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Spring Semester 2026 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 Spring Semester 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 emergence of inequality in small, task-focused groups
Email applications to Dr. David Melamed at melamed.9@osu.edu

Small groups form hierarchies. Often these hierarchies make interaction easier (ie. they are functional) but they are also often based on information that does not convey competence. Moreover, hierarchies change. If a person who is assumed to be less worthy contributes positively to the group, and it is recognized by the group, that person will move up in the hierarchy. Existing theory and methods account for these changes to group hierarchies, but implementing these methods is very labor intensive, including hand-coding the original data. This project seeks to automate coding small group interactions using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Approaches so that we can better understand the emergence of inequality in small task groups. Student workers will work with PI Professor David Melamed and his team of graduate students. In particular, we will code data for instances of status transfer between participants. Subsequently, the team will use the coded data to train AI.

Requirements: 
Students should have at least a 3.0 GPA. Preferred qualifications include some coursework in the social sciences, especially research methods. Interested students should email me (melamed.9@osu.edu) with their resume/CV, a 200-word statement about their interest in this project, and how many credit hours they would like to take.

Qualitative Research on Conflicts in the Balkans 
Email applications to Anneliese Schenk at Schenk.67@buckeyemail.osu.edu

This research is comprised of two separate qualitative research studies, both needing undergraduate research assistants to transcribe in-depth interviews. 

Study #1 is on the collective memory of the Bosnian War (1992-1995) among individuals who belong to the second post-war generation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Research questions revolve around familial interactions and educational experiences within and between ethnic groups (Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats). Options are available in future semesters for undergraduate research assistants to continue work with the project in ways such as interview coding, literature review assistance, or working on their own undergraduate thesis. Four-five students are needed. 

Study #2 is on the ongoing Serbian Student Protest (which began in November 2024). Research questions revolve around what has made these protests successful and widespread, what the protests mean to participants, and generational framing among protesters. Interviews will be with both general protesters as well as organizers. Two students are needed for this project. 

Requirements: 
Students should have at least a 3.0 GPA. This position is ideal for students who are interested in qualitative research, political conflicts, history of the Balkans, sociology of the family, education, and/or social movements. Preferred qualifications include some coursework in sociology or Slavic studies. Ideal candidates will also have strong typing skills and excellent hearing- as they will be typing out recorded interviews verbatim. Interested students should email me with their resume/CV, a 200-word statement about their interest in one of the two projects, and how many hours a week they are looking to work over the course of the semester.

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.

Division: The Space Between Us and Them
Email application to Jack Wippell at wippell.1@osu.edu

Boundaries between “us” and “them” are among the most powerful forces shaping social and political life. These divides can mobilize hostility, prejudice, and violence, but under other conditions remain inert or, even, foster solidarity and empathy. This project asks: when, why, and how do “us/them” boundaries harden into lines that divide, exclude, and, sometimes, mobilize? The main tasks for this project will involve coding identity-related social media posts to identify (1) the presence of boundary-related discourse and (2) the type of this discourse employed. However, students will also have the opportunity to be involved in other parts of the research process.

Evaluating the Ohio Prison Industries Program – Dr. Paul Bellair and Dr. Steven Lopez
Email application to Dr. Steven Lopez at lopez.137@osu.edu
 
Can a forward-looking, rehabilitatively-oriented prison employment program help reduce recidivism and boost post-prison employment outcomes?  What are the experiences of the men and women in the program?  Why do they apply, and what do they hope to gain from their participation?  What kinds of jobs do they perform, and what kinds of skills do they master?  After release from prison, does their participation in the program help them overcome the hurdles they face in the re-entry process?
 
This research project investigates these and other questions via statistical analyses of data from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, in-depth qualitative interviews with currently incarcerated program participants, and in-depth qualitative interviews with former participants who have been released from prison and are at least six months into the re-entry process.
 
Undergraduate research assistants working on this project will explore these issues while assisting with data cleaning and/or learning how to code qualitative data for meaning using NVivo qualitative data analysis software, earning 1, 2, or 3 credits of SOC 4998 per semester. For those who are interested, opportunities to write independent honors or undergraduate research thesis using our data are potentially available.
 
Requirements:
Applicants must be a second-year or higher sociology or criminology major with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5.