From Comparisons to Transformations¶

This module marks a shift from describing data to actively transforming it. You will learn how to reshape raw survey data into analytically meaningful variables using Python.

Reminder

Good quantitative analysis is not just about running models, it starts with careful decisions about how concepts become variables.

Theory¶

Where We Are in the Course¶

Milestone 3 & Upcoming milestones
- Moving beyond exploration toward transformations and modeling
Playground Notebooks

Application¶

Retrospective¶

In agile project management, a retrospective is a brief meeting held, at the end of an iteration (e.g. sprint), to look for ways to improve the process for the next iteration (Beck, K., et al. 2001).

Retrospective

Code¶

Data Wrangling & Cleaning¶

Tip

To load and use a notebook in VS Code follow the steps 3-5 in 📘 Notebooks in VS Code

What You’ll Practice¶

Using ANES 2020 data, you will learn how to:

Recode categorical survey variables
Create new variables from existing ones
Handle missing values explicitly
Prepare data for statistical modeling and visualization

Notebooks¶

Download and open Notebooks 5 & 6 in VS Code:
- Get the Notebooks from the GitHub repository

Get Ready for Next Session: Think. Explore. Practice.¶

Think¶

Inspect how negative codes (-9: Refused, -8: Don't Know, -1: Inapplicable) are encoded in your variables. Why would running summary statistics or regressions without converting these to NaN fundamentally bias your results?
Which categorical variables need to be recoded into binary indicator dummies (0/1) or multi-item additive scales?
Suggested Reading: Allamong, M. B. (2024). Political alienation and the Trump vote in the 2016 and 2020 US presidential elections. Public Opinion Quarterly, 88(1), 1-21. - Demonstrates how survey items measuring complex psychological attitudes are operationalized and recoded across multiple presidential election cycles.

Explore¶

Live Demo (Group 1): Survey Data Recoding & Variable Creation. Group 1 prepares a 10–15 min demonstration and shares the handout on WhatsApp before class (groups can book a meeting with the instructor to get direction).
The class should review the Pandas Working with Missing Data Guide to follow along and lead the peer discussion.

Practice¶

Practice recoding your project's DV and IV using Notebooks #05 & #06.
Looking Ahead: Milestone 4 - Analysis will be due in Session 9 (Feb 05 at 08:00).