/11/4086.full Available through NU Libraries]]

== Empirical Paper Questions ==

Read the following paper and answer the questions below Please be prepared to identify parts of the paper that support your claims.

:Kramer, Adam D. I., Jamie E. Guillory, and Jeffrey T. Hancock. 2014. “Experimental Evidence of Massive-Scale Emotional Contagion through Social Networks.” ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'' 111(24):8788–90. [[http://www.pnas.org/content/111/24/8788.full Open access]]

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Some of you may have read this paper already. It's among the most highly cited (and publicly discussed) paper to come out of communication over the last few years. I believe we will talk about it a few times this quarter, so for now please focus on the research design and substantive takeaways.
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:'''EQ1.''' Identify (a) the cases, (b) the variables and their types, and (c) the main research question of this piece.
:'''EQ2.''' (a) What do the treatment and control groups consist of in this study? (b) What type of sampling does the study use? (c) Describe the experimental manipulation.
:'''EQ3.''' Identify (a) the population of interest and (b) the sample used in the study. (c) Do you think that this study can be generalized from the sample to the population?
:'''EQ4.''' There is one figure in the paper (Figure 1). Walk us through the figure and explain what it represents and reflects.
:'''EQ5.''' (a) Summarize the results of the study. (b) What is the size of the effect? Is this meaningful? (c) Describe what you think the important takeaway from the paper is.