Biography 

I'm an Assistant Professor in the College of Information (INFO) and Joint Program in Survey Methodology  (JPSM) at the University of Maryland, where I teach courses on data science and survey methodology.  I'm also a Social Data Science Center associate member, a faculty associate of the Population Research Center, and an Adjunct Research Assistant Professor of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. 

I study surveys and other methods of collecting social and behavioral data, particularly newer methods that take advantage of recent technology. My research aims to understand the impacts of those methods on the quality of statistical information and how those methods might be improved. I am interested in survey modes of data collection, questionnaire design, and the integration of apps and sensors into data collection.  

Recent News

October 2025: New paper!  In our paper, "Engaging underserved communities in smartphone-based research: comparing mailings, advertisements, and in-person recruitment strategies," we found that advertisements at bus stops and on buses were more effective for recruiting Baltimore transit riders to complete app-based surveys than mailings or in-person approaches. Since researchers often do not share detailed information (including costs!) about their recruitment methods, our findings may be useful for others designing similar studies. 

August 2025: In collaboration with Jan Karem Höhne, I organized and chaired a session on "Open-ended survey questions: Innovations in design and analysis" at the Joint Statistical Meetings in Nashville. 

July 2025: New paper! App-based and modular survey designs can reduce perceived burden and improve response quality compared to traditional web surveys, though releasing survey modules over time may increase breakoffs. "An Experimental Comparison of Modular and Non-Modular Approaches for Administering Surveys via Smartphone Apps" examines these trade-offs. 

July 2025: It was a pleasure to visit Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan, where I delivered a talk titled "Using Smartphones for Data Collection: Opportunities and Challenges."

May 2025: AAPOR 2025 featured many talks on AI, and I was pleased to serve as the discussant for a session focused on AI and data collection. 

June 2024: New paper!  Co-design techniques offer valuable insights for creating effective survey tools and materials. "Developing a Modular Survey App Using Co-Design Principles" explores this approach in depth. 

May 2024: New paper!  Nonparticipation in accelerometer-based studies can lead  to non-ignorable selection bias in estimates of physical activity. "Nonparticipation Bias in Accelerometer-Based Studies and the Use of Propensity Scores" examines this by comparing self-reported physical activity (collected prior to the study) between participants and nonparticipants.

April 2024: New paper!  Is it true that open survey questions are not well-suited for the web? Our study -- "Open Questions Self-Administered on the Web versus Interviewer-Administered in Person: The 2016 American National Election Study Mode Comparison" -- finds otherwise. 

March 2024: I delivered a talk, "Using an App for Real-Time Measurement of Transit Rider Satisfaction" as part of the Web Data Opp Workshop in Barcelona, Spain. A theme of the workshop was the potential challenges of collecting new types of data (visual data, voice data, metered data, geolocation data). Clearly we need to learn more about the quality of these data and when they are worth collecting to replace or supplement traditional self-reports. 

March 2024: I attended the Likert Symposium at the University of Michigan, which focused on the theme of "meeting respondents where they are" and gave a presentation about using co-design techniques to develop a survey app. My general take-away message is that is very important to find more ways to involve respondents in the survey design process. 

July 2023: I helped organize two sessions on "Data collection with wearable devices" for the ESRA Conference. https://www.europeansurveyresearch.org/conf2023/. 

October 2022: I helped organize the first iFARM workshop and host it at UMD, with a terrific team of organizers. I'm grateful to the 50+ in-person attendees and 80+ online attendees. There were fantastic keynotes, presentations, and panels! Collecting, processing, and analyzing food data is is challenging, but important to get right. Looking forward to putting together a special issue on this topic. 

August 2022: I was glad to teach two online summer courses on Web Survey Design, one at the Univ of Michigan and one at GESIS in Germany. 

August 2022: I chaired a session organized by Florian Keusch at the Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) called "Combining Survey and Digital Trace Data". 

July 2022: Glad that this book chapter about using Google Trends data is out in the world. It started as in-class project for a group of graduate students in a course that I taught with F. Keusch and ended up being published!

June 2022: If you study nonresponse bias, then this JSSAM paper is potentially relevant to your work! 

May 2022: I was pleased that AAPOR was able to gather in person this year (for the first time since 2019). I gave a paper about question order effects.