Homepage for 17-803 "Empirical Methods" at Carnegie Mellon University
Basic knowledge of statistics and basic programming experience. For example:
Evaluation will be based on the following approximate percentages:
This course does not have a fixed letter grade policy; i.e., the final letter grades will not be A=90-100%, B=80-90%, etc.
This course will assign some mandatory and some optional weekly readings (papers and book chapters), both of which will be provided in electronic format or can be accessed through the CMU library.
This is a 12-unit course, and it is my intention to manage it so that you spend close to 12 hours a week on the course, on average. In general, 2.5 hours/week will be spent in class and 9.5 hours on assignments. Please feel free to give the instructor feedback on how much time the course is taking for you.
Unless subject to extraordinary circumstances, I will give feedback on homework assignments within a week.
I understand that normal life events, including research deadlines, deadlines in other courses, and technical difficulties out of your control, can interfere with your ability to complete your work on time. My philosophy is that our late work policy includes built-in flexibility but that the policy will be uniformly applied to all students in all circumstances.
Therefore, I will accept submissions up to two days late. However, because we tend to discuss last week’s homework assignments in class the week after, to maintain fairness I will apply a 10% per late day penalty. Work turned in more than two days late will receive feedback but no credit, i.e., a 100% penalty. To better understand this late policy consider the following example scenario. Suppose a homework assignment is due Thursday morning before class (ostensibly at 08:59 a.m.). You may turn in your work:
I expect that your work on assignments and the research project will be your own work. For questions on how violations of this collaboration policy will be dealt with, please see the instructor.
If you wish to request an accommodation due to a documented disability, please inform the instructor as soon as possible and contact Disability Resources at 412.268.2013 or access@andrew.cmu.edu.
For assistance with the written or oral communication assignments in this class, visit the Global Communication Center (GCC). GCC tutors can provide instruction on a range of communication topics and can help you improve your papers, presentations, and job application documents. The GCC is a free service, open to all students, and located in Hunt Library. You can make tutoring appointments directly on the GCC website: http://www.cmu.edu/gcc. You may also browse the GCC website to find out about communication workshops offered throughout the academic year.
When we say “your health matters” we mean exactly that: Your health matters. We don’t intend to imply that other peoples’ health does not matter, or that your health matters more or less than theirs. It’s just that we know that CMU can be a stressful, risky environment, and your health is the health that is relevant in this conversation.
Please take care of yourself. Do your best to maintain a healthy lifestyle this semester by eating well, exercising, avoiding drugs and alcohol, getting enough sleep and taking some time to relax. This will help you achieve your goals and cope with stress.
All of us benefit from support during times of struggle. You are not alone. There are many helpful resources available on campus and an important part of the college experience is learning how to ask for help. Asking for support sooner rather than later is often helpful.
If you or anyone you know experiences any academic stress, difficult life events, or feelings like anxiety or depression, we strongly encourage you to seek support. Counseling and Psychological Services (CaPS) is here to help: call 412-268-2922 and visit their website at http://www.cmu.edu/counseling/. Consider reaching out to a friend, faculty or family member you trust for help getting connected to the support that can help.