Research Portfolio
Data | Stories | Impact
The goal for my research is to tell the stories embedded within the data. Whether qualitative or quantitative, there is always a compelling narrative that can have a real-world impact.
The ARDA Research Modules
These public-facing research guides allow people from all levels of research backgrounds to analyze complex data to find the stories behind the numbers.
The Association of Religion Data Archives is the leading collection of data on religion. I created these user guides as their Senior Research Associate.
Congregations in America
Overview: This module guides inexperienced researchers to explore longitudinal data about congregations from all religious traditions.
Data: The National Congregations Study (1998, 2006, 2012, and 2018)
Story: Users will discover that
Most congregations are small (fewer than 50 people).
An increasing number of congregations are not affiliated with a larger denomination.
Ritual practices—like meditation, using incense, or shouting “Amen”—vary dramatically between religious traditions.
Many congregations are becoming more open to having LGBTQ members.
Clergy and Congregational Leaders in the U.S.
Overview: This module allows researchers to explore religious leaders from all traditions in an in-depth analysis using descriptive statistics and bivariate relationships.
Data: The National Congregations Study (1998, 2006, 2012, and 2018)
Story: Users will discover that
While a lot of congregations are open to women as leaders, relatively few have women in leadership.
Many clergy have to work more than one job.
Clergy are often on social media, but this varies by tradition.