Introducing the Concept Grants from Sage Learning category winner: educate_R
by Dr. William Christensen
Dr. William Christiansen is an Assistant Professor at Mount St. Mary's University in the Department of Political Science & International Studies and serves as an Associate Director with the Office of Competitive Fellowships. His research interests span international relations, comparative politics, and research methodology. With a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina and over a decade of teaching and research experience, his latest project represents his first series of resources created for the social science research and teaching community. Funded by the Sage Concept Grant, the project includes the development of a suite of applications designed to simplify and democratize access to advanced data analysis tools for students and researchers alike.
Among the applications Dr. Christiansen is developing are projectoR, a user-friendly tool for data visualization, and Data Distillery, an innovative app focused on data cleaning and preprocessing. These tools are intended to bridge the gap between complex data science methodologies and their practical applications in social science research, making advanced analytical techniques more accessible to those without extensive programming backgrounds.
Dr. Christiansen’s commitment to interdisciplinary research and education is evident in his approach to these projects. He emphasizes the importance of making data analysis tools not only accessible but also intuitive, ensuring that users can engage with these resources regardless of their technical expertise. The grant will also support user testing and feedback, further refining these tools to meet the needs of a diverse academic audience.
In addition to his software development efforts, Dr. Christiansen is a dedicated educator, teaching courses such as Introduction to International Relations, American Foreign Policy, and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa at Mount St. Mary’s University. His pedagogical approach is informed by his research, aiming to equip students with the analytical skills necessary to navigate and understand complex political phenomena.
Dr. Christiansen has published extensively on topics related to U.S. foreign policy and international relations, with his work appearing in respected journals such as International Interactions and the American Journal of Political Science. His scholarly contributions, combined with his use of open-source data science tools, demonstrate his commitment to advancing both academic research and practical education.
For more information about Dr. Christiansen’s work and the applications he is developing, please visit his faculty page or follow his ongoing projects on Mount St. Mary’s University website.