xuyiqing / regression-lectures

# POLI 450A: Political Methodology I (Regression)
Lecture slides, R code, and data for the first course in Stanford's political science PhD methods
sequence: LaTeX Beamer sources, PDFs, the R scripts that draw every figure and produce every number
on the slides, and the public datasets they use. Short preview and review videos accompany the lectures
(YouTube playlist). The course also suits advanced undergraduates in economics, political
science, and other social sciences.
Version: Fall 2026.
Course website: · Syllabus:
`syllabus/PS450A_syllabus.pdf`
Each lecture entered this repository after a release review: numbers rerun from the code, citations
checked against their sources, and independent line-by-line accuracy reads, with the fixes applied.
The scripts and data behind lecture 5-4's replication figures will be added later.
The course was originally designed by Jens Hainmueller and is maintained and updated by Yiqing Xu
(Department of Political Science, Stanford University).
| Lecture | Topic | Slides | Video | Worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction | `lec1_handout.pdf` | 5:29 | `lec1.pdf` |
| 2-1 | Point estimation | `lec2_1_handout.pdf` | 5:34 | `lec2-1.pdf` |
| 2-2 | Interval estimation | `lec2_2_handout.pdf` | 5:29 | `lec2-2.pdf` |
| 2-3 | Hypothesis testing | `lec2_3_handout.pdf` | 5:24 | `lec2-3.pdf` |
| 2-4 | Bootstrap and clusters | `lec2_4_handout.pdf` | 6:15 | `lec2-4.pdf` |
| 3 | What is regression? | `lec3_handout.pdf` | 7:36 | `lec3.pdf` |
| 4-1 | Simple regression: mechanics of OLS | `lec4_1_handout.pdf` | 6:30 | `lec4-1.pdf` |
| 4-2 | Simple regression: statistical properties | `lec4_2_handout.pdf` | 7:34 | `lec4-2.pdf` |
| 4-3 | Simple regression: inference and interpretation | `lec4_3_handout.pdf` | 7:52 | `lec4-3.pdf` |
| 5-1 | Regression with two regressors | `lec5_1_handout.pdf` | 7:28 | `lec5-1.pdf` |
| 5-2 | Omitted variables and multicollinearity | `lec5_2_handout.pdf` | 7:38 | `lec5-2.pdf` |
| 5-3 | Dummy variables | `lec5_3_handout.pdf` | 7:08 | `lec5-3.pdf` |
| 5-4 | Interaction terms and polynomials | `lec5_4_handout.pdf` | 11:33 | `lec5-4.pdf` |
| 6-1 | Multiple regression in matrix form | `lec6_1_handout.pdf` | 5:20 | `lec6-1.pdf` |
| 6-2 | Testing in multiple regression | `lec6_2_handout.pdf` | 7:32 | `lec6-2.pdf` |
| 6-3 | Heteroskedasticity, clustering and serial correlation | `lec6_3_handout.pdf` | 8:37 | `lec6-3.pdf` |
## Layout
Each lecture folder under `lectures/` holds its slide source at the top. The slides are released as
handouts, one page per slide, all in `lectures/_handouts/`. The version with the step-by-step
reveals, for presenting, is not stored here; build it from the source (below).
| Path | Holds |
|---|---|
| `lec .tex` | slide source |
| `code/*.R` | scripts that draw the figures and print the numbers on the slides |
| `code/*.txt` | the scripts' printed output, which the slides quote |
| `code/data/` | the data the scripts read |
| `figs/` | every figure the slides include |
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