Research Opportunities
Undergraduates can take advantage of opportunities to participate in the latest research happening in the world of political science. Gov92r allows you to conduct research in the Government department for academic credit. It is graded SAT/UNSAT. If you are interested in any of these projects, please contact the supervisors directly. You will need to submit the Gov 92r form (available here) to Karen Kaletka before you can register for the course on my.harvard.
Fall 2024
Prof. Danielle Allen
Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation
The Lab for Democracy Renovation, under the direction of Professor Danielle Allen (“Allen Lab”),” seeks to address threats to American and global democracies with research and field-building in support of robust political equality, fully inclusive institutions, and broader avenues for participation and connectedness, all of which rest on the material and social bases for human flourishing. The Lab seeks research assistants to support its ongoing research on aspirational federalism; AI and democracy; civic learning in K-12, higher education, and beyond; and the impact of political/electoral reform on political behavior and policy outcomes. Applicants should specify their area of interest.
Prerequisites (courses and/or methodological skills): Demonstrated interest in one of the above topics through coursework, previous employment, or other activities.
Contact: If you’re interested, send a CV and a short paragraph on why this project interests you to: Darshan Goux, Senior Lab Director darshan_goux@hks.harvard.edu
Prof. Ryan Enos
The Exceptional United States
A large-scale project researching how the extraordinary geographic size, ethnic diversity, and democratic governance in the United States has shaped the political and social experience of citizens overtime and today.
Prerequisites (courses and/or methodological skills): previous research experience
Contact: If you’re interested, send a CV and a short paragraph on why this project interests you to: Ryan Enos renos@gov.harvard.edu
Prof. Naijia Liu
Recommendation Algorithm and Big Data Collection
For this project, we are going to collect massive amounts of data from video platforms (such as YouTube) to study the current status of algorithm bias. RA should be fluent in R and / or python and be involved in scraping process. Potential opportunity to co-author and / or utilize the data collected for senior thesis.
Prerequisites (courses and/or methodological skills): Fluent in R coding language and basic text analysis in R. Additional Python skill is not required but preferred.
Contact: If you’re interested, send a CV and a short paragraph on why this project interests you to: Naijia Liu, naijialiu@fas.harvard.edu
Prof. Dustin Tingley
Politics and Economics of Energy
I am researching and teaching courses on the politics and economics of energy. This research explores a range of topics from how to change systems of energy production, distribution, and consumption to understanding the impact of new legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act on business and community decisions.
Prerequisites (courses and/or methodological skills): No prerequisites.
Contact: If you’re interested, send a CV and a short paragraph on why this project interests you to: Prof. Dustin Tingley, dtingley@gov.harvard.edu
Dr. Julie Anne Weaver
Understanding and Combating Democratic Erosion Around the World
The Democratic Erosion Consortium is seeking motivated students to engage in cutting-edge and policy-relevant research on democratic erosion and resilience in comparative perspective. The Consortium is a partnership of researchers, students, policymakers, and practitioners committed to marshaling evidence and learning to address the growing crisis of democratic erosion worldwide. This semester, students can collaborate on one or more of the following projects: 1) expand and improve the Democratic Erosion Event Dataset (DEED), an original dataset on the precursors and symptoms of democratic backsliding around the world; 2) develop policy briefs on democratic backsliding and resilience; and 3) further our research on democratic erosion in the United States. Students will work individually and in teams under the direction of Dr. Julie Anne Weaver (Harvard) and Dr. Hannah Baron (Tulane), and in collaboration with the other Consortium Co-Directors (Prof. Robert Blair, Brown University; Prof. Laura Paler, American University; Prof. Jessica Gottlieb, University of Houston). Students will build professional and research skills, learning how to code and analyze qualitative and quantitative data on democratic backsliding in countries across the world and produce independent policy analyses. Please find more information about the Consortium here (https://www.democratic-erosion.com/).
Prerequisites (courses and/or methodological skills): Required: Self-starter, effective and reliable communicator, accountable team member, creative; Preferred: Exposure to and/or interest in academic research on democracy and democratic erosion; Experience with Stata or R; proficiency in Powerpoint and/or Overleaf/Beamer; and/or experience developing educational materials.
Contact: If you’re interested, send a CV and a short paragraph on why this project interests you to: julieanneweaver@fas.harvard.edu