Sociology, '17, working with Professor Frank Dobbin

Last semester I got to work directly with a professor on research that will have an incredible impact – both in the academic world and beyond. My research project was with Professor Frank Dobbin and PhD candidate Carly Knight. The research studied the effects of anti-harassment/discrimination lawsuits and specifically looked at what forms of legal intervention had tangible impacts on diversity. This work has been covered in a myriad of publications, including the Harvard Business Review. As a research assistant I spent a few hours a week researching the details of the lawsuits brought against companies by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). I was looking at what types of discrimination were being addressed by these lawsuits and identifying the legal requirements imposed on the offending companies. After coding the results of these lawsuits, my work was compared to more current data on harassment incidents and diversity to isolate which legal injunctions actually have positive effects on corporate environments.  Through this project I developed a strong understanding of the function of the EEOC and the outcomes of lawsuits. 

I have always been interested in law so studying a set of legal outcomes in a myriad of cases was very exciting to me. Additionally, by dealing with a large set of cases at once I vastly improved my data management, coding, and analysis skills. Frank and Carly were very patient with helping me understand how to approach the cases and code them, so I felt that I could be successful even without prior knowledge. It was extremely rewarding to jump into a small team and conduct truly impactful research on a high-profile project. I was able to take things I was learning about in the classroom – organizations, businesses, inequality, discrimination, legal systems, and more – and see how these concepts interact in the real world. Working as a research assistant both furthered my academic interests in sociology and gave me a sociological lens on the real world. I would highly recommend the research assistant opportunities offered by the sociology department, and I feel that these highly accessible opportunities set sociology apart from other social science concentrations.