Irene Morse

Irene Morse is a PhD candidate in Political Science who is studying how Turkish immigrants’ beliefs about democracy change after they arrive in the United States.

Applying what she’s learned

The skills and knowledge from ICPSR are directly relevant to my research in a practical way. Some of the lectures we've had, some of the code we've worked on, I can transport these things right into my research practice, which helps speed things along. In a more long-term way, some of the skills I've learned here function as nice building blocks for continuing to expand my knowledge. Sometimes you just need to know the right terminology or the foundational information in order to access the next level of understanding. ICPSR is really good at making sure you have those building blocks in a really solid way so you can access advanced and cutting-edge methods questions.

On the instructional staff

The instructors at ICPSR are very high quality, so it's really a privilege to watch them teach. They're teaching topics that they are deeply familiar with. Sometimes you can even form collaborations, write an article together, or do some kind of project together. I've benefited from my instructor's feedback on my research designs.

Varied backgrounds of Summer Program participants

One thing I really like about the participants is that they come from all different fields of social science. As a political scientist, I'm in a sort of political science silo, but at ICPSR, I get to interact with lots of other kinds of social scientists. I've met several public health people I keep in touch with. There's a lot of psychology people here as well, and sociology. Really any field of social science that you can think of, there's at least one person here.

I think the program is pretty diverse. ICPSR has worked hard to cultivate some scholarship opportunities and other incubators for diversity. I've seen that over the years and I think that's a really positive thing. I also really appreciate the age range of participants. I've had participants who range from a junior in undergrad, all the way up to people who already have their career in full swing, and they just need to learn one or two methods to do some project they're working on.

Socializing outside of class

My favorite moment has been connecting over board games with fellow ICPSRers. Last year I discovered that several of my co-participants and instructors really loved the board game Wingspan, and we all sat down and played. ICPSR has this sort of camp feel; you get to connect with people in ways that extend a little bit beyond purely professional. You can talk about your hobbies and your interests, and you can do things on the weekend. Those kind of connections have been really nice.

Practical advice for Ann Arbor

Make sure you have air-conditioning where you live because Ann Arbor is a lot hotter than you think it is.

In terms of more ICPSR-related advice, I think it's good to have a basic introduction to some form of coding or statistical software. You certainly don't have to be good at it because all the instructors basically assume that people are not coming with a lot of knowledge, but I do think it helps if you've seen R before or looked at Python code before, even if you didn't get fully involved with it.

Another piece of advice would be to really make the most out of building friendships and connections. Go hang out with people, chat with people, and make sure you interact as much as possible because these people are potential collaborators for work that you might do in the future.

"At ICPSR, I get to interact with lots of other kinds of social scientists."