Explore Courses

PIDE School of Economics

PIDE School of Policy, Development and Governance

Economics

Econometrics

Environmental Economics

Economics and Finance

Business Economics

PIDE School of Policy, Development and Governance

Public Policy

Development Studies

Management Sciences

Judgment and Decision Making with Data (PPG-820/DS-820)

Prerequisites For this Course:

None

Text Book(s):

  • Data-driven talent management: Using analytics to improve employee experience by Kristin Saling.
  • Public policy analytics: Code and context for data science in government. By Ken Steif
  • Big data science and analytics for smart sustainable urbanism. by Simon Elias Bibri
  • Data science for public policy by Jeffrey C. Chen, Edward A. Rubin and Gary J. Comwall
  • R for political data science: A practical guide by Francisco Urdinez and Andres Cruz
  • Be data driven: How organizations can harness the power of data by Jordan Morrow
  • Value driven data: Identifying, communicating and delivering effective business solutions with data by Edosa Odaro.

Reference Book(s):

  • Data-driven systems and intelligent applications by Mangesh M. Ghonge, N. Krishna Chaitanya, Pradeep N. Harish Garg, and Alessandro Bruno.
  • Applied data science: Lessons learned for data-driven business by Martin Braschler, Thilo Stadelmann and Kurt Stockinger.
  • Predictive analytics for data-driven decision making: Tools and techniques for solving real-world problems by L. Ashok, R. Sujhata and B. Uma Maheswari
  • Data science applied to sustainability analysis by Jennifer Dunn, and Prasanna Balaprakash
  • Reimaging digital learning for sustainable development: How upskilling, data analytics, and educational technologies close the skills gap by Sheila Jagannathan

Web links:

Course Description

This course is developed to equip students with skills needed for market-driven applications and academic research in the field of Judgment and Decision making. The course aims to learn, how to utilize data for efficient and relevant decision making in the fields of Public Policy and Development Studies. Specifically, the focus is on better decision-making on public policy and development issues of Pakistan.

Course Objectives

After successful completion the students would be able to demonstrate problem solving skills in the field of decision making using available information (Data). The student would be able to compare and debate on goals of an economy or an organization and conclude with plausible solutions. With hands on training, the participants would be able to summarize and conclude judgment and decision making problems independently. The participants will,

  • Specialize in the field of Judgment and Decision Making with data
  • Be equipped with ample knowledge of core concepts of supporting fields of Statistics, Mathematics and Data Analysis.
  • Have understanding of theory of change.
  • Be able to Compare and Debate on specific set of goals of an economy/organization.

Be capable of solving judgement and decision making problems through concluding and summarizing the relevant information (data sets) with the help of machine learning tools. 

Learning Outcomes

The participants will,

  • Specialize in the field of Judgment and Decision Making with data
  • Be equipped with ample knowledge of core concepts of supporting fields of Statistics, Mathematics and Data Analysis.
  • Have understanding of theory of change.
  • Be able to Compare and Debate on specific set of goals of an economy/organization.
  • Be capable of solving judgement and decision making problems through concluding and summarizing the relevant information (data sets) with the help of machine learning tools.

Lecture Plan

Session Topic Readings Activities Relevant CLO
Module # 1: Theory of Decision making and Data Curation
Week-1 Orientation and Subject Related Discussion TB/RB, Handout/ppt and link#1 General discussion  
Planning and Designing of the Course TB/RB, Handouts/ppt and link#1 Group discussion  
Week-2 Pedagogical technique & Class assessment TB/RB, Handouts/ppt and link#1 General and Group discussion  
Types of Data (Primary, Secondary, Qualitative, Quantitative, etc.) TB/RB, Handouts/ppt and link#2 General Discussion, Subject Related Discussion  
Week-3 Time Series Data, Cross Sectional Data, Financial Time series Data TB/RB, Handouts/ppt and link#2 Skill: How to Download Book using LibGen, Scilab  
Data Curation Life Cycle TB/RB, Handouts/ppt and link#2 Access to Financial Data; Intro to data handling software; Assignment#1  
Module # 2: Essential tools – Mathematics and Statistics
Week-4 Introduction to Core concepts of Mathematics TB/RB and Handouts/ppt Subject specific Discussion; Hands-on practice  
Non-Conventional approach to Calculus; Theory of Numbers, Intervals, Functions. TB/RB and Handouts/ppt General Discussion; Hands-on practice  
Week-5 Straight Line, Polynomials, Algebraic, Exponential and Logarithmic functions. TB/RB and Handouts/ppt General Discussion; Hands-on practice  
Essential Statistical tools: MCTs, MDs, Data Visualization, Sampling, Inference TB/RB and ppt General Discussion; Hands-on practice  
Week-6 Hypotheses testing, ANOVA, Bivariate Analysis, Simple Linear regression, Basic probability, etc. TB/RB and ppt General Discussion; Hands-on practice; Lab-based Assignment#2  
Data-driven decision making Case Studies: “Hand wash practices”, “Open defecation” Handouts/ppt Group discussion on the core material  
Week-7 Case Studies Continued: “Stipend for female students”, “Bonus or percentage in recovery” Handouts/ppt Group discussion; Quiz#1  
Introduction to Big data: Sources & Types Ppt/WebLink#8 (Coursera) General discussion  
Week-8 Usability of Big Data in decision making Ppt/WebLink#8 (Coursera) General discussion  
MID TERM EXAM
Module # 3: Data to decisions and AI
Week-9 Machine Learning techniques; R-studio Weblinks#6and7 General discussion and Hands on practice  
Continued… Weblinks#6and7 General discussion and Hands on practice  
Week-10 Python Weblinks#6and7 General discussion and Hands on practice  
Continued… Weblinks#6and7 General discussion and Hands on practice  
Week-11 LSTM, XGBoost Weblinks#6and7 General discussion and Hands on practice  
Continued… Weblinks#6and7 Assignment#3  
Week-12 Data analytical frameworks; Data analytics and presentation skills Weblink#9 and 10 General discussion and Hands on practice  
Simulation techniques Weblink#9 and 10 Hands on practice  
Week-13 Data collection Weblink#9 and 10 Lab-based Quiz#2  
Gap assessment: Current state, Desired state, Gap Weblink#11 and 12 (HBS Online) General discussion and Hands on practice  
Week-14 Action plan; Risk mitigation etc. Weblink#11 and 12 (HBS Online) Hands on practice  
Key performance indicators (KPIs): Specific, Measurable Weblink#13 and 14 (qlik.com) Hands on practice  
Week-15 KPIs Continued: Relevant, Time Bound, Actionable etc. Weblink#13 and 14 (qlik.com) General discussion and Hands on practice  
Continued… Weblink#13 and 14 (qlik.com) General discussion and Hands on practice; Quiz#3  
Week-16 Concluding Discussion Revision and concluding group discussion; Behavioral assessment General discussion  
Final Exam