Weekly Content
Week00: AI for coding
Using AI for code. May not be covered in this class, as it had often been already covered in coding classes.
Week01: LLM Review
What are LLMs, how is the magic happening. A non-technical brief intro. How to work with LLMs? Plus ideas on applications. Includes suggested readings, podcasts, and vids to listen to.
Which AI? See my take on current models. As of May 2025.
Week02: Data and code discovery and documentation with AI
Learn how to write a clear and professional code and data documentation. LLMs are great help once you know the basics.
Case study: World Values Survey
Week 03: Writing Reports
You have your data and task, and need to write a short report. We compare different options with LLM, from one-shot prompt to iteration.
Case study: World Values Survey
Week04: Agentic AI with Claude Code
From chat to terminal - introducing Claude Code for data analysis. Students learn to use agentic AI that works directly with files, generates data, and iterates on analysis.
Case study: Austrian Hotels
Week05: Advanced CLI Workflows
Going deeper with CLI tools: custom skills, project-specific instructions (CLAUDE.md), git integration, and autonomous execution.
Week06: From Data to Report
Download real CPS earnings data via CLI, contrast an undirected “vibe report” with a carefully directed economics-quality report. Iterative graph refinement, OLS regressions, and constrained PDF output.
Case study: US Earnings (CPS)
Week07: Text as data 1 – intro lecture
No course of mine can escape football (soccer). Here we look at post-game interviews to learn basics of text analysis and apply LLMs in what they are best - context dependent learning. Two class series. First is more intro to natural language processing.
Case study: Football Manager Interviews
Week08: Sentiment Analysis with AI
Second class, now we are in action. How does LLM compare to humans?
Case study: Football Manager Interviews
Week09: AI as research companion: Control variables
Week10: AI as research companion: Instrumental variables
Week11: AI as research companion: Differences in differences
TBA
Week12: Creating simulations with apps and dashboards
TBA