UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #746

Research Mentor Information
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Primary Research Mentor Name: Carl Kitchens
Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns: {Empty}
When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific?: Dr. 
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): ckitchens@fsu.edu
Position Title: Faculty
FSU College (if applicable): Social Sciences and Public Policy
FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation: Economics
Headshot (optional): https://cre.fsu.edu/system/files/webform/urop_project_proposal_portal/14356/Carl-Kitchens-2023-4x4.jpg

Additional Research Mentor(s)
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Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from above): Luke Rodgers
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Pronouns: {Empty}
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Honorific?: Dr. 
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): lprodgers@fsu.edu
Name of Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) (if applicable): {Empty}
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Pronouns: {Empty}
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Honorific?: {Empty}
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): {Empty}

Overall Project Details
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Title of the Project: Economics of Education in the early 20th Century
Project Keywords: education statistics, economics, human capital
Are you currently looking for research assistants?: No
Number of Research Assistants Needed : 3
Relevant Research Assistant Major(s):
Economics, History, Education, Demography,  Sociology, Political Science, Finance,  International Social Studies, Open to all majors

Project Location:: On FSU Main Campus
If the project location is off campus, does the research assistant(s) need to provide their own transportation?: {Empty}
Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s):: Partially Remote
Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work?: 8
Roughly what time frame do you expect research assistant(s) to work?: Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Overall Research Project Description:
During WWI, agricultural commodity prices spiked as Europe entered war. In the United States, this led to large increases in crop prices and wages. In this project, we want to understand how rising wages affect long term educational outcomes. For individuals nearing high school completion, high wages may result in students dropping out to enter the labor force. However, for younger children, higher wages mean that their parents have more resources to invest, possibly leading to increases in education for cohorts just beginning school. 

A key part of this project will involve the collection of enrollment and funding statistics from state boards of education prior to and after World War I. These data in combination with variation in local labor market conditions will make it possible to eventually estimate the statistical relationship. 

Research Tasks:
Data collection and data entry from historical publications from state department of education documents. 
The tasks only requires access to an internet connection, computer, and shared storage (i.e., FSU OneDrive account). 

Skills that research assistant(s) may need::
No prior experience is required. We are looking for students who pay close attention to detail and are diligent. 

Mentoring Philosophy:
One factor that led me to graduate school was the interaction that I had with faculty outside of the classroom. Had I not experience those interactions, I would have never wound up where I am today, thinking that all faculty members did was teach. I had no idea that research and pushing to frontier of knowledge was in the job description.  Therefore, I strive to incorporate undergraduates into research, to expose them to areas of the university they may not otherwise experience, cultivate curiosity, and develop hard skills. 

I also recognize that the time of a UROP project is much shorter than a broader research project.  That is why I think it is important to highlight where one objective carried out in the UROP program fits into a broader research question or agenda. 

While not everyone will decide research is for them, I am proud that one of my former mentees took a job at the Federal Reserve as a research assistant, and hopes to apply to Ph.D. programs in Economics this year. 

Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable):: https://sites.google.com/site/kitchct/
Please add any additional information here (if applicable)::
The project is closely related to our prior work that explores how WWI shaped families through fertility: https://academic.oup.com/ej/article/133/656/2978/7209890




Are you interested in participating in the UROP Research Mentor Roundtable?: No
Roundtable times and Zoom links:
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UROP Program Elements
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Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication: Yes
UROP Performance Evaluation: Yes
Materials Grant: Yes
UROP Poster Presentation: Yes

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Year: 2024
update url: https://cre.fsu.edu/urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal?element_parents=elements/research_mentor_information/headshot_optional_&ajax_form=1&_wrapper_format=drupal_ajax&token=vPGR-U22wZGQdyNJqjDiyg6OcgCz8PN8fXtpvhXzeTo