Alexandra L
- Research Program Mentor
PhD at University of California San Diego (UCSD)
Expertise
politics, international relations, public opinion, misinformation, elections, campaigns, gender and politics, congress, the president, trade policy, international institutions, war, immigration, quantitative social science, political psychology, data visualization
Bio
At Polygence, I mentor students on a wide range of topics related to politics (e.g., misinformation and fake news, political polarization, voting behavior, campaigns and elections, gender and politics, public opinion about foreign policy, political institutions like Congress and the Presidency). In addition to mentoring students on their independent research projects, I am also a college counselor and help families navigate the crazy world of college admissions. In 2023, I defended my dissertation at the University of California, San Diego where I used insights from psychology to understand public opinion about foreign policy. While at UCSD, I also explored how e-learning tools influenced student learning during the covid-19 pandemic. Teaching and mentorship were my favorite parts of working at UCSD, and I'm excited to help students at Polygence identify and develop their academic passions. Before UCSD, I attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH where I pursued a major in Government and a minor in History. In my free time, I love reading and am currently working on my first novel. I look forward to working with you!Project ideas
Does the truth matter in politics?
Do voters care when politicians lie? Why is there so much misinformation in politics? And is there anything we can do about it? This project would involve reviewing relevant scholarly literature, gathering and analyzing data, and presenting results in the form of a scientific research paper, blog, social media account, or other platform of your choosing. If interested, you could use tools such as data visualization, text analysis, machine learning, or survey design to collect and analyze your data.
Why is America so polarized?
Why do Democrats and Republicans dislike each other so much today? Why does political polarization matter? And can we do anything about it? This project could involve reviewing scholarly literature, gathering and analyzing data, and presenting results in the form of a scientific research paper, blog, social media account, or other platform of your choosing. You might identify potential interventions that could help decrease polarization in your school or community. If interested, you could use research methods such as data visualization, text analysis, questionnaire design, or interviews.
Why is the U.S. supporting the war in Ukraine?
In general, why do countries go to war? And when do other countries decide to help them? Does the American public care about foreign policy? This project might entail reading scholarly literature, gathering and analyzing data, and presenting results in the form of an essay, op-ed, or other platform of your choosing. If interested, you could explore these questions from a historical perspective using online archival resources.
Is Congress accountable to the people?
Do members of the Senate or House of Representatives care what their constituents want? Why or why not? If they don't, how do they decide what to do in Congress (do they listen to corporations or interest groups? Do they just do what the president wants? what their party wants?) How could we increase accountability in the U.S. Congress? This project could involve reviewing scholarly literature, gathering and analyzing data, and presenting results in the form of a scientific research paper, blog, social media account, or other platform of your choosing. You might identify potential interventions that could increase accountability of Members of Congress to their constituents.
How to Win an Election
How do voters decide who to vote for? How much does political party drive their decisions? Do they care about issues, or just about the economy? If they care about issues, which ones (foreign policy? civil rights? immigration? abortion? taxes? tariffs?) What role does the media (traditional news media or social media) play in campaigns and elections? Do the decisions candidates make during elections (like ads) even matter? This project could involve reviewing scholarly literature, gathering and analyzing data, and presenting results in the form of a scientific research paper, blog, social media account, or other platform of your choosing. If interested, you could use research methods such as surveys or interviews to understand how people in your community decide how to vote.
How powerful is the President?
How powerful is the President of the United States? Do they have more power over certain types of policy (e.g., immigration policy) than others? Why? Do they need to cooperate with Congress? Are they accountable to the voters? And how has this changed over time? This project could involve reviewing scholarly literature, gathering and analyzing data, and presenting results in the form of a scientific research paper, blog, social media account, or other platform of your choosing. You might identify potential interventions that could increase accountability of the President to the people.