About

Rosalee A. Clawson is a Professor of Political Science at Purdue University and is affiliated with Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her research focuses on American politics, particularly public opinion, the mass media, the politics of race, class, and gender, as well as issues related to equity and electric vehicles. She participates in the Systems of Systems and Pathways Research Teams for the NSF ERC project 'Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway Electrification (ASPIRE).' Dr. Clawson was a founding co-editor of the journal Politics, Groups, and Identities. Her scholarly work includes examining media coverage of housing and economic issues, combatting sexual harassment in research, and exploring visual images and their implications in media and poverty. She has contributed to discussions on undergraduate research, graduate school advice, and the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion in political science research.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Computer Science
• Political Science
• Engineering
• Engineering ethics
• Law
• Social Science
• Library science
• Public relations
• Social psychology
• Knowledge management
• Applied psychology
• Psychology
• Engineering management

Selected publications

• Electric vehicle framing: Comparing insights using traditional and social media

  Energy Research & Social Science · 2025-11-28 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  To reach net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, countries around the world are incentivizing the uptake of low and zero-emission electric vehicles (EVs). To understand the social and political context of this shift toward electrified transportation, we study media coverage of EVs. Using a mixed methods approach, we examine media framing of EVs to understand how EV-related information is constructed and conveyed to the public. We draw on a framing typology developed based on traditional media coverage of EVs and apply the typology to discourse on two social media platforms: Twitter and Reddit. We find that the traditional media framing typology applies well to discussions on Twitter. Both traditional media and Twitter regularly rely on Business, Infrastructure, and Sustainability frames. Reddit, however, constructs EVs using a Metaframe, which is a mix of the frames delineated in the traditional media typology. Also, Reddit posts rely on a Technology frame, reflecting its unique interest-based users. Neither the traditional media nor social media sources we analyze use Equity frames to cover EVs. We conclude by addressing the importance of a mixed methods approach and the implications of our findings for EV adoption and transportation equity.

  PublisherDOI

• Combatting Sexual Harassment in the Field Is Fundamental to the Research Enterprise

  PS Political Science & Politics · 2024 · 2 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Political Science
  • Sociology
  • Computer Science

  Field research, defined as “leaving one’s home institution in order to acquire data, information, or insights that significantly inform one’s research” (Kapiszewski, MacLean, and Read 2015, 1), is a beneficial research practice. It also is a practice with significant safety risks, including sexual harassment, that can undermine the research process and harm researchers. Thus, combatting sexual harassment in the field is fundamental to maintaining the integrity of the research enterprise.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Combatting Sexual Harassment in the Field Is Fundamental to the Research Enterprise – CORRIGENDUM

  PS Political Science & Politics · 2024-04-01

  erratumOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  An abstract is not available for this content. As you have access to this content, full HTML content is provided on this page. A PDF of this content is also available in through the 'Save PDF' action button.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• US media coverage of housing and the Great Recession: Do inequality and race matter?

  Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies · 2024-06-01 · 3 citations

  articleSenior author

  Housing is an issue that affects all individuals in society. People have first-hand experiences with housing, or the lack thereof, daily. Housing is also a macro-issue that is affected by and has implications for the nation’s economy and public policy. Despite the centrality of housing for individuals and society, few scholars have examined media coverage of the issue. We examine media framing of housing in the New York Times between 2005 and 2010, a period that encompasses the 2008 Great Recession. We investigate whether the New York Times framed housing episodically by focusing on individuals or thematically by focusing on societal factors. We compare framing of housing topics related to inequality – such as homelessness, affordable housing, foreclosure and public housing – to more general housing topics – such as mortgages, homeownership and economic policy. We also examine if frames differ depending on whether the coverage mentions racial minorities. We find that the New York Times framed housing primarily as a thematic issue during this period; however, for stories focused specifically on inequality and racial minorities, there was substantially more episodic coverage. This research provides the much-needed insight into news coverage of inequality and race in the context of housing and housing policy.

  PublisherDOI

• Creating, Implementing, and Experiencing Research Opportunities: A Focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

  PS Political Science & Politics · 2023-03-13 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  ABSTRACT High-impact educational practices benefit undergraduate students in a variety of ways. These opportunities include student–faculty research, study-abroad and study-away programs, and internships, among others. This study focuses on one type of these high-impact practices: research. Research experiences foster student engagement and success, and they especially matter for marginalized and minoritized students, who all too often are underrepresented in these experiences. This article discusses creating, implementing, and experiencing equity-minded research opportunities for students from three perspectives: department head, faculty mentor, and undergraduate participants.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Learning through Peer Reviewing and Publishing in the <i>Pi Sigma Alpha Undergraduate Journal of Politics</i>: Twenty Years Later

  PS Political Science & Politics · 2021 · 4 citations

  • Political Science
  • Sociology
  • Political Science

  ABSTRACT The Pi Sigma Alpha Undergraduate Journal of Politics (PSAJ) , sponsored by the Pi Sigma Alpha National Honor Society, was founded in 2001 at Purdue University. After 20 years, much has changed in undergraduate research and publishing, but the benefits of producing a peer-reviewed journal remain the same. Undergraduate research has increased in prominence, and the journal has modernized to meet these transformations. This article describes the history, purpose, and operations of the PSAJ . Most important, a survey of former Editorial Board members, Pi Sigma Alpha Faculty Chapter Advisors, and published authors in the journal reveal attitudes toward operating an undergraduate journal, using undergraduate research in the college classroom, and publishing in a peer-reviewed journal, respectively. We conclude with calls to continue to encourage undergraduate research and to assign published undergraduate research in upper-level courses.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Developing Engineering Formation Systems for Sustainability

  2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access Proceedings · 2021 · 2 citations

  • Sociology
  • Computer Science
  • Engineering ethics

  at El Paso (UTEP). Dr. Santiago has a combined experience of over 20 years in the areas of water quality, water treatment and wastewater treatment

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Public Opinion: Democratic Ideals, Democratic Practice

  CQ Press eBooks · 2021-01-01 · 67 citations

  book1st authorCorresponding

  PART ONE: WHAT SHOULD THE ROLE OF CITIZENS BE IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY? Public Opinion in a Democracy PART TWO: ARE CITIZENS PLIABLE? Political Socialization Mass Media Attitude Stability and Attitude Change PART THREE: DO CITIZENS ORGANIZE THEIR POLITICAL THINKING? Ideological Innocence and Critiques Pluralistic Roots of Public Opinion: Personality, Self-interest, Values, and History Pluralistic Roots of Public Opinion: The Central Role of Groups PART FOUR: DO CITIZENS ENDORSE AND DEMONSTRATE DEMOCRATIC BASICS? Knowledge, Interest, and Attention to Politics Support for Civil Liberties Support for Civil Rights PART FIVE: WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CITIZENS AND THEIR GOVERNMENT? Trust in Government, Support for Institutions, and Social Capital Impact of Public Opinion on Policy PART SIX: WHAT DO WE MAKE OF PUBLIC OPINION IN A DEMOCRACY? Conclusion

  PublisherDOI

• The Picture of Poverty

  2021-05-26 · 1 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  The news media often represent U.S. Americans experiencing poverty in negative, stereotypical and inaccurate ways. Several studies have documented the way the media put a “black face” on poverty. For example, despite Blacks making up roughly one-quarter of U.S. residents living in poverty, news magazines disproportionately focus on Blacks in their coverage of poverty. This racialized portrayal is even more problematic because Whites dominate coverage of popular social welfare programs, such as Social Security and Medicare. This chapter reviews the literature on media coverage of poverty and social welfare, paying particular attention to the ways in which the coverage is racialized. It discusses the implications for perceptions of those in poverty, racial stereotypes, public attitudes on welfare spending, public policy making and candidate evaluations.

  PublisherDOI

• [PART 3: Introduction]

  Purdue University Press eBooks · 2020-12-15

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Zoe M. Oxley

  14 shared

• Eric N. Waltenburg

  Purdue University System

  9 shared

• Seungyoon Lee

  6 shared

• Terri L. Towner

  Oakland University

  5 shared

• Mookherjee Schwartz

  University of Colorado Boulder

  4 shared

• Ada W. Finifter

  Michigan State University

  4 shared

• Alex Mintz

  Brandman University

  4 shared

• Richard Lau

  4 shared

Education

• PhD, Political Science

  Ohio State University

  1996