Bodi Vasi, associate professor of sociology and criminology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and CSSI researcher affiliate, studies how organizations engage in environmental sustainability. As researchers gain access to increasingly larger amounts of text data, many are beginning to explore how AI tools can advance their work. To inspire others, Vasi will lead an April 22 CSSI workshop titled “Using LLMs to Develop Variables for the Social Sciences,” using his preliminary data. The workshop will show how social scientists can use LLMs to create novel measures that can be used in quantitative research. Read our feature of Bodi Vasi.

Last year, Julie Lee, assistant professor of health management and policy in the College of Public Health and CSSI researcher affiliate, was an awardee of CSSI’s inaugural Surveying the Social World initiative. Now, she is using the survey data to explore how public perceptions of healthcare affordability and quality impact support for public health initiatives, such as vaccination programs and quitting smoking campaigns, and how individual health attitudes and behaviors shape those views.

CSSI affiliate Ashley Rila, clinical assistant professor of special education in the College of Education, studies burnout experiences of school staff, including paraeducators, in Iowa, where critical shortages of these professionals persist. Last summer, Rila participated in CSSI’s Summer Researcher-in-Residence program, which gave her dedicated time and space to develop her manuscript on burnout among paraeducators.

CSSI researcher affiliate Haelim Jeong, assistant professor in the School of Social Work, studies suicide prevention, including suicidal ambivalence—the co-occurring desire to live and to die—among suicide attempt survivors. Jeong was also recently selected to be part of a research collaboration supported by CSSI’s Research Convergence Residency Program to explore loneliness, sleep disruption, and the use of AI chatbots such as ChatGPT for mental health support.

David Greenwood-Sanchez, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science, is working on a series of nationally representative surveys that aim to capture the practices and motivations of front yard gardeners. He wants to know where the line is between plants that are acceptable and unacceptable so he can inform change.

This article is part of a series that features CSSI researcher affiliates. Continue reading to learn about Katherine Britt, assistant professor in the College of Nursing.

This article is part of a series that profiles CSSI researcher affiliates. These profiles reveal the person behind the research, spotlighting their personal and academic trajectories and what they love about conducting research. Continue reading to discover how Caglar Koylu uses handcrafted methodologies to study geographical and social phenomena, including movement across the American frontier.

This article is part of a series that profiles CSSI researcher affiliates. These profiles reveal the person behind the research, spotlighting their personal and academic trajectories and what they love about conducting research. Continue reading to learn how Sarah Nash documents health disparities – particularly in cancer care – by prioritizing the voices of the communities under study.

This article is part of a series that profiles CSSI researcher affiliates. These profiles reveal the person behind the research, spotlighting their personal and academic trajectories and what they love about conducting research. Continue reading to learn how Samantha Zuhlke explores institutional relationships and how the public fits in.

This article is part of a series that profiles CSSI researcher affiliates. These profiles reveal the person behind the research, spotlighting their personal and academic trajectories and what they love about conducting research. Continue reading to learn about Elizabeth Menninga's unconventional journey to mathematically investigating the mediation of civil wars.