{"id":286,"date":"2026-02-06T18:13:38","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T18:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/vrm2026\/?page_id=286"},"modified":"2026-04-09T00:10:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T00:10:30","slug":"research-group-descriptions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/vrm2026\/research-group-descriptions\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Group Descriptions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Research Group Workshops: Descriptions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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APSA\u2019s Research Group Workshops<\/strong><\/a> are the central feature of the APSA Virtual Research Meeting, designed to bring scholars together over two days of collaborative engagement, interactive discussion, and joint research development. Each Research Group will meet for eight 90-minute sessions across both days, with participants expected to engage throughout the full workshop series. View research group descriptions and organizers below:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Aligning Computational Tools for the Political Science Research Lifecycle<\/strong><\/summary>\n


Workshop Organizers<\/strong>: Javier Osorio (University of Arizona) \u2013\u00a0javier.osoriozago@gmail.com; Latifur Khan (University of Texas at Dallas) \u2013\u00a0lkhan@utdallas.edu; Patrick Brandt (University of Texas at Dallas) \u2013\u00a0pbrandt@utdallas.edu; Vito D\u2019Orazio (West Virginia University) \u2013\u00a0vito.dorazio@mail.wvu.edu<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building on a successful 2025 APSA Virtual Research Meeting<\/a> workshop, this Research Group focuses on advancing the adoption, adaptation, and application of large language models (LLMs), machine learning, and related computational social science tools in political science research. The workshop will provide a collaborative space for scholars to share research, discuss best practices, and examine challenges associated with integrating AI-driven methods across the full political science research lifecycle. Discussions will be organized around key stages of computational research, including data gathering and corpus development, ontology design and task development, annotation and validation, LLM applications in political science, and model evaluation and reporting standards. By integrating recent advances in AI into the research pipeline, the workshop aims to expand methodological rigor, strengthen empirical analysis, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and support the development of policy-relevant research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workshop participants will meet for eight 90-minute sessions across two days and will engage in collaborative research development, skill-building, and peer feedback. The Research Group will include a hands-on training session introducing computational social science tools, research presentations with structured discussion, and collaborative working sessions designed to support methodological learning and research development. Participants will have opportunities to present research, share tools or data resources, contribute to best-practice discussions, and develop collaborative projects. Scholars at multiple career stages are encouraged to apply, particularly graduate students and early-career researchers seeking to incorporate computational methods into their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workshop aims to strengthen research collaborations, develop best-practice standards and shared methodological frameworks, and expand training and research opportunities beyond the Virtual Research Meeting. In addition to making their cyberinfrastructure publicly available, the organizers provide training materials to help political scientists incorporate computational tools into their own research. Their collaborations with multiple research groups have supported a growing network of graduate students and early-career faculty working with advanced computational methods, and current National Science Foundation (NSF) support will help extend the activities of this Research Group beyond the VRM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional information about the group\u2019s research and collaborative initiatives is available at https:\/\/eventdata.utdallas.edu\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

APSA Working Group on American Civics Undergraduate Course Mandates<\/strong><\/summary>\n


Workshop Organizers<\/strong>: Howard Bartlett Sanborn (Oklahoma State University) \u2013 howard.sanborn@okstate.edu; William Dean Schreckhise (University of Arkansas, Fayetteville) \u2013\u00a0schreckw@uark.edu<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The APSA Working Group on American Civics Undergraduate Course Mandates examines the growing number of state, university system, and institutional requirements that require undergraduate students to complete American government or civics coursework. Originally launched through APSA\u2019s Departmental Services Program in fall 2025, the working group brings together political science faculty from public and private institutions across the United States to support departments navigating these externally mandated undergraduate credit requirements. The group\u2019s work focuses on four core areas: developing curriculum and learning outcomes, examining variation across mandate structures, identifying departmental strategies for managing increased undergraduate enrollment, and supporting departmental advocacy for resources to meet new instructional demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants will meet for eight 90-minute sessions across two days and will engage in collaborative research, data collection, and resource development. During the workshop, participants will contribute to collecting and analyzing information on the diverse civic education mandates affecting higher education institutions and will collaborate on developing shared toolkits, curricular materials, and departmental support resources. Sessions will include structured discussions, collaborative working groups, and peer exchange focused on identifying best practices, institutional challenges, and effective implementation strategies. Applicants with experience teaching American government or civics courses, developing curriculum, supporting departmental administration, or researching civic education policy are especially encouraged to apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workshop is designed to foster collaboration among faculty across institution types and to support the development of discipline-wide guidance for political science programs responding to civics course mandates. The 2026 VRM sessions will also serve as preparatory work for a planned full-day short course at the 2026 APSA Annual Meeting<\/a>. The working group aims to refine and disseminate shared resources, recommendations, and teaching materials to the discipline by 2027 while continuing to build a collaborative scholarly and professional network focused on civic education in political science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The APSA Committee on the Status of Community Colleges in the Profession<\/a> is offering accessibility grants to support community college faculty attending the 2026 Virtual Research Meeting. These grants are intended to help defray participation-related costs, including food, childcare, Wi-Fi or internet connection fees, hardware or software needs, and other accessibility or accommodation resources and tools. For more details or to inquire about applying, please email mallendoerfer@apsanet.org<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Deal-Making under Trump 2.0: Hegemonic Transactionalism and the World Trade Order<\/strong><\/summary>\n


Workshop Organizers<\/strong>: Min Shu (Waseda University) \u2013\u00a0min.shu@waseda.jp; Min Ye (Boston University) \u2013\u00a0ye@bu.edu; Takashi Terada (Doshisha<\/em> University) \u2013\u00a0tterada@mail.doshisha.ac.jp<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Research Group examines international trade negotiations during the second Trump presidency through the lens of \u201chegemonic transactionalism,\u201d a theoretical framework that explores how the United States leverages its hegemonic position in negotiating trade agreements. The workshop will focus on understanding the global responses to Trump 2.0 trade diplomacy and assessing its implications for the international trade order. Participants will engage with comparative case studies analyzing U.S. trade negotiations with major deficit-generating economies, including Japan, China, India, Indonesia, and the European Union, while also exploring broader theoretical and empirical perspectives on geopolitical and geoeconomic competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workshop sessions will combine theoretical discussions, country and regional case study presentations, a data-focused analytical session, and collaborative roundtable discussions examining the future of the global trade order. The Research Group will include a mix of core organizers, invited scholars serving as paper presenters and discussants, and selected external applicants. External participants may contribute as paper presenters, data analysts, discussants, or roundtable participants. Applicants with expertise in international political economy, international negotiation, trade policy, or related fields are encouraged to apply. Early-career scholars and advanced graduate students with research interests related to international trade and negotiation are especially welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workshop aims to generate multiple collaborative research outputs, including contributions to an ongoing multi-year research grant, development of a special journal issue in the Review of International Political Economy<\/em>, and preparation of an edited volume on transactional trade diplomacy. The Research Group is designed to foster long-term scholarly collaboration while advancing research on international trade governance and the evolving global economic order.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Dual Enrollment: Creating and Curating Resources for Teaching Faculty<\/strong><\/summary>\n


Workshop Organizers<\/strong>: Helen Chang (CUNY\u2013Hostos Community College) \u2013\u00a0hchang@hostos.cuny.edu; Dale Mineshima-Lowe (Parami University, Myanmar) \u2013\u00a0d.mineshima-lowe@parami.edu.mm<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Research Group focuses on dual enrollment in political science, a rapidly expanding instructional model that connects high schools, community colleges, and four-year institutions. As dual enrollment programs grow and diversify in structure, teaching faculty increasingly work with high school students of varying preparation levels, interests, and motivations. Organized in association with APSA\u2019s Status Committee on Community Colleges in the Profession, this workshop provides a collaborative space for faculty to share experiences, identify best practices, and address common challenges related to teaching college-level political science courses through dual enrollment. The workshop is particularly designed to support teaching-focused faculty, including those at two-year institutions, who may have limited access to national professional development opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workshop sessions will include full-group discussions, participant paper or project presentations, small-group breakout discussions, and peer-review activities focused on improving teaching practices and instructional resources. Participants will collaborate to develop materials and strategies that support effective dual enrollment instruction and student success. Applicants with experience in dual enrollment, introductory political science instruction, curriculum development, or pedagogy are especially encouraged to apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The primary goal of the workshop is to develop and curate instructional resources for APSA Educate<\/a>, with each participant contributing materials that can support political science faculty working in dual enrollment settings. The workshop also aims to foster a sustained community of practice among teaching faculty and to generate new research and pedagogical collaborations. Organizers plan to expand the workshop\u2019s impact by organizing a roundtable at the 2026 TLC at APSA<\/a> highlighting the resources developed and supporting outreach to faculty who were unable to participate in the Virtual Research Meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The APSA Committee on the Status of Community Colleges in the Profession<\/a> is offering accessibility grants to support community college faculty attending the 2026 Virtual Research Meeting. These grants are intended to help defray participation-related costs, including food, childcare, Wi-Fi or internet connection fees, hardware or software needs, and other accessibility or accommodation resources and tools. For more details or to inquire about applying, please email mallendoerfer@apsanet.org<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

“Feeling” Norms: Emotional Resonance and the Resilience of International Norms in Times of Crisis<\/strong><\/summary>\n


Workshop Organizers<\/strong>: Carlotta Maria Minnella (European University Institute) \u2013\u00a0carlotta.minnella@eui.eu; Melissa E. Tornari (European University Institute) \u2013\u00a0melissa.tornari@eui.eu<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Research Group examines the resilience of international norms by exploring how emotional resonance shapes belief in and adherence to norms during periods of geopolitical crisis. The workshop builds on emerging scholarship that challenges traditional theories of norm internalization in International Relations by focusing on how norms generate affective responses among foreign policy elites and the public. Participants will explore how emotional reactions influence the perceived legitimacy, strength, and durability of international norms across issue areas such as climate governance, human rights protection, nuclear non-proliferation, refugee protection, and global political polarization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workshop sessions will include research paper presentations, academic and policy-focused discussant feedback, and structured discussions focused on theoretical development and policy implications. The workshop will combine contributions from invited scholars and selected applicants, with opportunities for participants to present research, serve as discussants, and engage in collaborative discussions on theoretical innovation and methodological approaches. The organizers particularly encourage interdisciplinary and multi-method contributions, including survey experiments, discourse analysis, large-N empirical studies, and other approaches examining the emotional foundations of international norm resilience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workshop aims to generate several collaborative scholarly and policy-relevant outputs. Contributions will support the development of an edited volume and serve as the foundation for a Horizon grant proposal focused on global governance and international norm resilience. The Research Group is also designed to strengthen collaboration between academic researchers and policy practitioners, supporting broader engagement, research impact, and future interdisciplinary partnerships.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Horizontal Party Linkages and Democratic Resilience<\/strong><\/summary>\n


Workshop Organizer:<\/strong> Kateryna Odarchenko (Institute for Democracy and Development \u201cPolita\u201d)<\/em> \u2013\u00a0katerynaodarchenko@gmail.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Research Group explores how political parties contribute to democratic resilience during periods of crisis, conflict, and institutional instability. Moving beyond traditional research focused on electoral competition and vertical accountability, the workshop examines horizontal party linkages\u2014cooperation and coordination among political parties, civil society organizations, local governments, and informal political networks. The workshop uses Ukraine as a central empirical reference point, particularly following Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion in 2022, while maintaining a broader comparative perspective that includes cases from Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, and other democracies facing institutional fragility or political conflict. Participants will examine how horizontal political networks can sustain governance capacity, legitimacy, and democratic practices under extreme pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workshop sessions will emphasize interactive collaboration rather than traditional paper panels and will include brief participant presentations, structured group discussions, and thematic breakout sessions focused on comparative mechanisms and theory development. Breakout sessions may address topics such as party\u2013civil society coordination, risks of elite collusion, and democratic reconstruction following political crises. The cumulative workshop structure is designed to foster sustained engagement, collaborative agenda-setting, and cross-case comparison. Scholars working across different regions, methodological approaches, and theoretical traditions are encouraged to apply, particularly those examining party systems, democratic governance, conflict politics, and institutional resilience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workshop aims to produce several collaborative scholarly outputs, including coordinated panel proposals for future APSA meetings, the development of a special journal issue or edited volume on horizontal party linkages and democratic resilience, and the initiation of cross-national research collaborations that may support future grant proposals. More broadly, the Research Group seeks to establish a durable scholarly network focused on party politics and democracy under conditions of crisis, contributing cumulative theoretical and empirical insights to the field.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

The Ongoing State of the Field of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Political Science<\/strong><\/summary>\n


Workshop Organizers:<\/strong> Amanda M. Rosen (Naval War College) \u2013\u00a0amanda.rosen@usnwc.edu; Tavishi Bhasin (Kennesaw State University) \u2013 tbhasin@kennesaw.edu<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Research Group continues the collaborative work launched during the 2025 APSA Virtual Research Meeting<\/a> examining the development of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) as a distinct subfield within political science. Building on ongoing collaboration among participants since the 2025 workshop, this group focuses on establishing foundational components of political science education research, including identifying a canon of core scholarship, developing graduate and undergraduate curriculum models for political science pedagogy, and outlining a comprehensive research agenda for the field. The workshop welcomes both returning participants and new contributors interested in advancing research, pedagogy, and professional collaboration in political science education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the APSA Virtual Research Meeting format, the workshop will meet for eight 90-minute sessions across two days and will emphasize collaborative project development through team-based working groups rather than traditional conference presentation panels. Sessions will begin with interactive discussions addressing the current challenges and future directions of political science education research, followed by project updates and opportunities for participants to join collaborative working groups aligned with key initiatives. Participants will help refine existing draft projects and contribute to new field-building efforts, including expanding an annotated bibliography of foundational SoTL scholarship, developing graduate and undergraduate course syllabi focused on political science pedagogy, and refining a manifesto outlining core research questions, methodological approaches, and future directions for the subfield. Sessions will incorporate structured discussion, small-group collaboration, peer feedback, and planning for dissemination, publication, and future collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Research Group is designed to support sustained collaboration among faculty, graduate students, and researchers engaged in political science education scholarship or those seeking to expand their work in teaching and learning research. Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate interest in contributing to one or more of the group\u2019s core projects and to describe how their research, teaching experience, ongoing pedagogical initiatives, or professional goals align with advancing SoTL in political science. Participants should expect to engage in collaborative drafting, peer review, and sustained project development throughout the workshop. The workshop seeks to foster an inclusive scholarly network spanning institutions, career stages, and subfields, particularly at a time when higher education faces challenges related to enrollment trends, evolving instructional technologies, academic freedom, and the broader societal role of higher education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workshop aims to generate collaborative scholarly and professional outputs, including advancing draft manuscripts and foundational field documents toward publication, refining curriculum and training materials for graduate education, and expanding research collaborations in political science pedagogy. The group also seeks to strengthen partnerships across APSA initiatives, including the Teaching and Learning Conference<\/a>, APSA Connect, and related publications, while contributing to long-term efforts to further establish political science education as a research-based subfield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The APSA Committee on the Status of Community Colleges in the Profession<\/a> is offering accessibility grants to support community college faculty attending the 2026 Virtual Research Meeting. These grants are intended to help defray participation-related costs, including food, childcare, Wi-Fi or internet connection fees, hardware or software needs, and other accessibility or accommodation resources and tools. For more details or to inquire about applying, please email mallendoerfer@apsanet.org<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

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The submission system opened for workshop participant applications in early February 2026, and closed on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific. Due to limited capacity and overlapping schedules, participants may only apply to one Research Group. To apply, candidates must submit a Statement of Interest tailored to their selected workshop by the deadline and are encouraged to review the workshop descriptions below carefully before applying. View registration details<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also strongly recommend reviewing the Research Group Applicant Overview<\/a>, which outlines workshop structure, application guidelines, and participation expectations for APSA\u2019s virtual Research Groups.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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