ECON 1117
Introduction to Data Analysis and Econometrics
Complete Study Guide — All 14 Chapters
Independent Study Resource
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Yale University
Aligned with the Yale ECON 1117 syllabus
Built from OpenStax OER (CC BY 4.0) and original content
Edition 2026
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,Table of Contents
1. From Economic Question to Data
2. Data Quality, Sampling, and Measurement
3. Probability Foundations
4. Descriptive Statistics and Exploration
5. Sampling Distributions and Inference
6. Hypothesis Testing and P-Values
7. Confidence Intervals and Effect Size
8. Selection, Causation, and Counterfactuals
9. Regression Foundations
10. Model Specification and Interpretation
11. Multiple Regression and Controls
12. Causal Inference in Practice
13. Machine Learning and Big Data
14. Empirical Research, Ethics, and Exam Strategy
15. Glossary of Key Terms
16. Formula Sheet
17. Final Exam Strategy and Study Checklist
18. References and Attribution
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, Chapter 1 — From Economic Question to Data
Learning Objectives
1. Translate an economic question into a testable empirical hypothesis.
2. Distinguish between descriptive, predictive, and causal questions.
3. Identify the unit of analysis, variables, and data structure.
4. Describe the workflow of empirical economic analysis.
Key Definitions
Term Definition
Empirical Question A question answerable through data and evidence rather than theory alone.
Descriptive Question Asks what is happening or what the data show.
Predictive Question Asks what will happen or what predicts an outcome.
Causal Question Asks whether X causes Y, not merely whether they are correlated.
Unit of Analysis The entity being studied (individual, firm, country, year).
Variable A characteristic that varies across units.
1.1 The Three Types of Empirical Questions
Every empirical project begins with a question. The type of question determines the method.
Question Type Example Method
Descriptive How has income inequality changed since 1980? Summary statistics, visualization.
Predictive What predicts whether a student graduates? Regression, machine learning.
Causal Does a minimum wage increase reduce employment? Experiments, IV, DiD, RDD.
Yale Connection
ECON 1117 emphasizes working directly and early with data, through economic examples such as
environmental/natural resource economics, intergenerational mobility, discrimination, and
finance. Topics include probability, statistics, and sampling; selection, causation and causal
inference; regression and model specification; and machine learning and big data.
Explore our developer-friendly HTML to PDF API Printed using PDFCrowd HTML to PDF
Introduction to Data Analysis and Econometrics
Complete Study Guide — All 14 Chapters
Independent Study Resource
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Yale University
Aligned with the Yale ECON 1117 syllabus
Built from OpenStax OER (CC BY 4.0) and original content
Edition 2026
Explore our developer-friendly HTML to PDF API Printed using PDFCrowd HTML to PDF
,Table of Contents
1. From Economic Question to Data
2. Data Quality, Sampling, and Measurement
3. Probability Foundations
4. Descriptive Statistics and Exploration
5. Sampling Distributions and Inference
6. Hypothesis Testing and P-Values
7. Confidence Intervals and Effect Size
8. Selection, Causation, and Counterfactuals
9. Regression Foundations
10. Model Specification and Interpretation
11. Multiple Regression and Controls
12. Causal Inference in Practice
13. Machine Learning and Big Data
14. Empirical Research, Ethics, and Exam Strategy
15. Glossary of Key Terms
16. Formula Sheet
17. Final Exam Strategy and Study Checklist
18. References and Attribution
Explore our developer-friendly HTML to PDF API Printed using PDFCrowd HTML to PDF
, Chapter 1 — From Economic Question to Data
Learning Objectives
1. Translate an economic question into a testable empirical hypothesis.
2. Distinguish between descriptive, predictive, and causal questions.
3. Identify the unit of analysis, variables, and data structure.
4. Describe the workflow of empirical economic analysis.
Key Definitions
Term Definition
Empirical Question A question answerable through data and evidence rather than theory alone.
Descriptive Question Asks what is happening or what the data show.
Predictive Question Asks what will happen or what predicts an outcome.
Causal Question Asks whether X causes Y, not merely whether they are correlated.
Unit of Analysis The entity being studied (individual, firm, country, year).
Variable A characteristic that varies across units.
1.1 The Three Types of Empirical Questions
Every empirical project begins with a question. The type of question determines the method.
Question Type Example Method
Descriptive How has income inequality changed since 1980? Summary statistics, visualization.
Predictive What predicts whether a student graduates? Regression, machine learning.
Causal Does a minimum wage increase reduce employment? Experiments, IV, DiD, RDD.
Yale Connection
ECON 1117 emphasizes working directly and early with data, through economic examples such as
environmental/natural resource economics, intergenerational mobility, discrimination, and
finance. Topics include probability, statistics, and sampling; selection, causation and causal
inference; regression and model specification; and machine learning and big data.
Explore our developer-friendly HTML to PDF API Printed using PDFCrowd HTML to PDF
