Introduction to Applied Statistics and Data Science for Students of Jewish Studies

What is data? Where does data come from? How can scholars use data to tell stories (and lies!)? This course offers an introduction to data science and applied statistics, with an emphasis on demystifying data through quantitative methods, research design and ethics, and digital humanities tools. The course teaches students how to read, evaluate, and plot data in tables, charts, and graphs, and includes a training in Tableau software. We will draw from datasets of interest within the interdisciplinary field of Jewish Studies, such as the Survey of Jews in Canada (2018), PEW Research Center’s ‘Portrait of Jewish Americans’ (2013), the Anti-Defamation League’s Global 100 Index (2019) on anti-Semitism, the USC Shoah Foundation Visual History Archive, and the Arolsen Archive (2019). No prior training in research methods or prerequisites are necessary for this course. Students will complete the course with the skills necessary to recognize bias in data, identify appropriate methods for different research puzzles, build and analyze datasets, and communicate stories using quantitative tools.