Through analysis and directives, I try to change the way NPOs, employers, lawmakers, and the general public treat members of these communities in their communications and actions. Analyzing the different ways in which knowledge is produced and distributed, my goal is to speak in academia while centering the voice of the communities that are so meaningful to me.

My research interest is grounded in positivism but is situated in a way that speaks to other traditions, like critical theory. I want my work to speak to multiple scholarly communities through these various methodologies. Working on various collaborative research projects has allowed me to expand my research in different marginalized communities that I would not have otherwise studied.

In the late spring of 2021, under the guidance of Dr. Allan Colbern, the Immigration Research Group (IRG) was formed. This group, initially comprised of students in the MA SJHR online program, was for students looking to get hands-on research experience and mentorship. Knowing that I was interested in public opinion, research, and methods, Dr. Colbern suggested I join the inaugural group to study immigration issues and, subsequently, the media’s role in framing these issues.

Throughout the year, different group members worked on a wide variety of aspects of the data collection and other vital tasks in the research process. After gathering the data, various projects were (and still are being) created to analyze findings and pursue different questions from that data. Each of the group’s members plays a unique and important role. Some students are more interested in data collection; some are interested in analysis, and others in presenting.

I quickly took on a leadership role, specifically on our study of crimmigration, to grow my skills in all aspects of the research process. I began by creating a Slack channel for the research, coordinating roles that each of us would play and scheduling weekly meetings to build the project into something we could be proud of and possibly publish. I also led in data collection, literature review, content analysis, and development of abstracts and journal submissions. I wanted to gain as much experience as I could, and this ultimately led to speaking engagements and multiple conference presentations.

The two big focus areas of the data that are emerging from IRG is the framing of immigrants in media as it relates to enforcement issues (crimmigration) and educational barriers.

Crimmigration Framing in News Media

For both of these two avenues, I have been actively involved in the research, but I ultimately took the lead to focus on enforcement issues. These projects have allowed me to personalize this research into something meaningful for my areas of interest and gain more understanding about how information is created and dispersed to the public. This research has been designed in such a way that can be replicable for a variety of subjects, which helps to narrow in on issues that affect various marginalized communities, not just the immigrant community. This research is important to me, because it focuses on the ways in which various controversial topics are portrayed in the media, and how it affects the public's opinion.