QAC

As a recipient of a Fulbright Specialist Award, Professor Lisa Dierker hopes to connect with academic partners across the world sharing her expertise and excitement in support of data analytics. “High quality, accessible and manageable data have never been so critical to the well-being of people around the world,” Dierker said. “Increasing capacity to identify, gather and analyze relevant data is a key pathway for better-informed decision-making and will create a larger, more diverse workforce.” Dierker, Walter Crowell University Professor of Social Sciences, professor of psychology and education studies, is a co-creator of Wesleyan's "Passion-Driven Statistics" model, a data-driven, project-based…

When the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted in-person classes last spring, several faculty found innovative and creative ways to adapt to online teaching and learning. In the fourth of a fall-semester series, we’ll be highlighting ways faculty from various departments are coping with teaching during a pandemic, and showcase individual ways courses are thriving in an in-person, online, or hybridized environment. In this issue, we spotlight Robert Kabacoff, professor of the practice in the Quantitative Analysis Center. This fall, he's teaching QAC 201: Applied Data Analysis; QAC 356: Advanced R: Building Open-Source Tools for Data Analysis; and QAC 385: Applications of Machine…

A team from Wesleyan took first place in the 2019 CSAW Policy Competition, the most comprehensive security competition in the world. Hosted by the New York University Tandon School of Engineering and NYU School of Law Center for Cybersecurity on Nov. 6–8, the U.S.-Canada policy competition challenged contestants to think about the big picture of cybersecurity policy, economics, law, and governance. The purpose of the competition is to encourage students who are interested in the nexus of policy and emerging technology issues to think critically about major policy issues affecting society and to impact the cyber industry by presenting their…

As the 2020 presidential election season heats up, the Wesleyan Media Project (WMP) is providing important analysis on campaign advertising for researchers and the media alike. Over the summer, Associate Professor of Government Erika Franklin Fowler, co-director of WMP, worked with undergraduate students and others to accelerate the analysis of digital political advertising, which has seen enormous growth this year over previous cycles. In the early summer, WMP hosted a mini-hackathon to begin the process of analyzing political ads on Facebook. They worked with summer students through the Quantitative Analysis Center (QAC), and with Assistant Professor of Computer Science Saray…

In the Quantitative Analysis Center course, QAC 201: Applied Data Analysis, students are introduced to statistics and data collection through asking and answering statistical questions that they care about. Topics come from a large range of disciplines including psychology, sociology, government, and environmental science. Students generate hypotheses based on existing data, conduct a literature review, prepare data for analysis, and conduct descriptive and inferential statistical analyses. On May 3 in Beckham Hall, 115 students presented their projects at a poster session. Twenty-five guests evaluated the posters, including faculty from Wesleyan, Sacred Heart University, Quinnipiac University, City University of New York, Central Connecticut…

(more…)

A new collaborative research hub, supported by Wesleyan's Quantitative Analysis Center, provides faculty and students with the tools to prepare, analyze and disseminate information on movement, travel and communication in easily-accessible formats. The Traveler’s Lab, developed by faculty members Gary Shaw, Jesse Torgerson and Adam Franklin-Lyons at Marlboro College, connects the faculty with each others' projects, but also with students who are interested in an interdisciplinary approach to historical research. (more…)

On May 5, 105 students presented their quantitative analysis research during a poster session in Beckham Hall. The Quantitative Analysis Center (QAC) hosts a poster session twice a year, which doubles as a final exam evaluation for its QAC 201 course. Nineteen evaluators, of which seven were Wesleyan-affiliated, attended and judged the projects. Students also had the opportunity to share their projects with fellow students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of Wesleyan. In this project-based course, students learned to answer questions through independent research based on existing data. Students developed skills in generating testable hypotheses, conducting a literature review, preparing…

The Wesleyan team Data Baes took one of the top prizes for "Best Innovation" during DataFest, held March 31 to April 2 at Exley Science Center. Seventy-five students from six institutions participated in the annual analysis competition. During DataFest, students are presented with a large, complex data set and work over the weekend to explore, analyze and present their findings. Teams of three to five students work together and compete against other teams from Wesleyan, Connecticut College, Yale University, Lafayette College, University of Connecticut and Trinity College. Under the auspices of the American Statistical Association, the event is organized by…

On Dec. 9, more than 100 students participated in the Quantitative Analysis Center Research Poster Session in Beckham Hall. The poster session served as the students’ QAC 201 final exam. The event provides students with the opportunity to share the fruits of their work with others. Several Wesleyan faculty and alumni evaluated the students’ poster presentations. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the QAC 201 course allows students to ask and answer questions about which they feel passionately. Students generate hypotheses based on existing data; conduct a literature review and evaluate the content of empirical research; prepare data for analysis;…

Three teams from Wesleyan received honors during the American Statistical Association DataFest, hosted at Wesleyan April 8-10. During DataFest, students are presented with a large, complex, surprise data set and work over the weekend to explore, analyze, and present their findings. Teams of three to five undergraduate students from Wesleyan, Trinity, Connecticut College, Yale, and the University of Connecticut competed against each other. After two days of intense data wrangling, analysis and presentation design, each team was allowed only five minutes and no more than two slides to impress a panel of judges. The event, coordinated by Wesleyan's Quantitative Analysis Center, is…

This month, Wesleyan will launch a new specialization on Coursera in the rapidly growing field of data science. The four-MOOC (massive open online course) sequence, together with a final capstone project, will offer learners a verified certificate of completion that they may share with prospective or current employers. Wesleyan’s specialization, Data Analysis and Interpretation, is one of more than 30 new business, computer science, and data science specializations starting on Coursera on Sept. 15. (Learn more on Coursera's blog.) Wesleyan is continually expanding its offerings on Coursera, and in January 2016, plans to introduce a new Creative Writing specialization. (more…)

Dierker to Teach Passion-Driven Statistics As Fulbright Specialist

Kabacoff: Teaching Quantitative Analysis during the Pandemic

Wesleyan Places 1st in National Cybersecurity Competition

Wesleyan Media Project Students and Faculty Speak at Conference, Contribute to National Political Debate

115 Students Present Statistical Research at QAC Poster Session

Guest Evaluators Critique QAC Poster Session

Scholars Discuss Digital Methods in Research and Teaching

105 Students Present Research at QAC Spring Poster Session

Wesleyan Team Honored for “Best Innovation” at 2017 DataFest

Students Share Quantitative Analysis Research at Poster Session

Students Solve, Analyze Complex Problems at DataFest

Wesleyan Announces New Data Science Specialization on Coursera