Stanford Center for American Democracy launches Graduate Fellows program

The Stanford Center for American Democracy (SCAD) at IRiSS is a multidisciplinary effort to address fundamental questions about American democracy, institutions, and the American electorate. SCAD convenes Stanford faculty, graduate students, and the broader community of Stanford researchers from across the social sciences and professional schools who are pursuing questions related to American democracy and public opinion, and employing the methodology of experimental survey research. 

Founded in 2010 to support the research operations of the the American National Elections Study (ANES), SCAD primarily focused on administering the online survey portion of the ANES (the in-person portion of the survey is run by the University of Michigan), as well as running the Laboratory for the Study of American Values, also known as the Survey Lab, starting in 2012. The Lab seeks to enhance the research productivity and career success of graduate students, by giving them opportunities to conduct original surveys of nationally representative samples of adults. 

Under the leadership of new faculty director Mike Tomz, William Bennett Munro Professor of Political Science, SCAD has expanded its programming in line with its historical focus on American democracy and survey experimental research. Building off the Survey Lab, SCAD aims to increase support to social science PhD candidates (including those in the GSB, GSE, Law School and School of Medicine) who are conducting survey experiments on topics related to American democracy. The participants in the new SCAD Graduate Fellows Program will receive funds to run online survey experiments, methods training workshops, and access to a community of researchers to collaborate with, provide feedback on research, and receive mentorship from. SCAD ran a request for proposals earlier this year, and accepted 20 students into its Graduate Fellows Program as a result. Some of their projects include:

• Presidential Influence on Democratic Norms, Alejandra Aldridge, Political Science
• Changes in Support for Women in Politics Based on Political Ideology, Lisa Hummel, Sociology
• The Effect of the Political Ad-Sponsor Interest Heuristic in Health Care, Jonathan Lee, Medicine

For a full list of graduate fellows and their projects, consult the People section of the SCAD website. Check the SCAD website regularly for new research and program updates.