This summer I am taking some time off from my regular forms of labor. I defended my Ph.D. about a month ago, submitted my final paperwork about two weeks ago, and now I am finally free from all that is related to academia…kind of. I still have a few papers to write and some wonderful […]
New Report: Testing Online Deliberative Forums with Members of Congress
This week, I am (finally!) publishing a public report that highlights some of the important findings from my dissertation experiment. Writing this report was very challenging. I knew from the very beginning of this project that I wanted to be as transparent as possible. It’s important for academics to spend more time sharing their work […]
On “Modernizing” Tech in Congress For Optimization
The bipartisan Select Committee on Modernization has been renewed for the 117th session of Congress for another round of reform discussions. This is great news! The select committee has already come up with over 90 reccomendations to make Congress work better, and I can’t wait to see what they do next session. That being said, […]
Being in D.C. During the Capitol Riot
In December, I left my warm sunny apartment in California to travel home to Maryland and quarantine with my family for the holiday season. It was great, but after a few weeks stuck at home, I was getting a little antsy. It was difficult to write at home and I thought a few days in […]
Conducting Research With Congress
I wrote up my thoughts after a discussion with Kathy Goldschmidt at CMF about my experience conducting research with Congress. Our goal is to expand on this information with other academics to help the Congressional Management Foundation make recommendations to the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. Researching with the U.S. Congress – Sam’s […]
A Quote On Technology
“When a company has a buggy release, the company is experimenting and learning. When the government has a buggy release, it is a sign of incompetence.” – Stephanie Rickler Schulte From United States Digital Service: How “Obama’s Startup” Harnesses Disruption and Productive Failure to Reboot Government
New Report Published
Just this week, I officially completed a white paper that details the findings from my research I did this summer on the Hill. Here are the main findings I discuss in the paper: 1. The primary uses of policy-related constituent correspondence are to formulate outgoing communication and to monitor constituent sentiment. This finding is reflected in […]
The Value of Observation
I have returned to Washington D.C. for the summer to continue my research on constituent communication technology in Congress. Since I’ve returned to listen to the stories of interns, LAs, Members, and other previous staffers, I’ve begun to value more qualitative methods in my research. During my comprehensive exam, I read numerous papers describing quantitative […]
Passed my Comprehensive Exam
I recently passed my comprehensive exams (woohoo!). In my department, the exam consists of writing a substantial literature review, which usually has 50-150 pieces of literature, and an in-person presentation and discussion of the literature with a committee of three persons. On my committee, I had Bonnie Nardi, Melissa Mazmanian, and Matt Beckmann. I enjoyed having an […]
AGS Symposium Talk
In late spring I gave a practice talk at the Associated Graduate Students Symposium (click picture to see video). The talk described the beginnings of my research into constituent communication in Congress. I decided to give this talk to practice my speaking skills and to articulate my research goals. More than six months later, AGS […]