High School Student Internship Program: Policy Research and Data Analysis

Fall 2021
Gender and Policy Center Young Scholars Program
Schar School of Policy and Government
George Mason University

Location: Virtual

Course Dates:  Sept 18th  – Nov 20th, 2021

Time:  Saturdays and both synchronous and asynchronous virtual meetings

  • 9:00am - 11:00am PST; Noon to 2:00pm EST (First week)

Registration deadline: Sept 16th, 2021

Registration: please email execed@gmu.edu for application and program fees.

Certification: Students who successfully finish the program will receive a Gender and Policy Center Young Scholars Research Program Certificate of Completion.

A large group of students from the High School Student Internship Program pose for a photo.

 Program Summary

The Gender and Policy Center’s High School Student Internship Program: Policy Research and Data Analysis provides authentic research and immersive internship experience to high school students who are looking to advance their studies and pursue higher education research at an R1 Research University.   

During this program, students will be participating in a research project applying some of the following methods, including but not limited to:

  • Qualitative Research
  • Content Analysis
  • Application of Theoretical Frames
  • Qualitative Data Analysis
  • Data collection and management
  • Coding of Data

 Program Goals

  • Introduce students to higher education research practice and techniques
  • Support student career paths by providing hands on research experience
  • Expand student knowledge on a variety of research tools and applications that are used in research in the policy context 

Program Benefit

  • Gain confidence and prepare for transition to college life
  • Receive instruction on practical research skills
  • Gain valuable teamwork experience and explore possible career paths
  • Develop and refine skills for resume
  • Network with professionals in the field

Research Program Highlights and Features

Gender, Power, and Politics:  This project will examine portrayals of women candidates and officeholders in the media and consider the implications for their ability to attain, hold and operate in positions of public authority, as well as related policy implications. 

  • Dr. Bonnie Stabile will lead student interns in assisting with the conduct of research for this project, which is part of the larger research agenda of the Schar School’s Gender and Policy Center, which she founded and directs (genderandpolicy.gmu.edu). 
  • Dr. Laurie A. Schintler will guide students on some analysis aspects of the research, including data visualization. 
  • Dr. Heidi Lawrence will guide students through research methods for the project, including coding, content analysis, and assuring intercoder reliability. 
  • Research paper and Article publishing: Each student who successfully completes their assigned research tasks will be acknowledged as a research assistant for the published article that is planned based on the findings of this analysis.

 About the Instructors

Photo of Bonnie Stabile

Dr. Bonnie Stabile is the Associate Professor, Associate Dean of Schar School of Policy and Government and George Mason University; Director, Masters of Public Policy Program; Director, Gender and Policy Center.  Professor Stabile was the 2019 recipient of the Schar School's Teaching Award. Her book Women, Power and Rape Culture: The Politics and Policy of Underrepresentation with co-author Aubrey Grant, Graduate Research Assistant and doctoral candidate at the Schar School, is forthcoming in 2022 from Praeger.  Professor Stabile served as Editor-in-Chief of World Medical & Health Policy, a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley, from 2019 - 2020, after having served as Deputy and then Co-Editor since 2011.

Photo of Laurie A. Schintler

Dr. Laurie A. Schintler is the Associate Professor in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, where she also serves as Director of the Transportation, Policy, Operations, and Logistics (TPOL) Master’s degree program and Director of Data and Technology Research Initiatives in the Center for Regional Analysis. Her primary areas of expertise and research focus include big data, emerging technologies, transportation, critical infrastructure, and quantitative methods. In these areas, she has numerous peer-reviewed publications, reports, and conference proceedings, co-edited volumes, and grants and contracts. She is Area Editor for Journal of Networks and Spatial Economics, Associate Editor for Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, and a Councilor-at-Large for the Regional Science Association International (RSAI) (2017-19). Dr. Schintler is a founding member of the Regional Science Academy (tRSA) and a holder of a US Patent.

Photo of Heidi Lawrence

Dr. Heidi Lawrence, Associate Professor, College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Faculty from Institute for Biohealth Innovation at George Mason University.  She researches scientific and medical controversies, specifically focusing on rhetorics of vaccination mandates and controversies. My book, Vaccine Rhetorics, available through Ohio State University Press.   At GMU, Dr. Lawrence teaches courses in professional writing, rhetoric, and grant and proposal writing; she also directs MA concentration in Professional Writing and Rhetoric and graduates certificate in Professional and Technical Writing.