I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and I expect to complete my degree requirements by Summer of 2013.  My graduate training is in American politics and political methodology and my research and teaching focus on public opinion, political behavior, political psychology, political parties, research methods, Congress, and the Presidency. 

My dissertation examines the policy image of political parties in America.  Contrary to political science literature as well as conventional wisdom, I argue that party issue reputations - that is, public perception of how competent a party is in handling public policy issues - maintain dynamic components.  My research explores how they evolve over time and demonstrates that the interactions among partisan elites, the media, and the public drive the aggregate dynamics of party issue reputations.

In addition to my dissertation research, I am currently working at the University of Wisconsin Survey Center (UWSC) as a project assistant, where I work on several projects: (1) an experiment comparing check-all, check-list, and stand-alone response formats, (2) an experiment evaluating the effects of a sequential mixed-mode survey design and small monetary prepaid cash incentive on response rates, costs, and data quality, and (3) a meta-analysis on mail v. web mixed-mode studies and their effects on response rates, costs, and data quality.  I   am also helping the UW Badger Poll switch from a RDD sample to an address-based sample (ABS) frame.

Contact information:

Yujin Kim

University of Wisconsin – Madison

Department of Political Science

110 North Hall, 1050 Bascom Mall

Madison, WI 53706

yjkim8 (at) wisc.edu