POL 051: The Scientific Study of Politics
This page contains an outline of the topics and materials for the Fall 2026 discussion sections (A04, A05, A06). Note that this schedule will be updated as the quarter progresses, with all changes documented here.
| TA | Lecture | Discussion/Lab |
|---|---|---|
| Haley Daarstad 569 Kerr Hall hbdaarstad@ucdavis.edu Office Hours: Tue 12:00 - 3:00 PM |
Tuesday & Thursday 3:10 pm - 4:30 pm Wellman Hall 2 |
Friday A04: 9:00 am - 9:50 am A05: 10:00 am - 10:50 am A06: 11:00 am - 11:50 am Kerr Hall 451 |
| Week | Date | Topic | Readings | Slides |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Fri, Sep 25 | No Section | ||
| 1 | Fri, Oct 2 | Introduction to R | 📖 | 🖥️ |
| 2 | Fri, Oct 9 | Data Visualization | 📖 | 🖥️ |
| 3 | Fri, Oct 16 | Data Wrangling I | 📖 | 🖥️ |
| 4 | Fri, Oct 23 | Data Wrangling II | 📖 | 🖥️ |
| 5 | Fri, Oct 30 | Relationships | ||
| 6 | Fri, Nov 6 | Modeling and Causality | ||
| 7 | Fri, Nov 13 | Uncertainty & Hypothesis Testing | ||
| 8 | Fri, Nov 20 | Prediction & Natural Experiments | ||
| 9 | Fri, Nov 27 | No section - Thanksgiving holiday | ||
| 10 | Fri, Dec 4 | Review & Wrap-up |