Renee Erline (L) with P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale

Working to finish his honors thesis during his last quarter at Northwestern, economics and sociology major Jordan Heinz already has an impressive body of work to show for his undergraduate research experience. In addition to his thesis on Social Security policy and a junior-year independent study project, he co-authored an article published in the winter of 2002.

The paper, “Social Security expectations and retirement savings decisions” was written with economist and IPR faculty fellow Charles Manski and Carnegie Mellon economist Jeff Dominitz. Heinz’s work on the paper, along with his independent study and senior thesis for which Manski is adviser, evolved from his experience in 2001 as an IPR summer research assistant.

“The summer research assistant experience really just shaped everything else I did at Northwestern with research,” said Heinz, who plans to enter law school in the fall of 2002.

IPR Associate Director Joseph Altonji was instrumental in organizing the program in 1998 and has served since then as director. The program has trained more than 20 undergraduates per year in basic research methods and statistical analysis by pairing them with IPR faculty fellows who request undergraduate assistance for their own research.

“It’s great for the student because it gives them a chance to participate in the research and see what they like,” said Ellen Whittingham, the program’s coordinator. “It’s great for the faculty because they get someone to help them with their research.”

Medill student Elizabeth Raap

The summer program has encouraged many students to form long-term bonds with IPR and, like Heinz, with professors. It has also given prospective graduate students an idea of what academic research is all about.

“I had these professors totally idealized and I still do to a certain extent,” said Medill junior Elizabeth Raap. “But it gave me a sense that there’s a lot of daily work involved too. It gave me a one-on-one relationship with two really great professors.”

Raap said seeing the day-to-day “grunt work” that is a necessary part of academic research gave her another perspective to help her decide whether to pursue sociology as a graduate student. As a research assistant, Raap split her time between sociology professors Mary Pattillo and Eric Klinenberg. For Klinenberg, she did preliminary research for a project about newspaper zoning trends. Raap said she met with Patillo once each week and kept in contact over e-mail. She and Klinenberg held a planning meeting at the beginning of each week, and she spent much of her time conducting research in the Northwestern library or on the phone with newspaper circulation departments.

“It’s exciting to be around undergraduates who have real energy and enthusiasm for research,” Klinenberg said. “I enjoy the mentoring and teaching experience, but I also learn something from the students.” For example, as a journalism student Raap was able to share “a really rich perspective on the media world I was beginning to study,” Klinenberg said.

Many professors participated because they had never worked with undergraduates before — often onlymaster’s and doctoral candidates participate in such research, Manski said. An optional weeklong workshop at the beginning of the summer teaches the undergraduates how to use various computer statistical analysis programs that they may not have been exposed to in their coursework. After this introduction, the students’ role in professors’ research can vary greatly.

Renee Erline, who graduated from Northwestern in December 2001, worked last summer for human development and social policy professor P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale and her project, Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study. She had learned about the program when she attended research group meetings as a work-study student in the IPR office, and decided to become involved in the project full-time as a summer research assistant. She spent most of her summer entering data and checking coding for interview and observational portions of the project. When a full-time position as the study’s project coordinator opened in winter 2002, Erline’s experience with the project and as a work-study student made her a natural choice to fill the position.

Northwestern undergraduates who are interested in spending a summer as an IPR research assistant should contact IPR faculty fellows and faculty associates directly. IPR will begin accepting applications next spring for the summer program in 2003.