So you wanna do some (academic) research?
Today (11.16.2022) I am on a panel at the Ph.D. Project. I am here to discuss why a potential Phd student might consider Marketing. I am sure I will say something that inspires a few people to join our ranks. I am also sure I will say something that inspires a few people to never go into academia.
For the former-those who need to ask and answer tough questions- You should know that getting into a good Marketing Ph.D. program is not easy (Although, I did write an essay a while back that seems to be helpful). It is, however, not impossible to get into a good program. One problem is that in applying there is a hidden curriculum.
Professors do not provide clarity, yet they know what types of students they want. So let’s make that hidden curriculum visible:
Professors want to work with students who know what they are getting into. Professors want to work with students who are familiar with academic research. Professors also want students whom other professors will vouch for.
Yet, what I (now) know about academia is that the opportunity to join academic research is often limited to people with the most resources. And that sucks.
So I’ve decided to do something about it.
I am currently planning a series of algorithm audits and behavioral experiments that are seeking to understand how “whiteness” gets presented in market systems (see the image above as an example). In short, people racialized as White tend to be hidden on the internet while people racialized as Non-white are very visible.
I am opening an opportunity for you (yes, you) to join me on this research journey. Starting the last week of January 2023 I will be meeting every Tuesday at 12pm EST (time subject to change). I will be on Zoom for one hour, doing the work and planning the research live.
I will need to train and work with some algorithm auditors. That’s where you come in. If you can open a spreadsheet, count to 100, and send emails, then you have enough skills to join this project.
If you join this project, I will include you as a co-author, we will work on this paper together, submit it to a reasonably good journal, and see where it goes. In exchange for my time and training , I will expect you to do some work on the project on your own time — likely 2–4 hours per week over a 5–6 month period.
Finally, I will write a letter of recommendation for anyone who works on the project and wantsto get a Ph.D. in a business discipline. I don’t know if my name carries much weight, but I have published a few papers, and I run a relatively popular inter-university lab.
If you’re interested, send me an email (bltphd at vt dot edu) with the subject line:TRAP LAB WHITENESS PROJECT. In the email tell me your name, prefered pronouns, and if and when you plan to apply to Ph.D programs. I don’t need much more than that. By December 15th, I will send out follow-up emails with more details, a working paper with similar methodolgies, and a schedule.
Ok. That’s all. Go Science!