UROP Project

A Literature and Case Review of Political Consumerism and Corporate Accountability

political consumerism, consumer boycotts, corporate accountability, case studies
Research Mentor: Rachel Canino,
Department, College, Affiliation: Political Science, Social Sciences and Public Policy
Contact Email: rc23i@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 1
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10 hours, During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

This project studies consumerism and public policy. Familiar examples include boycotts and divestment campaigns. It is a well-established area of research spanning both historical campaigns and recent episodes. The research assistant will help build the bibliographic and empirical foundation for a larger study in two ways. First, by surveying and annotating the existing scholarly literature on when and why consumer pressure succeeds or fails. Second, by identifying and cataloging documented cases of consumer campaigns that have targeted publicly traded companies, using FSU Libraries news archives and academic databases.

Research Tasks: 1. Literature review and annotated bibliography of scholarship on political
consumerism and consumer campaigns

2. Identifying and cataloging documented consumer-pressure campaigns such as
boycotts, divestment, and subscription cancellations, drawn from news archives and
academic sources

3. Organizing sources and case materials into a structured, searchable format such as a
spreadsheet or a reference-manager library

4. Writing short thematic summaries that synthesize what the collected sources show

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: None required. The student will be taught how to build an annotated bibliography, evaluate and synthesize scholarly sources, and organize research materials. A willingness to read closely and to learn FSU Libraries research databases is helpful and recommended, but neither required nor expected in advance.

Mentoring Philosophy

My approach to mentoring begins from the belief that research skills are learned by doing, with guidance. Early on, I work with the student to understand what they want from the experience, whether that is preparing for graduate study, strengthening their writing and analytical skills, or simply learning how research works, and I shape their role around those goals. I give students ownership of a clearly defined part of the project so their contribution is genuinely their own, and I pair that independence with regular, low-pressure check-ins where questions and mistakes are treated as a normal part of learning. I see my job as teaching concrete, transferable skills, such as how to find and evaluate sources, build an annotated bibliography, and synthesize a body of literature, while gradually handing over more responsibility as the student's confidence grows.

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