About This Book
A Graduate Textbook on Research Methods
Laurence Wilse-Samson NYU Wagner School of Public Policy
About This Book
This book provides a comprehensive introduction to empirical research methods for graduate students and working researchers in economics and the social sciences. It takes a question-first approach: rather than organizing around techniques, it asks what different research questions require and how various methods can address them.
The book is distinctive in several ways:
Methodologically pluralist: Quantitative and qualitative methods are treated as complements, not competitors. Each approach has strengths for particular questions.
Integration-focused: Methods don't exist in isolation. The book emphasizes how to combine approaches—triangulating evidence, understanding mechanisms, and assessing generalizability.
Practically oriented: Every chapter includes concrete guidance on implementation, common pitfalls, and when methods apply. Programming companions provide R and Python code.
Current: Coverage includes modern developments—heterogeneity-robust difference-in-differences, causal forests, double machine learning—alongside foundational methods.
Structure
The book is organized in five parts:
I. Foundations
Philosophy, data, statistics
What can empirical research tell us?
II. Description
Surveys, patterns, time series
What is happening?
III. Causation
Experiments, IV, DiD, RD, and more
What causes what?
IV. Beyond Averages
Mechanisms, heterogeneity, ML
For whom and why?
V. Integration
Triangulation, synthesis, practice
How do we build evidence?
Running Examples
Five examples recur throughout, showing how different methods address different aspects of the same substantive questions:
Returns to Education — The canonical question in labor economics
Minimum Wage and Employment — Policy evaluation across methods
Microfinance and Poverty Reduction — Development economics and RCTs
Monetary Policy Effects — Time series and macroeconomic identification
China's Post-1978 Growth — Methodological pluralism for big questions
How to Read
For a methods course: Follow the parts sequentially, selecting chapters based on course focus
For causal inference: Begin with Chapter 1, skim Chapter 3, then dive into Part III
For specific methods: Use the table of contents and cross-reference index to find relevant chapters
For implementation: Each part ends with a programming companion chapter
Citation
Wilse-Samson, Laurence. Empirical Methods for the Social Sciences. Draft, January 2026.
License and Access
This is a draft manuscript. Content is copyright the author. Feedback and corrections are welcome at lw3387@nyu.edu.
Read the Preface for more on the book's goals and approach.
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