Download or read book Unsupervised Machine Learning for Clustering in Political and Social Research written by Philip D. Waggoner and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-01-28 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the age of data-driven problem-solving, applying sophisticated computational tools for explaining substantive phenomena is a valuable skill. Yet, application of methods assumes an understanding of the data, structure, and patterns that influence the broader research program. This Element offers researchers and teachers an introduction to clustering, which is a prominent class of unsupervised machine learning for exploring and understanding latent, non-random structure in data. A suite of widely used clustering techniques is covered in this Element, in addition to R code and real data to facilitate interaction with the concepts. Upon setting the stage for clustering, the following algorithms are detailed: agglomerative hierarchical clustering, k-means clustering, Gaussian mixture models, and at a higher-level, fuzzy C-means clustering, DBSCAN, and partitioning around medoids (k-medoids) clustering.
Download or read book Modern Dimension Reduction written by Philip D. Waggoner and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-08-05 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Data are not only ubiquitous in society, but are increasingly complex both in size and dimensionality. Dimension reduction offers researchers and scholars the ability to make such complex, high dimensional data spaces simpler and more manageable. This Element offers readers a suite of modern unsupervised dimension reduction techniques along with hundreds of lines of R code, to efficiently represent the original high dimensional data space in a simplified, lower dimensional subspace. Launching from the earliest dimension reduction technique principal components analysis and using real social science data, I introduce and walk readers through application of the following techniques: locally linear embedding, t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE), uniform manifold approximation and projection, self-organizing maps, and deep autoencoders. The result is a well-stocked toolbox of unsupervised algorithms for tackling the complexities of high dimensional data so common in modern society. All code is publicly accessible on Github.
Download or read book Text Analysis in Python for Social Scientists written by Dirk Hovy and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-03-17 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Text contains a wealth of information about about a wide variety of sociocultural constructs. Automated prediction methods can infer these quantities (sentiment analysis is probably the most well-known application). However, there is virtually no limit to the kinds of things we can predict from text: power, trust, misogyny, are all signaled in language. These algorithms easily scale to corpus sizes infeasible for manual analysis. Prediction algorithms have become steadily more powerful, especially with the advent of neural network methods. However, applying these techniques usually requires profound programming knowledge and machine learning expertise. As a result, many social scientists do not apply them. This Element provides the working social scientist with an overview of the most common methods for text classification, an intuition of their applicability, and Python code to execute them. It covers both the ethical foundations of such work as well as the emerging potential of neural network methods.
Download or read book Introduction to R for Social Scientists written by Ryan Kennedy and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2021-02-11 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduction to R for Social Scientists: A Tidy Programming Approach introduces the Tidy approach to programming in R for social science research to help quantitative researchers develop a modern technical toolbox. The Tidy approach is built around consistent syntax, common grammar, and stacked code, which contribute to clear, efficient programming. The authors include hundreds of lines of code to demonstrate a suite of techniques for developing and debugging an efficient social science research workflow. To deepen the dedication to teaching Tidy best practices for conducting social science research in R, the authors include numerous examples using real world data including the American National Election Study and the World Indicators Data. While no prior experience in R is assumed, readers are expected to be acquainted with common social science research designs and terminology. Whether used as a reference manual or read from cover to cover, readers will be equipped with a deeper understanding of R and the Tidyverse, as well as a framework for how best to leverage these powerful tools to write tidy, efficient code for solving problems. To this end, the authors provide many suggestions for additional readings and tools to build on the concepts covered. They use all covered techniques in their own work as scholars and practitioners.
Download or read book Survival Analysis written by Alejandro Quiroz Flores and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-05-26 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Quantitative social scientists use survival analysis to understand the forces that determine the duration of events. This Element provides a guideline to new techniques and models in survival analysis, particularly in three areas: non-proportional covariate effects, competing risks, and multi-state models. It also revisits models for repeated events. The Element promotes multi-state models as a unified framework for survival analysis and highlights the role of general transition probabilities as key quantities of interest that complement traditional hazard analysis. These quantities focus on the long term probabilities that units will occupy particular states conditional on their current state, and they are central in the design and implementation of policy interventions.
Download or read book A Practical Introduction to Regression Discontinuity Designs written by Matias D. Cattaneo and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2024-04-11 with total page 135 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this Element, which continues our discussion in Foundations, the authors provide an accessible and practical guide for the analysis and interpretation of Regression Discontinuity (RD) designs that encourages the use of a common set of practices and facilitates the accumulation of RD-based empirical evidence. The focus is on extensions to the canonical sharp RD setup that we discussed in Foundations. The discussion covers (i) the local randomization framework for RD analysis, (ii) the fuzzy RD design where compliance with treatment is imperfect, (iii) RD designs with discrete scores, and (iv) and multi-dimensional RD designs.
Download or read book Interpreting Discrete Choice Models written by Garrett Glasgow and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-05-12 with total page 131 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In discrete choice models the relationships between the independent variables and the choice probabilities are nonlinear, depending on both the value of the particular independent variable being interpreted and the values of the other independent variables. Thus, interpreting the magnitude of the effects (the “substantive effects”) of the independent variables on choice behavior requires the use of additional interpretative techniques. Three common techniques for interpretation are described here: first differences, marginal effects and elasticities, and odds ratios. Concepts related to these techniques are also discussed, as well as methods to account for estimation uncertainty. Interpretation of binary logits, ordered logits, multinomial and conditional logits, and mixed discrete choice models such as mixed multinomial logits and random effects logits for panel data are covered in detail. The techniques discussed here are general, and can be applied to other models with discrete dependent variables which are not specifically described here.
Download or read book Using Shiny to Teach Econometric Models written by Shawna K. Metzger and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-05-20 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Element discusses how shiny, an R package, can help instructors teach quantitative methods more effectively by way of interactive web apps. The interactivity increases instructors' effectiveness by making students more active participants in the learning process, allowing them to engage with otherwise complex material in an accessible, dynamic way. The Element offers four detailed apps that cover two fundamental linear regression topics: estimation methods (least squares, maximum likelihood) and the classic linear regression assumptions. It includes a summary of what the apps can be used to demonstrate, detailed descriptions of the apps' full capabilities, vignettes from actual class use, and example activities. Two other apps pertain to a more advanced topic (LASSO), with similar supporting material. For instructors interested in modifying the apps, the Element also documents the main apps' general code structure, highlights some of the more likely modifications, and goes through what functions need to be amended.
Download or read book Machine Learning for Experiments in the Social Sciences written by Jon Green and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-04-13 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Causal inference and machine learning are typically introduced in the social sciences separately as theoretically distinct methodological traditions. However, applications of machine learning in causal inference are increasingly prevalent. This Element provides theoretical and practical introductions to machine learning for social scientists interested in applying such methods to experimental data. We show how machine learning can be useful for conducting robust causal inference and provide a theoretical foundation researchers can use to understand and apply new methods in this rapidly developing field. We then demonstrate two specific methods – the prediction rule ensemble and the causal random forest – for characterizing treatment effect heterogeneity in survey experiments and testing the extent to which such heterogeneity is robust to out-of-sample prediction. We conclude by discussing limitations and tradeoffs of such methods, while directing readers to additional related methods available on the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN).
Download or read book Climate Change and Socio political Violence in Sub Saharan Africa in the Anthropocene written by Jean Chrysostome K. Kiyala and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on with total page 725 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Computational Frameworks for Political and Social Research with Python written by Josh Cutler and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-04-22 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is intended to serve as the basis for a first course in Python programming for graduate students in political science and related fields. The book introduces core concepts of software development and computer science such as basic data structures (e.g. arrays, lists, dictionaries, trees, graphs), algorithms (e.g. sorting), and analysis of computational efficiency. It then demonstrates how to apply these concepts to the field of political science by working with structured and unstructured data, querying databases, and interacting with application programming interfaces (APIs). Students will learn how to collect, manipulate, and exploit large volumes of available data and apply them to political and social research questions. They will also learn best practices from the field of software development such as version control and object-oriented programming. Instructors will be supplied with in-class example code, suggested homework assignments (with solutions), and material for practical lab sessions.
Download or read book The SAGE Handbook of Research Methods in Political Science and International Relations written by Luigi Curini and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2020-04-09 with total page 1861 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The SAGE Handbook of Research Methods in Political Science and International Relations offers a comprehensive overview of research processes in social science — from the ideation and design of research projects, through the construction of theoretical arguments, to conceptualization, measurement, & data collection, and quantitative & qualitative empirical analysis — exposited through 65 major new contributions from leading international methodologists. Each chapter surveys, builds upon, and extends the modern state of the art in its area. Following through its six-part organization, undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and practicing academics will be guided through the design, methods, and analysis of issues in Political Science and International Relations: Part One: Formulating Good Research Questions & Designing Good Research Projects Part Two: Methods of Theoretical Argumentation Part Three: Conceptualization & Measurement Part Four: Large-Scale Data Collection & Representation Methods Part Five: Quantitative-Empirical Methods Part Six: Qualitative & "Mixed" Methods
Download or read book Handbook of Digital Politics written by Stephen Coleman and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2023-11-03 with total page 511 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thoroughly revised second edition Handbook examines the latest knowledge and perspectives on digital politics. Leading scholars explore the expansion of digital technologies, channels and styles as it shapes political dynamics.
Download or read book Explainable AI Applications for Human Behavior Analysis written by Paramasivan, P. and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2024-05-20 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the field of computer vision research, the study of human behavior is a formidable challenge. The diverse applications of this field, from video surveillance for crowd analysis to healthcare diagnostics, have drawn increasing attention. However, a significant problem persists – the sacrifice of transparency for the sake of predictive accuracy in Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions. These AI systems often operate as enigmatic black boxes, seemingly conjuring decisions from vast datasets with little to no explanation. The need for clarity and accountability in AI decision-making is paramount as our reliance on these systems continues to grow. Explainable AI Applications for Human Behavior Analysis embarks on a mission to harness AI's innate capability to elucidate upon its own decision-making processes. By focusing on facial expressions, gestures, and body movements, we delve into uncharted territories of research, offering novel methodologies, databases, benchmarks, and algorithms for the analysis of human behavior in natural settings. Geared toward academic scholars, this book compiles the expertise of leading researchers in the field, making it accessible to readers of all educational backgrounds.
Download or read book Model Based Clustering and Classification for Data Science written by Charles Bouveyron and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-07-25 with total page 447 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cluster analysis finds groups in data automatically. Most methods have been heuristic and leave open such central questions as: how many clusters are there? Which method should I use? How should I handle outliers? Classification assigns new observations to groups given previously classified observations, and also has open questions about parameter tuning, robustness and uncertainty assessment. This book frames cluster analysis and classification in terms of statistical models, thus yielding principled estimation, testing and prediction methods, and sound answers to the central questions. It builds the basic ideas in an accessible but rigorous way, with extensive data examples and R code; describes modern approaches to high-dimensional data and networks; and explains such recent advances as Bayesian regularization, non-Gaussian model-based clustering, cluster merging, variable selection, semi-supervised and robust classification, clustering of functional data, text and images, and co-clustering. Written for advanced undergraduates in data science, as well as researchers and practitioners, it assumes basic knowledge of multivariate calculus, linear algebra, probability and statistics.
Download or read book Advanced Deep Learning with TensorFlow 2 and Keras written by Rowel Atienza and published by Packt Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2020-02-28 with total page 513 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Updated and revised second edition of the bestselling guide to advanced deep learning with TensorFlow 2 and Keras Key FeaturesExplore the most advanced deep learning techniques that drive modern AI resultsNew coverage of unsupervised deep learning using mutual information, object detection, and semantic segmentationCompletely updated for TensorFlow 2.xBook Description Advanced Deep Learning with TensorFlow 2 and Keras, Second Edition is a completely updated edition of the bestselling guide to the advanced deep learning techniques available today. Revised for TensorFlow 2.x, this edition introduces you to the practical side of deep learning with new chapters on unsupervised learning using mutual information, object detection (SSD), and semantic segmentation (FCN and PSPNet), further allowing you to create your own cutting-edge AI projects. Using Keras as an open-source deep learning library, the book features hands-on projects that show you how to create more effective AI with the most up-to-date techniques. Starting with an overview of multi-layer perceptrons (MLPs), convolutional neural networks (CNNs), and recurrent neural networks (RNNs), the book then introduces more cutting-edge techniques as you explore deep neural network architectures, including ResNet and DenseNet, and how to create autoencoders. You will then learn about GANs, and how they can unlock new levels of AI performance. Next, you’ll discover how a variational autoencoder (VAE) is implemented, and how GANs and VAEs have the generative power to synthesize data that can be extremely convincing to humans. You'll also learn to implement DRL such as Deep Q-Learning and Policy Gradient Methods, which are critical to many modern results in AI. What you will learnUse mutual information maximization techniques to perform unsupervised learningUse segmentation to identify the pixel-wise class of each object in an imageIdentify both the bounding box and class of objects in an image using object detectionLearn the building blocks for advanced techniques - MLPss, CNN, and RNNsUnderstand deep neural networks - including ResNet and DenseNetUnderstand and build autoregressive models – autoencoders, VAEs, and GANsDiscover and implement deep reinforcement learning methodsWho this book is for This is not an introductory book, so fluency with Python is required. The reader should also be familiar with some machine learning approaches, and practical experience with DL will also be helpful. Knowledge of Keras or TensorFlow 2.0 is not required but is recommended.
Download or read book Text as Data written by Justin Grimmer and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2022-03-29 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A guide for using computational text analysis to learn about the social world From social media posts and text messages to digital government documents and archives, researchers are bombarded with a deluge of text reflecting the social world. This textual data gives unprecedented insights into fundamental questions in the social sciences, humanities, and industry. Meanwhile new machine learning tools are rapidly transforming the way science and business are conducted. Text as Data shows how to combine new sources of data, machine learning tools, and social science research design to develop and evaluate new insights. Text as Data is organized around the core tasks in research projects using text—representation, discovery, measurement, prediction, and causal inference. The authors offer a sequential, iterative, and inductive approach to research design. Each research task is presented complete with real-world applications, example methods, and a distinct style of task-focused research. Bridging many divides—computer science and social science, the qualitative and the quantitative, and industry and academia—Text as Data is an ideal resource for anyone wanting to analyze large collections of text in an era when data is abundant and computation is cheap, but the enduring challenges of social science remain. Overview of how to use text as data Research design for a world of data deluge Examples from across the social sciences and industry
