Project Mentor
Dr. Christin Munsch
Department: Sociology
Research Project Overview:
Broadly, this research project is about university and academic culture, particularly in the social sciences. A lot of research has looked at university culture from the perspective of students. This project is interested in university culture from the perspective of faculty. One way to study this culture is to read and analyze the things social scientists write, like their research. On the surface, social science research appears to be strictly factual and reads like a dispassionate search for knowledge or “truth.” (This is accomplished by things like writing in the third person and avoiding the use of emotionally charged words.) In actuality, however, professors (like everyone else) are influenced by the larger social world in which they live. For example, the research topics they chose, and the way they write up their findings, are influenced by the economic and political climate, their university’s priorities, the values of their academic departments and disciplines…. and so much more. To understand these factors, this research entails reading a particular kind of text called “comments” and “replies.” Comments are published papers in which an unsolicited (team of) researcher(s) address/criticize a recently published paper. Replies are just that – the author(s) of the original paper publish a response to the comment. These texts range in length and can be as short as 2 pages or as long as 20 pages. I have a collected a sample of these texts in PDF form across three different social science disciplines (sociology, economics and communications) and the student researcher will: 1) learn how to use qualitative software and 2) use the software to systematically code for a set of pre-identified themes in the texts. (I will teach the student how to use the software; and, having learned to use it, the student will be able to add this skill to their resume.)
Role of a SHARE Summer Apprentice:
I anticipate several learning outcomes for the research apprentice including the opportunity to learn more about the process of conducting scientific research through hands on experience. Specifically, the student will learn a series of concrete skills like how to use qualitative software and how to manage a research project. And, the student will also acquire numerous soft skills, which they will transfer to other contexts and employment opportunities including learning to:
- draw meaning from qualitative data
- to interpret sociological, economic, and communication findings
- to spot patterns and organize findings
- to extract salient information from longer resources
- to appreciate the influence of culture on behavior and practice
- to recognize their own biases and to make sound conclusions based on carefully gathered evidence.
- to process abstract and complex ideas
- to read critically and understand subtext
- to understand the connection/relationship of ideas to other strains of social and political thought
The student will meet weekly with the professor via WebEx. The initial weeks will entail having the student read about the research methodology, content analysis, learning about the qualitative software, and practicing using it to analyze texts. Then, the student will spent the majority of their time in the following weeks using the codebook to systematically code the articles using the software, and marking any instances of confusion to be discussed during our weekly meetings. These meeting will be especially useful as they will allow students to learn more about the “messiness” of actual research and how researchers make decisions when the “right” answer isn’t always clear.
Summer Schedule/Time Commitment:
- The hours are flexible; however, my preference is for a weekly commitment, even if the weekly commitment is lumped into a few weeks as opposed to spread out over the summer.
- There are no specific hours or days of the week that I need the apprentice to commit to working, however, we will need to meet weekly. I have a very flexible schedule, so we can schedule those to work with both of our schedules.
- I have no preference regarding the project beginning or ending by a specific point in the summer.
- I am able to work around other commitments an apprentice may have.
Preferred Qualifications:
This project does not require any prior research experience.
To Apply:
CLOSED – Click here to submit an online application for this research apprenticeship through the Quest Portal. The application deadline is Friday, March 26, 2021 at 11:59pm.
Click here to view an outline of the application questions. There are no additional questions specific to this apprenticeship application.