- Docente: Paolo Verme
- Credits: 8
- SSD: SECS-S/03
- Language: Italian
- Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
- Campus: Bologna
- Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Statistical Sciences (cod. 8873)
Course contents
The course is structured into three parts of approximately 20 hours each.
The first part aims to introduce students to contemporary statistical computing methods preparatory to the use of online databases and research reproducibility. This part covers the use of essential software for scientific production and reproduction, such as LaTeX, Rstudio, and Quarto, and methods for using online data, such as APIs, SDMX, and Web Scraping.
The second part aims to cover the contents of the most important online databases, both globally and in Italy, such as the websites of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the OECD, Eurostat, the Bank of Italy, and ISTAT. The contents of these databases will be explored using the computing tools covered in the first part of the program, such as APIs and SDMX.
The third part covers standard statistical tools, such as index construction and linear regression applied to the data examined in the second part. Particular attention is paid to the distinction between macroeconomic time series analysis, where the observation unit is a year/country statistic available in databases, and microeconomic data, where the observation units are information on individuals or households generated by sample surveys.
Readings/Bibliography
Class slides produced by the teacher and posted on the course website after each lecture.
Teaching methods
All lessons include a theoretical part discussed by the teacher through slides in class and an applied part with practical demonstrations of how to use the theoretical tools with real data taken from online databases.
Assessment methods
The exam consists of a single test that includes theoretical and applied questions. Students may decline their grade once.
Office hours
See the website of Paolo Verme