Data Science

by Yue Lin. How do social science researchers conduct field experiments with private actors? Yue Lin provides a brief overview of the recent developments in political economy and management strategy, with a focus on filing field experiments within private corporations. Unlike conventional targets like individuals and government agencies, private companies are an emergent sweet spot for scholars to test for important theories, such as sustainability, censorship, and market behavior. After comparing the strengths and weaknesses of this powerful yet nascent method, Lin brainstorms some practical solutions to improve the success rate of field experimental studies. She aims to introduce a new methodological tool in a nascent research field and shed some light on improving experimental quality while adhering to ethical standards.

by Elaine Luo. Adolescents constantly balance immediate impulses with long-term goals. Our research explored how adolescents differ in their tendency to think about immediate versus future consequences, and how these differences relate to academic performance, stress, and perceived life chances. Using Latent Profile Analysis, we identified three distinct groups: Indifferent (low consideration overall), Future-Focused (prioritizing future outcomes), and Dual-Focused (high consideration of both immediate and future outcomes). Results indicated the Dual-Focused adolescents had higher academic achievement, whereas the Future-Focused group perceived the most positive life prospects. A discussion on practical implications and future research direction for supporting balanced decision-making among adolescents is also provided.

by Ruiji Sun. We introduce and apply regression discontinuity to thermal comfort field studies, which are typically observational. The method utilizes policy thresholds in China, where the winter district heating policy is based on cities' geographical locations relative to the Huai River. Using the regression discontinuity method, we quantify the causal effects of the experiment treatment (district heating) on the physical indoor environments and subjective responses of building occupants. In contrast, using conventional correlational analysis, we demonstrate that the correlation between indoor operative temperature and thermal sensation votes does not accurately reflect the causal relationship between the two. This highlights the importance of causal inference methods in thermal comfort field studies and other observational studies in building science where the regression discontinuity method might apply.

by Victoria Hollingshead. FinTech promises to revolutionize financial inclusion by harnessing data science to reach populations historically excluded from formal financial systems. By analyzing digital footprints, mobile payments, and behavioral data, startups and financial institutions have the potential to improve customer-lender interactions and revolutionize screening and monitoring techniques. While FinTech shows promise of enabling financial access, it also raises critical questions: how do we implement financial inclusion without reproducing the structures of the past? And more rhetorically, can financiers be the arbiters of financial inclusion, if their intrinsic role is to stratify and exclude?