To Be a Good Scientist vs. Good Academic

I just came across an article on "The Rise of the Trump Academic," and I'm really not sure what to make of it. Of course, academic authenticity and integrity are really important. I also think sharing your work is important. I think talking about your work with smart people will increase the likelihood of developing new, good ideas. I think it's important to think carefully about the relevance of your work before submitting it--that's part of your job as a researcher. All of that said, I think the chart below is pretty much on the money.

To my past, current, and future students: I want you all to have successful careers. But I will be especially proud of you if when given the choice between being a good scientist and a good academic, you choose science. I honestly (maybe naively) believe that in the long run, the most successful academics are also the best scientists.

Source: @SciPubLab/Twitter 

Impact Evaluation In Practice

OK, that title sounds a little boring, but I just browsed through the newest edition of the book, and I'm really impressed. The book focuses on randomized control trials--especially in developing countries, but there are also chapters on all of our favorite empirical techniques (RD, DiD, etc.).  I especially like the sections describing the limitations of each of the techniques and the checklists.  Super easy and fun to read. The book has pictures and everything! Plus, it's free.

Making Sense of U.S. Geography

Have you ever needed information from two different U.S. data sets? One data set gives you county-level information, the other gives you MSA or PUMA level information. What do you do? Stare at maps hoping things will become clear? Read pages and pages of Census documentation? No! There is an easier way! Just use the Missouri Census Data Center's Geographic Correspondence Engine. Just select your source geocode, target code, and what you want to use for weights. The website will provide you an excel sheet with the appropriate cross-walks and allocation factors!

Remember to cite the page appropriately so that we continue to provide the right types of incentives for these types of "public good" projects.

Constellations in Your Data?

From our friends at xkcd.com:

Linear Regression




I often get this feeling during RD talks, but that's only because researchers are more likely to show us the data when using RD design. The issue is the same for good ol' OLS!