Is There Labor Market Discrimination Against Muslims?
BUSH SCHOOL CAPSTONE PROJECT
WHAT IS A CAPSTONE PROJECT?
Capstone projects at the Bush School are completed during a student's second year with the purpose of researching a unique question or problem posed by a client or partner. The project brings together all the knowledge accumulated through our academic studies, and allows us to apply that knowledge to produce a product for the client or partner.
Capstone projects require integrative, team-based, and applied research. Working with a client or partner, students are required to think independently, frame and analyze issues, and apply their academic knowledge and skills. The project aims to prepare students to supervise, conduct, and evaluate large-scale public policy research.
IS THERE DISCRIMINATION?
My capstone team's research goal is to answer the question, "Is there labor market discrimination against Muslims?" We are working with a nonprofit news agency to help bring together academic research and the media. In a time where Fake News seems to be everywhere, this news agency seeks to base their stories in research. Currently the news media outlet is working on a story about different types of discrimination against Muslims in the US. With little research done on discrimination in the labor market, they solicited my capstone team to determine if there is discrimination.
To answer the research question we conducted a correspondence study to determine whether discrimination against Muslims in the labor market exists. Our team constructed a variety of resumes for fictional applicants with a randomized distribution of Muslim signals amongst them. The characteristics on the resumes are isolated and diagnosed whether there is taste-based discrimination or statistical discrimination in the labor market. Call back rates are recorded and examined to see if there are additional correlations. This study has important implications for employers in the labor market who are more likely to see an increase in Muslim employees as the US Muslim population grows older and increases in the United States. This study will continue to be conducted until the end of the summer, where conclusions and analysis can be done.
MY CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE
My role in my capstone project was Project Manager. It was my responsibility to coordinate the team and manage everyone to ensure tasks were being complete. My Capstone was unique in that we worked with other research partners at another out-of-state university. This brought its own unique challenges, for example managing performance of individuals I did not know. Being able to give constructive criticism and assign tasks to individuals I had never met or knew what their other time commitments were was a skill I learned quickly.
Weekly meeting recap emails, Skype sessions, and communicating expectations were all useful in creating a professional environment where all team members were respected and work was accomplished. In these emails and skype sessions, I was able to communicate our capstone project expectations. These expectations were things like the amount of data to be collected by the agreed upon deadline. Not knowing what out of university researchers’ other responsibilities and commitments were challenged me to set standards and clear deadlines to be able to gauge what was reasonable to expect from them, and how much to assign to them.
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Teamwork, leadership, and communication were all skills I learned from working on my Capstone project. Without the support of my capstone team I would not have been able to lead not only my classmates, but also the other researchers in conducting our project. Communicating with the outside university researchers taught me the skills of how to be clear and concise, becoming an effective communicator. My Capstone project was the ultimate group project experience that I learned many skills from.
*Recently, my capstone team participated in Texas A&M's Student Research Week, and placed second in the Business, Administration, Public Affairs Category.