Virtual Inequality Brownbag

The Virtual Inequality Brownbag (VIB) provides a space for graduate students and postdocs to present their early-stage work. By bringing together affiliates from different inequality research centers, we also hope to maintain and expand professional networks during a time where these opportunities are limited.

VIB presentations differ from most other professional presentations: They are short (10min) and focus on questions by the researcher and constructive feedback by the audience (15min). Presenters are not trying to convince the audience of their findings, but seek help with an idea or a particular set of questions; often those that occur during early stages of a project. An illustrative (non-exhaustive) list of such questions may help clarify the intent of these sessions:

• “Here is my idea. I framed it as an expansion of theory X. But I wonder whether and how it should also connect to theory Y?”
• “Here are my research questions and model. What type of data should I use/gather?”
• “Here are my research questions and data. What method would be most appropriate to analyze these data?”
• “I have finished my interviews but early analyses suggest a particular data gap. How should I fix it?”
• “Here is my result. It’s the opposite of what I expected. What do you think is going on?”

For questions, please email inequalitydynamics@umich.edu.