Project Number: 1
Faculty: Faye Taxman
Rank: University Professor
Title: National Evaluation of Stepping Up
Project Description: The study examines how reforms are made at the local level to decarcerate jails and better provide for those with mental illness in the community.
Job Description: Data collection, Coding (data entry), Managing spreadsheets or databases; organizing data, Support in conducting interviews, arranging appointments for interviews, or logistics related to research of this kind, Translation, Proofreading, editing, and/or manuscript preparation
Necessary Skills: Microsoft Office
Desired Skills: Interest in justice policy
Project Number: 2
Faculty: Jim Olds
Rank: University Professor of Neuroscience and Public Policy
Title: Building verifiable carbon sequestration markets
Project Description: Carbon markets don't work unless the amount of carbon sequestered can be verifiably measured. At present this component of carbon markets hasn't been invented and presents a policy challenge for governments. In this project, we are examining the use of data from the NSF's National Ecological Observatory Network to design such functionality.
Job Description: Coding (data entry), Managing spreadsheets or databases; organizing data, Support in statistical analysis, writing code, scraping data, etc., Proofreading, editing, and/or manuscript preparation
Necessary Skills: Must be able to download and conduct statistical analysis on large on-line datasets.
Desired Skills: R, Python
Project Number: 3
Faculty: Michael Fauntroy
Rank: Associate Professor/Director, RPPC
Title: Literature Review on Race, Politics, and Policy
Project Description: I am launching a continuing research project to develop a (near) comprehensive annotated bibliography of the seminal research on race, politics, and public policy. I need a student who can assist with identifying to citations and preparing the review.
Job Description: Writing literature summaries
Project Number: 4
Faculty: Justin Gest
Rank: Associate Professor
Title: Democratic Drain
Project Description: "Democratic Drain" is a book project focused on the effect of emigration on the prospects for democracy in migrants' countries of origin. Based on interviews and extensive polling in dozens of countries around the world, we study the depletion of people with democratic attitudes from countries teetering on the edge of democracy and authoritarianism. Our URAP will contribute to the process of book-writing.
Job Description: Writing literature summaries, Library research, Translation, Proofreading, editing, and/or manuscript preparation
Necessary Skills: It would be helpful for the URA to read and speak in Arabic or one of the languages of Eastern Europe. Other foreign languages are also welcome.
Project Number: 5
Faculty: Bonnie Stabile
Rank: Associate Dean for Student and Academic Affairs, Associate Professor
Title: Inclusive Syllabi in MPA Programs
Project Description: We plan to review syllabi from Public Administration core courses at Mason and a sample of other universities to assess how inclusive they are with regard to representation of women and underrepresented minorities among faculty, authors of literature used for the course, subject matter of the course literature and guest speaker.
Job Description: Data collection; Coding (data entry); Managing spreadsheets or databases; organizing data; Library research; Support in conducting interviews, arranging appointments for interviews, or logistics related to research of this kind
Necessary Skills: A general interest in the subject and willingness to learn; attention to detail.
Project Number: 6
Faculty: Jennifer Victor
Rank: Associate Professor
Title: Congressional Caucuses Data Collection
Project Description: I seek to work with 2 - 4 students who will collaboratively contribute to a long-term data collection effort for recording congressional caucus memberships. Student RAs will record individual-level data in a spreadsheet from an existing source. No experience necessary. Students will also be expected to participate in weekly research lab meetings (Fridays at 4pm).
Job Description: Data collection, Coding (data entry), Managing spreadsheets or databases; organizing data
Necessary Skills: No experience necessary.
Desired Skills: Experience managing data in Excel is useful.
Project Number: 7
Faculty: Jennifer Victor
Rank: Associate Professor
Title: Book manuscript assistant for *Connecting Congress*
Project Description: I seek 1 - 2 research assistants to provide general support for a book manuscript in progress. The research assistant will help with discovering, reading, and summarizing literature; copy editing; project management; data collection. Students with a genuine interest in studying US Congress and strong organizational and writing skills are encouraged to apply.
Job Description: Writing literature summaries, Library research, Support in conducting interviews, arranging appointments for interviews, or logistics related to research of this kind, Proofreading, editing, and/or manuscript preparation
Necessary Skills: Organizational skills
Desired Skills: Writing skills
Project Number: 8
Faculty: Jennifer Victor
Rank: Associate Professor
Title: Building a relational database of the US Congress
Project Description: Description: I seek 1- 2 skilled research assistants to join an existing team working to create a relational database of legislative activity from existing data. The ideal applicant has experience with, and enthusiasm, for programming in R or SQL. Students who are interested in expanding existing data science skills to applications related to legislative networks are encouraged to apply.
Job Description: Managing spreadsheets or databases; organizing data, Support in statistical analysis, writing code, scraping data, etc.
Necessary Skills: Working familiarity with R and/or SQL
Desired Skills: Experience building a relational database; experience with tidyverse, ggplot, statnet, or igraph R packages.
Project Number: 9
Faculty: Bassam Haddad
Rank: Director of the Middle East and Islamic Studies Program
Title: Knowledge Production Project
Project Description: Knowledge Production Project is a dynamic, open-access archive, search tool, and data visualization platform. This project, almost a decade in the making, endeavors to gather, organize, and make available for analysis all knowledge produced on the Middle East since 1979, in nine databases. The Knowledge Production Project is seeking a research assistant to work on all nine of its databases.
Job Description: Data collection, Coding (data entry), Managing spreadsheets or databases; organizing data
Project Number: 10
Faculty: Michael Hunzeker
Rank: Assistant Professor
Title: Mapping the Cross-Strait Military Balance
Project Description: I am trying to build a detailed map of the cross-Strait military balance. To pull this off, I need a small team of RAs who can help me scour open source documents in order to build an accurate map of American, Chinese, Japanese, and Taiwanese military bases, ports, airfields, radar sites, silos, urban centers, beaches, navigable waterways, MSRs, etc. This map will help support future policy research on cross-Strait security and stability.
Job Description: Data collection, Managing spreadsheets or databases; organizing data, Library research, Translation
Necessary Skills: Potential RAs should be interested in East Asian security and/or military affairs; and they must be responsible, reliable, and able to work independently.
Desired Skills: A military background, familiarity with military terminology, and/or the ability to read simplified and traditional Mandarin characters are all desirable (but certainly not required)
Project Number: 11
Faculty: Lucas Núñez
Rank: Assistant Professor
Title: Military Service and Electoral Performance
Project Description: "Military service is thought by many to ingrain veterans with characteristics usually perceived as essential to leadership. Conventional wisdom suggests that military veterans should have an advantage when running for office over their non-veteran counterparts. But is that the case?
This project aims at determining the impact of past military service on the electoral performance of political candidates, as well as the legislative performance of those who are successful. A significant portion of the work will be devoted to data collection, particularly on past military service of primary election candidates for federal offices.
In addition to studying the electoral performance of these candidates, the project will seek to understand how these candidates differ in their campaigning relative to non-veteran candidates, with particular attention to campaign website biographies and press releases. "
Job Description: Data collection, Coding (data entry), Managing spreadsheets or databases; organizing data, Library research, Support in statistical analysis, writing code, scraping data, etc.
Necessary Skills: Attention to detail, willingness to learn, independent worker.
Desired Skills: Experience with manipulating data in Excel; experience in Stata or R
Project Number: 12
Faculty: Paul Bubbosh
Rank: Adjunct Professor
Title: Climate Action Plan Implementation
Project Description: Work with a local government and community to implement a climate action plan. This work requires modifying research completed by URAP students and applying the research with a local Virginia community. The project involves working closely with local government and community members, attending and facilitating meetings (evenings only), and developing and writing a climate action plan.
Job Description: Support in conducting interviews, arranging appointments for interviews, or logistics related to research of this kind, Implementing a climate action plan with a local Virginia community
Necessary Skills: Comfort level with speaking in front of groups and engaging local government and community members in a dialogue about climate action plans.
Desired Skills: Outgoing personality; willing to travel within Northern Virginia at least 1 evening per month.