Syllabus

Course Overview

Course Objectives

Decision-making, supported by qualitative and quantitative data analysis, is increasingly crucial in the public and nonprofit sectors. Public and nonprofit employees routinely utilize what they have learned in their research methods and analytics classes to facilitate informed decisions, shape policies, evaluate programs, and manage resources. This course will provide the foundational knowledge necessary to become competent managers, administrators, analysts, and coordinators in any public and nonprofit organization.

The focus of this course is on research design and the application of qualitative and quantitative analysis in the realms of public and nonprofit administration, policy, and management. Throughout this course, students will develop both a conceptual and practical understanding of research and analytical methods. Students will also acquire fundamental skills such as conducting literature reviews, collecting and managing qualitative and quantitative data, creating data visualizations, conducting statistical analyses, including univariate, bivariate, and multivariate methods, and designing interview and survey questions.

Class sessions will be divided between lectures, discussions and lab sessions, fostering an interactive learning environment. During the lab session, students will use Google Colab to complete the guided practice. Additionally, you will prepare an original research paper that includes data analysis as an integral component of this course.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • Research Proficiency: Identify and employ suitable research methods and analytical tools to gather and interpret data effectively. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of various data collection and analysis techniques.
  • Literature Engagement: Locate, evaluate, and critically analyze pertinent research within the academic literature. Develop the ability to synthesize and articulate key findings from existing research.
  • Citizen Engagement in Public Policy: Apply established tools and strategies to involve citizens in the policymaking process. Illustrate a comprehension of methods to facilitate public engagement in policy discussions.
  • Ethical Use of Data and Public Values: Understand ethical considerations, diverse perspectives, and underlying assumptions in data collection. Understand policy alternatives from a variety of public values to arrive at well-justified conclusions.
  • Effective Communication: Communicate research findings and complex concepts clearly and effectively to both academic and non-academic audiences. Utilize appropriate mediums and formats for presenting research outcomes.
Pre-requisites

None.

Course Structure

The majority of this course is synchronous, delivered through real-time, face-to-face class sessions. Please check the course website for the detailed schedule and materials for each class. Additional materials and activities delivered through the course website.

Methods of Communication
  • The preferred method of communication for course content and assignments is our Google Chat. This ensures that important messages don't get lost in my inbox, and allows other students to see and benefit from answers to common questions.
  • Students can also message me directly on Google Chat.
  • If you need to discuss your dissertation, thesis, or other research projects that are not directly related to this course, please email me at serena_kim@ncsu.edu.
  • Students can expect to receive a response from me within 48 hours. If you don't receive a response within 48 hours (except for weekends!), please feel free to message me again.
Textbooks and Tools

Textbooks - Required

The following textbooks are required for this course:

Textbooks - Optional

Excerpts from the following books are also used:

Tools for Data Analytics

We will primarily use Python for data analysis in this course.

Computers

A laptop computer is highly recommended for students taking this course. NC State’s Office of Information Technology provides recommendations for your computer at NC State. NC State University Libraries offers Technology Lending, where many devices are available to borrow for a 7-day period. Computer labs are available in various locations around campus for student use.

Technical and Digital Information

Required technical and digital information literacy skills and requirements include

  • Use a smartphone to scan a QR code
  • Use Shibboleth to log into your NC State account on your smartphone
  • Use web conferencing tools including Zoom
  • Perform online research using various search engines and library databases. Visit Distance Learning Services at NC State Libraries for more information.
Grading & Feedback

Grading Components & Weighting

Student performance will be assessed based on the following three components:

% of Final Grade
Final Project
35%
Problem Set
45%
Quiz
20%


A detailed explanation of these three components is available under the Assignments tab.

Final Grade Breakdown

Final course scores represent the following grades (scores are rounded to the nearest integer):

Grade % of Final Grade
A
 94-100%
A-
 90-93%
B+
 87-89%
B
 84-86%
B-
 80-83%
C+
 76-79%
C
 Lower than 76%
Late Assignments

All assignments, except for the quiz and in-class presentation, have a 24-hour grace period. This means you can submit them within 24 hours after the due date without needing the instructor's approval. After the grace period, late assignments will be accepted with a penalty of -15% for each day they are late. Assignments submitted more than 8 days past the original due date will not be accepted.

Assignment Submission & Feedback

Assignments should be submitted through the designated links provided under the respective assignment tabs. Assignments sent via email will not be graded. Students can expect their assignments to be graded within 7 days.

Attendance

While attendance does not directly impact your grade, students are expected to attend every class and arrive on time. For information on excused absences, please refer to the Related NC State Policy REG 02.20.03 - Attendance Regulations.

Requirements for Earning a Grade of “Satisfactory”

If you are taking this course for credit only (S/U), your grade will be reported as S (Satisfactory) when course work is equivalent to C- or better or U (Unsatisfactory) when course work is equivalent to less than a C-. For more information, see the Credit Only Courses regulation.

Course Policies for Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity and Honesty

Students must adhere to the university’s academic integrity policy as outlined in the Code of Student Conduct 11.35.01 sections 8 and 9. All students are required to uphold the Pack Pledge: “I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this test or assignment.” Violations of the academic integrity policy may include, but are not limited to: plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, lying, bribery, threat, unauthorized access to academic materials, clicker fraud, submitting the same or similar work in more than one course without permission from all course instructors involved, and aiding academic dishonesty. Violations of academic integrity will be addressed according to the Student Discipline Procedures. Please refer to the Academic Integrity web page for a comprehensive explanation of the University’s policies on academic integrity.

Policies for the Use of Large Language Models (LLMs)

The use of LLMs (such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Phind, Jasper) is permitted in this course under the following policies. However, LLMs may produce content that is incorrect, biased, or misleading. Therefore, it is the student’s responsibility to verify the accuracy and appropriateness of any content generated by an LLM before including it in their assignments.

Allowed Uses:

  • Code Assistance: LLMs may be used to generate or debug Python and R code, but students are responsible for ensuring the code is correct.
  • Brainstorming: LLMs can be used to brainstorm ideas, such as identifying omitted variables in a model.
  • Table Formatting: LLMs can help combine and format tables in LaTeX.
  • Reference Organizing & Formatting: LLMs can be used to organize and format references in a coherent style such as APA, Harvard, or Chicago.
  • Text Editing: LLMs can be used to correct spelling, typos, and grammar in already written text. Two explicitly allowed prompts in this course are: "Correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors" and "Improve clarity and readability without changing the original content."

Prohibited Uses:

  • Drafting Text: LLMs should not be used to draft your writing. For example, you cannot provide a single sentence or a short outline and have the LLM generate an entire paragraph or section for your assignment. All written content must be your own work.
  • Generating Figures: LLMs cannot be used to create figures for your assignments.
  • Data Analysis: Students are not allowed to upload datasets to LLMs for analysis or to automatically generate results.
  • Uploading Problem Set and Quiz Questions to LLM Platforms: Do not upload any part of problem sets or quiz questions to LLM platforms. Doing so may violate intellectual property rights.
  • Calculations: LLMs cannot be used for performing calculations, such as calculating recall or F-1 scores. General calculators may be used instead.

Academic Integrity: Students must ensure that their work remains original. The use of LLMs must comply with the university’s academic integrity policies. Plagiarism, whether facilitated by an AI tool or any other source, is strictly prohibited. Students must properly cite all sources and ensure their work is the result of their independent effort.

Documentation Requirement: For every assignment, students must include a section explicitly detailing how LLMs were used, including the specific prompts. If LLMs were not used, students should state, "LLMs were not used in this assignment."

 Failure to adhere to these policies may result in academic penalties, including potential failure of the course, in accordance with the university’s policies on academic misconduct. Students are encouraged to ask the instructor (serena_kim@ncsu.edu) for clarification about these policies as needed.

Other Course and University Policies

Respecting Our Learning Community

The NC State Code of Student Conduct outlines expectations for behavior in the classroom (whether virtual or physical) and the consequences for students who violate these expectations. Any behavior that impacts other students’ ability to learn and success will be addressed, but expressing diverse viewpoints and interpretations of course content is welcome. Community guidelines for this course include:

  • Use a respectful tone in all forms of communication (email, written, oral, visual).
  • Maintain professionalism (avoid slang, poor grammar, etc.) in your written communication.
  • Respect regional dialects and culturally embedded ways of oral communication.
  • Stay home or in your dorm room if you are exhibiting symptoms of a contagious illness (fever, chills, etc.).
  • Enter our virtual and/or physical classroom community respectfully by refraining from lewd or indecent speech or behavior, helping to maintain a safe physical environment, not using your cell phone for voice or text communication except when explicitly given leave to do so, and not attending class under the influence of any substance.
  • Treat each community member with respect by not recording others without their consent or engaging in any form or hazing or harassment or intimidation or abuse.
  • Respect cultural differences that may influence communication styles and needs.
Incomplete grades & withdrawals

Information on incomplete grades can be found at REG 02.50.03 – Grades and Grade Point Average. If you encounter a serious disruption to your work not caused by you and you would have otherwise successfully completed the course, contact your instructor as soon as you can to discuss the possibility of earning an incomplete in the course for the semester, including an agreement on when the remaining work must be done in order to change the grade to the appropriate letter grade. If students must withdraw from a course or from the University due to hardship beyond their control, see Withdrawal Process and Timeline | Student Services Center for information and instructions.

Student Privacy

Originality Checking Software: Turnitin or other similar tools may be used by the instructor to detect the originality of student submissions.
Class Privacy Statement: This course requires online exchanges among students and the instructor, but NOT with persons outside the course. Students may be required to disclose personally identifiable information to other students in the course, via electronic tools like email or web-postings, where relevant to the course. Examples include online discussions of class topics and posting of student coursework. All students are expected to respect the privacy of each other by not sharing or using such information outside the course.

Equal Opportunity and Nondiscrimination

In alignment with NC State University's Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination Policy (POL 04.25.05), this course is committed to creating an inclusive and equitable learning environment for all students. Discrimination or harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, or veteran status will not be tolerated. All students are encouraged to participate fully in the course, and any concerns about equal opportunity or discriminatory practices should be promptly reported to the instructor or appropriate university office to ensure a safe and respectful academic setting.

Auditing this Course

Auditing this course is approved on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the course instructor to attain approval. Refer to the NC State Audit Regulation for more information and links to required forms.

Course Evaluations

At the end of each semester, students’ feedback is compiled into a ClassEval report for every instructor and course. These evaluations are used by instructors to enhance their teaching and are also included in their promotion and tenure files. Department heads utilize these reports during annual reviews. The ClassEval reports are confidential and are stored in instructors’ personnel files. For more details on ClassEval, visit the ClassEval information page. Students can access the evaluation system directly through the ClassEval website.

Syllabus Modification Statement

Our syllabus represents a flexible agreement. It outlines the topics we will cover and the order we will cover them in. Dates for assignments represent the earliest possible time they would be due. The pace of the class depends on student mastery and interests. Thus minor changes in the syllabus can occur if we need to slow down or speed up the pace of instruction.

Student Resources

Academic and Student Support

The Division of Academic and Student Affairs maintains a comprehensive website with links to a variety of student support services on campus. These include academic support, community support, health and wellness, financial hardship or insecurity, and more. For more information and to find the help you need, visit the Find Help on Campus page.

Disability Resources

Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. To take advantage of these accommodations, students must register with the Disability Resource Office (DRO). For more details on NC State’s policy for working with students with disabilities, please refer to the Disability Resource Office and the REG 02.20.01 Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities.

Safe at NC State

At NC State, the health and safety of students, faculty, and staff are of utmost importance. The Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity (OIED) provides resources and support to ensure that individuals have access to the help they need. For resources related to safety and support, visit the Safe at NC State webpage.

Supporting Fellow Students in Distress

As members of the NC State Wolfpack community, we share a responsibility to care for one another and ensure that our campus remains a safe and healthy environment for learning. If you are concerned about a fellow student’s behavior, whether for their well-being or your own, please report this behavior to the NC State CARES team.