Constructing small-area environmental summaries for IPUMS NHGIS
David Van Riper & Dr. Steve Manson
Fellows will work with David Van Riper and Dr. Steven Manson to construct small-area environmental summaries that will be disseminated through IPUMS NHGIS. Fellows will develop a replicable data processing pipeline in R or Python that (1) acquires environmental data, including land cover and climate information, for the United States; (2) acquires GIS data describing the boundaries of different geographic units, including counties, cities, and census tracts; (3) creates summary measures of land cover and climate for counties, cities, and census tracts; (4) creates output files for dissemination via IPUMS NHGIS (https://www.nhgis.org/user-resources/environmental-summaries). Developing a replicable pipeline will allow IPUMS NHGIS to update summaries when new land cover or climate data are released. Key outcomes of the project include environmental summary data and a code
Repository.
Preferred Qualifications*:
- Programming experience in R or Python
Childhood immunization in IPUMS Global Health
Dr. Anna Bolgrien & Dr. Sarah Cusick
Fellows will work with Dr. Anna Bolgrien and Professor Sarah Cusick to explore patterns in global childhood vaccination across over 88 countries between 2005-2022. Fellows will work with existing IPUMS MICS variables and review vaccination schedules common across countries. Fellows will also create new variables using programming to make data management comparable across time and place. Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in research that uses the newly created data in order to better understand how to leverage the IPUMS vaccination records in global public health research.
Preferred Qualifications*:
- Coursework and/or experience with Stata
Drivers in Disparities of Antibiotic Overuse for Acute Gastroenteritis
Dr. Gillian Tarr & Finn Roberts
Fellows will work with Dr. Gillian Tarr and Finn Roberts to identify individual and area-level risk factors for antibiotic use among individuals with gastrointestinal illnesses (e.g. diarrhea, vomiting). Antibiotics are rarely needed in these cases, and their overuse exposes individuals to several potential harms. National surveys have identified substantial racial and ethnic disparities in antibiotic use, and the goal of this project is to understand what may be driving those disparities. A population survey conducted by CDC will be the primary source of data for the project. Fellows will be responsible for identifying appropriate area-level characteristics for analysis, merging them with the survey data, coding and conducting the individual- and area-level analyses, and developing summaries and visualizations of the results.
Qualifications:
- Required qualifications for Graduate Fellow:
• Familiarity with R - Preferred qualifications for both fellows*:
• Knowledge of and/or experience with individual and structural barriers to care
International Census-Based Fertility Estimation
Dr. Lara Cleveland & Dr. David Hacker
Demographic researchers have developed multiple models for directly and indirectly estimating fertility with the intent of maximizing available data inputs and accounting for data quality assessment. IPUMS International aims to contribute to global fertility estimates by creating the best possible fertility estimates based on the extensive census data available in the database. This project will review best available methods, in consultation with U of MN researchers and United Nations experts, to develop fertility indicators according to UN Population standards.
Preferred Qualifications*:
- Data analysis experience and/or statistical software training
- Interest in demography or related social science or population issues
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team
Decoding, analyzing, and improving the 1860 US Census describing enslaved African-Americans
Dr. Matt Sobek & Dr. David Hacker
Three years before the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, the US conducted a census that counted the number of enslaved African Americans. Fellows will work with Dr. Matt Sobek and Dr. David Hacker to explore the census and identify instances where enslaved people are recorded on those forms and help interpret those responses for the public-use dataset we provide to the research community. In addition to the statistical count, other information was recorded, which requires a case-by-case examination. The Fellows will do some basic data analysis of the records to compare them to the published statistics and contextualize them.
Required Qualifications:
- Familiarity with Excel
- Interest in quantitative and historical data
Race-neutral to race-conscious: characterizing population health journal policy and barriers to implementation
Dr. Michael Esposito & Dr. Rae Anne Martinez
Systemic racism can manifest within health science disciplines to influence study questions, methods, interpretations, and communication of results. As gatekeepers of research dissemination and legitimacy, scientific journals play a critical role in shaping disciplinary methodological norms and communication practices. Journal editorial policies about race and ethnicity in health science research have been rapidly evolving since 2020, but the policies and their impact remains unexamined. In this project, fellows will work with Dr. Michael Esposito, Dr. Rae Anne Martinez, Dr. Noah Haber, and Nafeesa Andrabi as part of a cross-institutional research team, to identify and characterize scientific journal policies as “race-neutral,” “race-based,” or “race-conscious” and identify potential barriers to implementation. The present research study will inform efforts to improve journal policies and peer-review practices that address systemic racism within scientific disciplines. Over the summer, fellows can contribute to any of the three project aims: (1) systematically catalog and characterize race and ethnicity editorial policies across leading scientific journals, (2) build a publicly-oriented and periodically updated database to share the editorial policy archive and resources, (3) develop a survey for recent authors and editors of top disciplinary journals on a) their awareness of race and ethnicity editorial policies and b) beliefs/attitudes towards race-conscious editorial policies more broadly. This position is particularly relevant to those with an interest in data science, structural racism, public/population health, scientific writing, and policy. Students from any discipline are welcome to apply.
Preferred Qualifications*:
- R proficiency
*We encourage people to apply even if they don’t meet any of the preferred qualifications. If you meet any of the preferred qualifications, please clearly indicate this in your application materials.