SHARE Summer 2021: Research Opportunity with Dr. Jeremy Pressman

Project Mentor

Dr. Jeremy Pressman
Department: Political Science, Middle East Studies


Research Project Overview:

The student would work with me on the Crowd Counting Consortium (CCC), a project I co-direct with Prof. Erica Chenoweth of the Harvard Kennedy School. We count, analyze, and write about protests all over the United States on any issue. The information is publicly available at our website, crowdcounting dot org. It is for scholarly and public use. The biggest source of protest information and crowd size are media reports. RAs play a crucial role in helping gather, tally, and code the articles.


Role of a SHARE Summer Apprentice:

1) Tally (data entry) and code protest information
2) Learn to consistently ‘translate’ news article into usable information for those interested in protests
3) Become familiar with using a google spreadsheet

I expect the RA to learn useful research skills for gathering and organizing data. They will also learn about the US protest environment, the geography of protest, and the issues that bring people into the streets. I’d like to do a short, joint writing project as well so they will gain some experience in drafting, writing, and communicating with co-author. I would work with the RA to learn about the larger project and share some short readings about the CCC. Together, we would look for an interesting angle to write a blog post together for the CCC blog (e.g. A Month of Protests in Connecticut; or, How Crowd Sizes Vary by Issue Area; or something else that intrigues them as they work with and tally data)


Summer Schedule/Time Commitment:

All the work is remote. Weekly hours are flexible, though some RAs find it easier to pick set times. I would prefer the project to start in May.


Preferred Qualifications:

Academic interest in protests, social movements, democracy, and the like are a plus.
Prefer some coursework in POLS and/or SOCI but not required.
Attention to detail and consistency is important.


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. In addition to the question on the outline, applicants for this position will be asked the following question:

  • Have you previously gathered and entered data in any settings (e.g., an office job, for a course, as an intern, as a research assistant)? Please describe. (500 word maximum)