Jennifer L
- Research Program Mentor
PhD candidate at Northwestern University
Expertise
Political psychology, Political behavior, Public opinion, Political Science, American Politics, Survey research, Social networks, GIS in R, R programming, Text as data, Machine Learning, Data visualization, Data science
Bio
I am a Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science at Northwestern University. My research interests surround topics in American politics and I use computational social science methods to answer my questions. My research surrounds topics of morality, partisanship, social networks and place of residence and how these factors influence personal political attitudes and behaviors. I use a variety of methods including text as data, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in R and machine learning in my work. I largely code in R but am happy to mentor students who have minimal background in data science. Outside of academics, I am a big fan of The Office and Parks and Recreation. I love to cook (my friends think I make the best chicken noodle soup) and I love to travel. My favorite thing to do at airports is plane spotting since I am quite a fan of airplanes too. I am originally from Miami, Florida but now live in Chicago, Illinois.Project ideas
Is 'The Squad' a Squad? Legislative Network Cohesion and Effective Lawmaking
When elected to Congress, lawmakers often have varying priorities that reflect what they promise their constituents on the campaign trail. However, getting a law passes is a lot of work (cue "I'm just a Bill" from School House Rock). Therefore, lawmakers often find it easier to collaborate with each other to write, sponsor and advertise their policy ideas. A notable example of this is seen among the members of The Squad. They share similar legislative priorities including Medicare for All. So, how do members in this Squad collaborate and can we spot other "squads" out in the floor of Congress that is not as well known by the public?
Love Thy Neighbor (and Their Politics?): Neighborhood Partisan Composition and Personal Political Engagement
Political behavior does not exist in a vacuum. We are more likely to vote and to tune in to political events when our families and friends do the same. However, what role does the neighborhood play? In the current political climate, if a Democrat lives in a majority Republican neighborhood, are they going to be more likely to vote and be more protective of their political attitudes compared to Democrats living in more Democratic areas? In this project, the goal is to see whether neighborhood partisanship affects behaviors like turnout and attitudes towards political issues.
The Role of Military Service on Political Attitudes
Military service often demands that the person enlisted respect the Constitution and American founding values. But people enter military service from many walks of life. How does experience in the military affect one's attitudes about American political institutions and democracy as a whole?