Broadly, my primary research considers the reproduction of gender- and race-based inequality through state policy intervention.
In my dissertation, I investigate variation in reproductive healthcare policy and public opinion across the United States. To do so, I employ a variety of quantitative methods, including panel regression and qualitative comparative analysis. Another paper currently under review examines the extent to which public opinion on paid leave is framed by opinion on abortion using data from the General Social Survey. I am also currently developing a project to consider contextual effects of abortion opinion by applying multilevel logistic regression techniques to data from the Pew Research Center.
My second research agenda is to develop best practices for teaching quantitative methods to undergraduates in sociology and other social science disciplines. In Fall 2018 I will be conducting a survey-based project to investigate the extent and consequences of statistics anxiety among social science undergraduates.
A list of conference presentations can be seen below. Feel free to email for more information.
- “Not All Needs Are Created Equal: Differential Spending for Reproductive Services in the U.S.” 2018. Presented at the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
- “Examining Medicaid Spending through a Welfare State Development Lens,” with Catherine Bolzendahl. 2018. Presented at the Society for the Study of Social Problems Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
- “Spending and Access to Reproductive Healthcare Services.” 2018. Presented at the Institutions in Context: Gender Equality and Policy Workshop, Tampere, Finland.
- “Reproducing Gender through Reproductive Policy.” 2018. Presented at the UCI Associated Graduate Students Graduate Research Symposium, Irvine, CA.
- “Reproduction in the Welfare State: An analysis of U.S. public spending for family planning and abortion services.” 2018. Presented at the to the Pacific Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Long Beach, CA.
- “Public Goods for Whom? The Impact of Policy Legacies on Variation in U.S. Public Spending for Reproductive Healthcare Services.” 2018. Presented at the Council on Contemporary Families Annual Meeting, Austin, TX.
- “Women’s health, women’s choices: Political climate and differential access to family planning services in the U.S.” 2017. Presented at the Pacific Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Portland, OR.
- “Are Family Values Gendered? An Analysis of Public Opinion on a Woman’s Right to Choose,” with Catherine Bolzendahl. 2015. Presented at the Pacific Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Long Beach, CA.