Summer Term 2025 Research Positions

Please complete a research application and choose one of the research positions listed below (research applications available on the Undergraduate Research link or in Townshend Hall 141).  Please return your completed applications to the contact person listed for the project via email.

Below are the research projects that are available for students to work on for SOCIOL 4998 credit Summer Term 2025.  SOCIOL 4998 is one of the options that students can use to fulfill the major Experiential Learning Requirement - PLEASE NOTE, you may only count 3 hours total of research credit towards the SOCIOL-BA and CRIMINO-BA majors and 6 hours total of research credit towards the SOCIOL-BS major.  Also, remember that research experience is especially important if you are planning on applying to graduate school!

Please read the requirements for each project carefully, as some require either specific coursework or specific GPA.

The Politics of Migration Governance and Lived Realities of Afghan Migrants in the US and Abroad
Email application to Mehr Mumtaz at mumtaz.4@buckeyemail.osu.edu

The number of internally and internationally displaced people has grown exponentially over the last few decades. According to the most recent UNHCR estimates, war, violence, and persecution drove displacement to approximately 120 million. In 2021, Afghanistan had the third largest forcibly displaced population in the world, mainly due to the US military evacuation and the Taliban regime’s return to power.
 
This dissertation focuses on the politics of migration governance of recent Afghan (non) arrivals to the US to understand how US politics and policies surrounding Afghans, particularly women and ethnic minorities, (re)produces intersectional inequalities in their migration process.
 
This project will mainly employ content analysis of federal documents, which will require students to review congressional hearings and reports, presidential speeches, and press releases, that focus on politics surrounding Afghans and Afghan migration to the US, with a particular focus on women and ethnic minorities.
 
Requirements:
Students should have at least a 3.0 GPA. Preference will be given to applicants in Sociology, Political Science, Communications, Ethnic Studies or other related field. Students with previous experience or interest in content analysis of federal documents are strongly encouraged to apply.   Interested students should email me with their resume and a 200-word statement about their interest in this project.

ALL POSITIONS FILLED: Neighborhoods, Identity, and Mobility Among Somali Immigrants
Email application to Dr. Nima Dahir at dahir.13@osu.edu

This research project examines how Somali immigrants in Columbus, Ohio, navigate their racial and immigrant identities in relation to their neighborhoods and how these factors shape economic mobility. Using in-depth interviews and participant observation, the study explores how individuals experience and respond to neighborhood institutions, resources, and social dynamics. Undergraduate research assistants will help with literature reviews, transcription of interviews, and qualitative coding.

Requirements:
This position is ideal for students with an interest in race, immigration, urban sociology, and qualitative research methods. Preferred qualifications include some sociology coursework, especially in race, immigration, or urban sociology and an interest in / experience with qualitative data analysis. Somali language skills are ideal but not required. 1-3 students needed.

Online and Offline White Supremacist Mobilization
Email application to Jack Wippell at wippell.1@osu.edu

White supremacist mobilization is on the rise. This project explores the dynamic relationship between the online and offline activities of white supremacist groups in the United States and Europe. Specifically, the research assistant will be involved in using the online posts of these groups to build a novel database of different types of offline events (e.g. propaganda, training, protest).

Requirements:
Research experience is not required, but having taken a class in research methods is preferable. Interested students should send a short paragraph expressing why they are interested in the project along with a CV to wippell.1@osu.edu .

(Living) Echoes of Abolition Democracy from the Social Gospel Era
E-mail application to Dr. Townsand Price-Spratlen at price-spratlen.1@osu.edu

This project explores determinants of social movement formation, and narratives from sermons delivered during the era of the Black Social Gospel, 1880 to 1940. It is a sociological exploration of a highly consequential period of U.S. history. The Social Gospel Era began with the Reconstruction Era, in the 1870s, shortly after the end of chattel slavery and the Civil War in the U.S. The Black Social Gospel arose during this time, as a search for justice, and an organized resistance to the rise and actions of the “Southern Compromise,” restrictive Black Codes, and 19th century mass incarceration that came with them. While leaders and visionaries like Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Adam Clayton Powell, Sr., gained national attention, small town preachers were key change agents as well. What small town sermons and other justice actions contributed to that resistance? What social determinants were a part of the local areas where these sermons were delivered? This project is part social movement building, part Sociology of Religion, part social demography, and all an effort to understand how narratives of faith and actions of resistance help change the course of history.

Requirements:
1. Historical curiosity and appreciation
2. Interests in either the Sociology of Religion, social movement building, or both
3. Mixed methods qualitative skills (e.g., cultural and ethical sensitivity, data extraction, content analysis, etc.)
4. Willingness to do the “grunt work” of historical archiving (e.g., dusty records, typing handwritten documents, content analyses, etc.)
5. Typing skills at 40 words per minute, or more
6. Honesty in handling and maintaining unique artifacts
7. Patience
One or two students needed but possibly open to more.

Examining published research on Asian Americans
Email application to Dr. Tiffany Huang at huang.5895@osu.edu

Although sociological research on Asian Americans has increased in recent decades, Asian Americans remain understudied in the social sciences. This project will review research about Asian Americans (as well as Asian diaspora in other English-speaking contexts) published in the academic journal Ethnic and Racial Studies over the last 50 years. Research assistants will assist with coding and analyzing journal articles.

Requirements:
Student should have a 3.0 GPA and successfully completed a research methods course. Preference will be given to students with a demonstrated interest in race or immigration. On the SOCIOL 4998 application form, please indicate how many hours per week you will be available. 2-3 students needed.

Citizenship Perspectives amongst Formerly Incarcerated Individuals in Ohio
Email application to Rebecca Shankman at shankman.14@buckeyemail.osu.edu

This research project examines how formerly incarcerated individuals in Ohio understand their citizenship status through behavior and emotion through the context of formal and informal collateral consequences. Using in-depth interviews and secondary data, this study explores how individuals respond to being treated like less than a full citizen by the government. Undergraduate research assistants will help with transcription of interviews and qualitative coding.

Requirements:
This position is ideal for students with an interest in criminal justice, political science, and qualitative research methods. Preferred qualifications include some sociology or criminology course work and an interest in/ experience with qualitative data analysis. 1-3 students needed.