UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #505

Submission information
Submission Number: 505
Submission ID: 8796
Submission UUID: f2c8f770-80f2-4c13-857e-4d231d98fe8e

Created: Sun, 08/20/2023 - 03:47 PM
Completed: Sun, 08/20/2023 - 03:47 PM
Changed: Mon, 08/21/2023 - 11:30 AM

Remote IP address: 73.118.90.93
Submitted by: Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No
Primary Research Mentor Name Damian Boldt
Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns
When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific? Mr.
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) dmb19d@fsu.edu
Position Title Graduate Student
Faculty Advisor Name
Faculty Advisor's FSU Email
FSU College (if applicable) Social Sciences and Public Policy
FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation Political Science
Headshot (optional)
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from above)
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Pronouns
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Honorific?
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated)
Name of Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) (if applicable)
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Pronouns
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Honorific?
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated)
Title of the Project Theory and Hypothesis Testing with Panel Data
Project Keywords political science; data science; hypothesis testing; causal inference; panel data
Are you currently looking for research assistants? Yes
Number of Research Assistants Needed 2
Relevant Research Assistant Major(s) Political Science
Economics
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
If the project location is off campus, does the research assistant(s) need to provide their own transportation?
Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s): In-person
Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work? 8-10 hours
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 This project aims to understand how political scientists typically formulate hypotheses and test null hypotheses using panel data (i.e., multiple units observed over multiple time periods). Panel data are frequently used to test theories in a variety of sub-fields of political science including international relations, comparative politics, American politics, and public policy. Recent advances in political methodology suggest that statistical models such as linear regression and fixed effects regression estimate different quantities of interest than what social scientists believed for many years. This project seeks to understand how political scientists typically formulate hypotheses in panel data settings to understand the theoretical comparisons that political scientists view as reasonable. The project also aims to compare these hypotheses to the null hypothesis tests that are actually implemented in quantitative analysis. To accomplish these goals, we will collect data on hypotheses and empirical tests that use panel data and appear in the top journals in Political Science (APSR, AJPS, and JOP), in addition to sub-field journals such as International Organization, Comparitive Politics, Journal of Conflict Resolution, and more. This data will be used to quantify how political scientists formulate hypotheses and the extent to which their empirical approaches match theoretically relevant hypotheses, in an attempt to understand how large the gap between theory and empirical tests is in practice. This project aims to produce a publicly available data set, in addition to academic output (e.g., peer-reviewed publications), and public-facing output.
Research Tasks Data Collection
Literature Review
Preliminary Data Analysis
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required:
Library database research skills
Preliminary data entry and management skills

Recommended:
Familiarity with hypothesis testing
Familiarity with social science research methods
Mentoring Philosophy My mentorship philosophy is grounded in transparency, honesty, and communication, and fostering a truly collaborative experience. I believe in setting out clear expectations on how tasks should be accomplished and the anticipated timeline for completion. At the same time, I want mentees to communicate their personal goals of what they want to get out of working on a project. I start out the beginning of a work relationship with a new mentee by meeting with them and discussing their short- and long-term professional goals and asking them to write down a list of things they want to get out of working with me on a project. I also believe in providing timely, regular feedback on mentees’ performance, with a goal of providing verbal and written feedback. At the same time, I encourage mentees to provide me with feedback. A two-way street of open and honest communication is crucial to productive research and accomplishing our respective goals. I also believe in opportunities for hands-on demonstration of tasks when mentees are embarking on a new research task or express that they find a certain task to be overly challenging. I believe that demonstration is crucial for effective mentorship so that mentees have an opportunity to truly learn how to do a particular skill before they need to implement it independently. Furthermore, I never want a mentee to perform a task that I would not do myself. Finally, I want all mentees to feel comfortable making suggestions on how to improve research.
Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable):
Please add any additional information here (if applicable):
Roundtable times and Zoom links Thursday, Sept. 7 from 6:00 to 6:30pm (Zoom link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/99415704736)
Friday, Sept. 8 from 1:30 to 2:00pm (Zoom link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/96301462218)
Friday, Sept. 8 from 3:30 to 4:00pm (Zoom link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/96321700237)
Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication Yes
UROP Performance Evaluation Yes
Materials Grant Yes
UROP Poster Presentation Yes
Faculty Advisor Confirmation
Are you interested in attending in a UROP Research Mentor Workshop Series?
Year 2023
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