Access to justice is a fundamental human right. It involves the ability to effectively address civil legal problems including discrimination and other rights violations. The U.S. lags behind most Western countries in access to civil justice and faces a serious civil justice crisis known as the civil justice gap—many people need civil legal assistance and very few receive any help. This issue disproportionately impacts Black, Hispanic, and other underserved communities. The civil justice gap negatively impacts people’s ability to exercise legal protections in many domains, including those that impact health, education, and housing. Reducing the civil justice gap requires a comprehensive effort to characterize “pockets of unmet need” to inform intervention efforts. This requires the development of analytic tools to aggregate existing data, collect missing data, and generate useful models. It also requires providing historical context (capturing oral and written history), literary analysis of the stories told (by communities, practitioners, and government), and policy and ethics discussions.
A team of interdisciplinary faculty (psychology, law, computer science) are looking for undergraduate research assistants to assist with research projects associated with a funded Grand Challenges Planning Grant (https://research.unl.edu/grandchallenges/) aimed to address the civil justice gap. These research assistants will engage with the team to conduct novel research projects addressing these issues. Undergraduates who are interested in the law-psychology focused questions will primarily work with Dr. Ashley Votruba and the CC&L lab (https://psychology.unl.edu/ccll/culture-conflict-and-law-ccl-lab). Students will be invited to participate in symposium and research team meetings, in addition to conducting research projects.
Applicant Qualifications
The most important qualification is a keen interest in the areas of access to civil justice and law-psychology. Applicants should also be organized and willing to put in the necessary time to ensure attention to detail. Members of the lab typically work in a team environment, so applicants with excellent verbal and written communication skills are preferred.
Faculty Advisor Mentoring Philosophy
Students in this program will be integrated into the lab along with other undergraduate research assistants, graduate students, and the research team. Those participating with the CC&L lab will meet biweekly as a large group to discuss ongoing projects and engage in professional development workshops. In addition, I meet individually, or in small groups with students, to advance individual projects. Students should expect an experience where they get to work closely with advanced graduate students and myself. Dr. Votruba maintains an inclusive research lab group. The undergrads in the lab go on to competitive graduate programs, law school, and into professional programs.
Faculty Advisor | Ashley Votruba | |
Contact E-Mail | ashley.votruba@unl.edu | |
Department | Psychology – College of Arts and Sciences | |
Potential UCARE Research Position? | Yes | |
UCARE Terms | Both next summer (2024) and next academic year (2024-2025) | |
Paid or Volunteer Experience? | Paid by UCARE Funding | |
Hours per Week | Up to 10 in spring and fall; up to 20 in summer | |
Acceptable Undergraduate Majors | Psychology, Sociology, Pre-Law, Computer science, other Social Science majors (Check for related experience, if interested in computer or data science!) |