Student Research Online Seminar

The 2021 Student Research Seminar Series presented virtual panels of student research every Wednesday in May. Expanding the time frame, and presenting in a virtual format, will allow for more panels which means that more policy graduate students will have an opportunity to share their work and get feedback, as well as enhancing their resume with a peer-reviewed presentation.

The live 2021 Student Research Seminar Series has concluded, but you can watch the recorded sessions through Wednesday, July 14th, 2021. The recordings are located in the Online Program

If you have any questions about this event, please contact Samantha Oliver Thomason at soliver@appam.org.

Online Program 

The online program as well as the recordings for the event can be found here.

Policy Areas

• Crime and Drugs: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Drug use and legalization, incarceration effects, prisoner outcomes, police and court processes, international crime, black markets, corruption, rehabilitation programs, recidivism, human rights abuses, etc. 
   
• Economics: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Economic development and stagnation, markets and their interactions, analysis of economic issues including production, consumption, savings, investmetn and any issues affecting them, inflation, and growth. 

• Education: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Head Start, pre-K, kindergarten, elementary education, high school, college, student loans, school and teacher accountability, disadvantaged students, charter schools, grants and financial aid, teacher evaluation and effectiveness, curriculum, student achievement and attainment, class size and composition, after school and summer programs, Veterans (GI Bill), arts and culture programs in schools, etc.
   
• Energy Policy: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Energy options and use, research for new sources of energy, etc.
   
• Environmental and Natural Resource Security: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Pollution, waterways, conservation efforts, protected land and species, natural resource scarcity and management, green economies, land reform, climate change, sustainability, etc.
   
• Family and Child Policy: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Marriage and marriage education, child support enforcement, child care access, child care subsidies and quality, infants and toddlers, child wellbeing, parental education and employment, vulnerable children and families, school readiness, intergenerational mobility, childhood hunger, family resource and income management, familial immigration concerns, single parent and child custody issues, family planning, etc.
   
• Health Policy: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), barriers to health care access, wellness programs for aging populations and persons with disabilities, rehabilitation programs for veterans, obesity and nutrition (exclusive of SNAP and WIC), reproductive health, health care costs, physician behaviors, health literacy, alcohol, drug and tobacco use, arts programs as rehabilitation, etc.
   
• Homeland Security and Emergency Management: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: private and public sector capability to minimize the impact of disasters on the American public, the planning, response, recovery and mitigation of emergency management, and the planning of homeland security and emergency preparedness organizational issues. 
   
• Housing and Community Development: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Housing stipends, Section-8 housing, community development plans to alleviate crime and poverty, foreclosures, home ownership, relocation assistance, Federal Housing Assistance Loans (FHAs), mortgage assistance, home owner and rental insurance, veterans housing programs, etc.
   
• Impact of Politics on the Policy Process: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Implementing policy, policy reform, policymaking, policy procedures, political participation in policy, policy analysis, accommodating changing attitudes, grant policies, policy across all levels of government: federal, state and local, government efficiency, participation in governance, bureaucracy, intergovernmental relations, budget allocations, the effect of politics on policy, elections, global politics, etc.
   
• International Development Policy: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: the economic, political, health, and ethical factors of development, economic stagnation, population displacement, food insecurity, and political repression in developing areas, and the effects of interventions on development outcomes.

• Labor, Employment, and Training: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Unemployment, underemployment, re-training programs, veterans transition to civilian careers, workplace accommodation for persons with disabilities, earned income tax credit (EITC), the Child Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit, unemployment insurance, internships, apprenticeships, outsourcing, etc.
   
• National Security and Foreign Policy: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: core security issues such as traditional intelligence and defense analysis, international security problems in general, and emerging issues such as peace operations and intricacies of information warfare.
   
• Politics, Presidential Studies, and Election Management: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: campaign finance and contributions, elections, and the impact of public opinion and polling.
   
• Population and Migration Issues: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Immigration trends, culture, population growth and decline, aging populations, policy reactions to demographic changes, minority and immigrant migration, labor migration across borders, etc.
   
• Poverty and Income Policy: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Food insecurity, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP), the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, Home Energy Assistance Programs (HEAP), welfare, school breakfast and lunch programs, personal retirement planning and income, the Great Recession outcomes, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), poverty reduction programs, savings and asset accumulation, disaster assistance, veterans assistance, disability programs including Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income, etc.
   
• Public and Nonprofit Management and Finance: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Performance management, citizen assessments of public performance, measuring efficacy of federal, state and local programs, block grants, intergovernmental finance, nonprofit management and finance, program implementation, citizen engagement, tax policy, knowledge management, public information sharing, budget cuts, government priorities, etc.
   
• Social Equity and Race: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Gender (including transgender and non-binary gender identification), race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, immigration and LGBT issues, affirmative action and diversity programs, etc. May have overlap with Employment and Training Programs on affirmative action and diversity hiring programs.
   
• Science and Technology: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Science as evidence in policymaking, resource allocation related to science, technology, innovation and economic development; knowledge management within and across organizations, national borders, etc.
   
• Tools of Analysis: Methods, Data, Informatics, and Research Design: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Methods of analysis, big data, data collection and structuring, research design, policy informatics, computational modeling, system dynamics, data visualization, applications of analytic methods, evidence-based decision making, estimating causal effects, assessing bias, etc.

2020 Student Research Online Seminars

Due to the global health emergency, the two Regional Student Conferences were cancelled. Subsequently APPAM organized three Student Research Online Seminars. They focused on "Drugs and Community Violence", "Energy Policy", and "Economics and International Development".