Research
Current Research Projects
Reconsidering Electoral Democracy
In this project, I explore a new theory of electoral behavior and its implications for electoral democracy. The theory argues that, in an election, voters quickly eliminate many alternatives. If a single alternative remains, it becomes their default choice. Otherwise, voters engage in more effortful processing to decided among the remaining alternatives.
The Statistical Implications of DIF
Differential item functioning (DIF) is not uncommon in research involving multiple groups, e.g., countries. In this research, I explore how DIF affect a number of widely used statistical techniques in the social sciences. These include multilevel analysis and causal inference.
Deliberative Democratic Innovation
Deliberation has come to play a central role in democratic innovations. In this project, I try to improve on online deliberative tools to help citizens engage with laws and direct democratic processes. The tools are designed to improve the quality of deliberation.
Cleavages and the Political Space
This project has several aspects. On one hand, I am interested in probing which cleavages, if any, characterize party systems in the 21st century. At the same time, I am interested in observing how these cleavages shape the dimensions of contestation among parties. The third aspect is the heterogeneity in party positions within a particular family.