Lab Objectives:
The IGRI Text Analytics Lab is designed around the following three objectives:
- Offer students, postdocs, and faculty from different academic institutions an opportunity to engage in research projects involving computational and manual text analysis of institutional (e.g., policy) texts. Research projects involve the use of a diverse array of existing text analysis tools, such as NVivo and R, as well as specialized software that is being developed by IGRI personnel for text annotation and automated policy coding.
- Provide students and postdocs with an opportunity to engage in the research and development and/or testing of software developed by IGRI personnel and others, following commons-based peer production principles.
- Host training in conducting computational and/or manual text analysis using different text analysis tools.
Internships:
The Institutional Grammar Research Initiative (IGRI) offers internships to students interested in working in its Text Analytics Lab.
To complement the Lab objectives, potential interns can choose to pursue one of four internship tracks depending on their interests.
Track 1: Policy text coding using the Institutional Grammar
Interns interested in applying the Institutional Grammar to policy documents can assist in coding and testing the updated Institutional Grammar codebook. This track involves close mentorship with the IGRI director and/or IGRI associate director, as well as engaging with a diverse group of faculty, graduate students, and post docs in weekly coding meetings.
Track 2: Qualitative data analysis
Interns interested in coding and structured qualitative data analysis (QDA) can assist in testing and validating a QDA software program that facilitates computer-assisted coding of policy documents with the Institutional Grammar. This track mirrors Track 1 in that it also involves close mentorship with the IGRI director and/or IGRI associate director, as well as engaging with a diverse group of faculty, graduate students, and post docs in weekly coding meetings.
Track 3: Software development
Interns who are interested in developing software and learning how to develop software packages in Python, R, and other programs may be interested in Track 3 which will allow them to develop and/or hone their software development skills. Interns in this track will be working and engaging with several international scholars with expertise in machine-learning and AI during and outside weekly software development meetings.
Track 4: Development of training materials and other learning resources
Under the guidance of the IGRI director and/or IGRI associate director, interns who enjoy designing and creating learning resources can work independently to develop a variety of training resources. These training guides will be made available on IGRI’s website to aid IGRI affiliates and other scholars/practitioners who are interested in utilizing the Institutional Grammar in their research.
Internship length and weekly time commitment is based on the student’s objectives and abilities. These can be determined on an individual basis between the intern and the Director and/or Associate Director. Internships are unpaid.
Students interested in applying for an internship should contact Saba Siddiki (ssiddiki@syr.edu) or Ute Brady (ubbrady@syr.edu).