Alan Gerber is Sterling Professor, Department of Political Science, with secondary affiliations in Statistics and Data Science, Economics, and the Jackson School. He served as the first FAS Dean of Social Science from 2015-2021. His research has focused on the use of experimental methods to study politics, the effects of campaign communications, and political psychology and behavior. His current research is focused on understanding the political economy of the use of evidence in decision-making and public policy. His academic awards include the Best Book Award from the APSA Organized Section on Experimental Research (2013), the Louis Brownlow Book Award (2018), the Donald K. Price Award (2018), and the Heinz Eulau Award for the best article in the American Political Science Review (2002). He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2009), the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences (2011), and the Society for Political Methodology (2016), and was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences (2004-2005).

How do you use data science?

My prior research in data science is the application of experimental methods to estimate causal relationships in political science, primarily through field experiments. I have many applied papers and a textbook, Field Experiments, on these methods and applications. My current interests include continuing with this previous research but focusing more on the question of what determines when evidence affects decision making and public policy.