The application deadline has passed, applying is no longer possible
This course is targeted at social scientists without advanced programming skills who are seeking to enhance their research with AI tools (specifically, large language models or LLMs).
As a foundation for the course, you will first receive an accessible introduction to nature and behavior of large language models (LLMs), with a focus on models like ChatGPT. The course will then turn to basic principles of interacting with LLMs (sometimes called “prompt engineering”) and the differences between various LLMs (ChatGPT, Claude 2, Bard, etc.).
The latter part of the course focuses on the application of LLMs to social science research questions and will be tailored to the ideas and projects that you hope to improve or expand with LLM tools. The course uses covered in the class include, but are not limited to, using LLMs to generate simulated or synthetic samples, testing survey instruments, as a tool in text coding/annotation, and as dynamic experimental treatments. You will also get a brief introduction into how to interact with LLMs through APIs, using R and RStudio.
The goal of the course is to offer accessible, hands-on experiences with LLMs. By the end of this course, participants will be equipped to begin to integrate LLMs into their research projects and workflow.
