9  Wrap-up

9.1 Project Management & Reproducibility Recap

Throughout Methods Camp, you’ve worked within RStudio Projects and Quarto documents. As you embark on your graduate coursework and dissertation research, keep these core reproducibility habits in mind:

  • Always use RStudio Projects (.Rproj): Never rely on absolute paths like setwd("C:/Users/..."). A project root ensures that your code works across different computers and for collaborators.
  • Maintain directory hygiene:
    • Keep untouched raw data in data/raw/.
    • Save cleaned/transformed datasets to data/working/.
    • Store analysis scripts in code/.
    • Export plots and tables directly to figures/ and tables/.
  • Test clean rendering frequently: Click Render regularly to verify that your Quarto documents are fully self-contained and execute cleanly from top to bottom.
  • Restart R often: Use Session > Restart R (Ctrl+Shift+F10 / Cmd+Shift+0) to ensure your script doesn’t silently depend on objects in memory that aren’t created in your code.

9.2 Other software resources

9.2.1 Overleaf

  • Overleaf is a collaborative cloud-based LaTeX editor designed for writing, editing, and publishing documents.

    • LaTeX is a software used for typesetting technical documents. It is used widely in our discipline for the preparation for manuscripts to journals and other publishing venues.

  • UT Austin actually provides free access to Overleaf Professional to graduate students using your UT email. (The Professional accounts allows more collaborators on projects and other goodies.)

NoteExercise

Create an Overleaf Professional account using your UT email address. You can do so here.

Important

\[ \hat{\beta} = (X'X)^{-1}X'Y \]

LaTeX is actually the markup language that the math in Quarto and this website! If you are curious about general syntax and commands, you can access our repository at any time to get a closer look.

9.2.2 Zotero

  • Zotero is an open-source reference manager used to store, manage, and cite bibliographic references, such as books and articles.

  • When it is time to write, you can insert your sources directly into your paper as in-text citations via a word processor plugin, which generates a bibliography in your style of choice (e.g., APA). It works with Word, Google Docs, Overleaf, and RStudio.

    • This can save a lot of time, especially when you have to change citation styles for submission to another journal.

  • You can download the software for free here.

Note

Zotero is one of many other reference managers out there. Alternatives include Mendeley and EndNote, among others. You should choose whatever option best suits your needs.

9.3 Artificial Intelligence

With the rapid advancement of Large Language Models (LLMs), tools like ChatGPT/Codex, Claude, etc. have become common in programming workflows.

WarningConsume AI wisely!
  • AI can help with programming, but you must have domain knowledge.
  • Interactions with AI are not exactly repeatable.
  • AI can help with expediting search from Google or Stack Overflow for troubleshooting, but it is not always correct.
  • Read AI’s explanation carefully to make sure it does what you want. It is a tool to help you learn, not to do the work for you!
  • Try to type out the generated code yourself, do NOT copy and paste
  • In your problem sets, always acknowledge that you have consulted AI for support.
  • When errors occur, copy the error messages and paste them into GPT for troubleshooting.
  • You can continue with follow-up instructions to improve the results.
  • In case of a catch-22 situation, use your domain expertise.

9.4 Using the Terminal

The terminal (or command line) is a text-based interface used to interact with your computer. While graphical user interfaces (GUIs) like RStudio are great, learning basic terminal commands can be incredibly powerful for project management, using version control (Git), and running scripts.

9.4.1 Opening the Terminal

  • Mac/Linux: Search for “Terminal” in your applications.
  • Windows: Search for “Command Prompt”, “PowerShell”, or use “Git Bash” if you have Git installed.
  • RStudio: You can access the terminal directly inside RStudio by clicking the Terminal tab next to the Console.

9.4.2 Basic Commands

Here are some fundamental commands to get you started:

  • pwd: Print Working Directory. Shows the folder you are currently in.
  • ls (Mac/Linux) or dir (Windows): List the contents of the current directory.
  • cd <folder_name>: Change Directory. Moves you into the specified folder.
    • Example: cd Documents
  • cd ..: Moves you up one folder level.

9.4.3 Agentic Coding

Familiarity with the terminal is also increasingly important as we enter the era of “agentic coding” with AI tools like Claude (e.g., using tools like Claude Code or other CLI-based AI assistants). These AI agents often operate directly within your terminal, allowing them to autonomously navigate your project directories, read files, execute data analysis scripts, and debug code on your behalf. Understanding basic terminal commands helps you monitor what the AI is doing, intervene when necessary, and ensure the agent is in the correct directory before launching it.

Using the terminal might seem intimidating at first, but with a little practice, it will become a natural part of your data science workflow.

Claude has a neat guide at https://code.claude.com/docs/en/terminal-guide for first-time users of the terminal.

9.5 Methods at UT

9.5.1 Required methods courses

  • Scope and Methods of Political Science

  • Statistics I (Statistics/linear regression)

  • Statistics II (Linear regression and more)

  • Statistics III (Maximum likelihood estimation)

    • Only required if your major field is methods

9.5.2 Other methods courses

  • Statistics / Econometrics / Machine Learning:

    • Causal Inference
    • Bayesian Statistics
    • Math Methods for Political Analysis
    • Time Series and Panel Data
    • Panel and Multilevel Analysis
    • Network Analysis
    • Machine Learning in Political Science
    • Making Big Data

  • Formal Theory

    • Intro to Formal Political Analysis
    • Formal Political Analysis II
    • Formal Theories of International Relations

  • Everything else

    • Conceptualization and Measurement
    • Experimental Methods in Political Science
    • Qualitative Methods
    • Seminar in Field Experiments

9.5.3 Other departments at UT

You can also take courses through the Economics, Business (IROM), Sociology, Mathematics, or Statistics (SDS) departments.

9.5.4 Methods Fellow

The Methods Fellow is a grad student who serves as a Methods TA for all other UT Gov grad students.

  • Holds office hours
  • Hosts a Methods Co-Working Hour
  • Organizes workshops

9.5.5 Methods summer programs

  • ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research)

    • Ann Arbor, Michigan

  • IQMR (Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research)

    • Syracuse, NY

  • EITM (Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models)

    • Various locations

9.5.6 More methods camps!