Doctoral Dissertation Research: Utilizing smartphones as experimental interventions for job search and employment at reentry

在出狱后的几个月内找到工作被认为是减少累犯和促进成功重返社会的一个关键因素。奖学金已经记录了有犯罪记录的个人在寻找工作时可能遇到的广泛障碍;然而，我们对重新进入的实际求职经验以及导致成功就业的因素知之甚少。以往的研究受到传统数据收集方法的限制，特别不适合研究贫穷和移动的群体。该项目将利用智能手机收集有关最近从监狱释放的男性重返社会和求职经历的详细信息。调查将通过智能手机每天两次发送给参与者，为期三个月，基于Android的应用程序将被动收集参与者的信息？地理移动性和通话记录该项目将实验性地测试通过智能手机参与基于同行的文本论坛以获得工作线索和社会支持的重要性，而不是直接从研究人员那里获得工作线索。先前的研究已经确定了社会联系在求职过程中提供信息和影响的重要性;对于与正式劳动力市场联系较少的个人来说，同龄人提供的社会支持和动机可能对搜索持久性特别重要。考虑到大规模监禁的规模，最近从监狱释放的个人所面临的众多挑战，以及就业再就业计划的混合结果，该项目是及时和政策相关的。这项研究利用智能手机技术的最新进展来研究传统上难以接触的人群。实验治疗-参与基于组的文本应用-测试一个潜在的重要和具有成本效益的干预，就业再就业组织可以很容易地采用。作为该项目的一部分，研究人员将开发一个Android应用程序，其中包括一个基于Web的非程序员界面，并将使应用程序提供给对非传统数据收集方法感兴趣的社会科学研究人员。

Finding work in the immediate months after release from prison has been identified as a key factor for reducing recidivism and promoting successful reentry. Scholarship has documented the extensive barriers that individuals with criminal records likely encounter while searching for work; however, we know little about actual job search experiences at reentry and what factors lead to successful employment. Prior research has been limited by traditional data collection methods, which are particularly inadequate for studying poor and mobile groups. Using smartphones, this project will collect detailed information about reentry and job search experiences among men recently released from prison. Surveys will be sent to participants via smartphones twice a day for three months and an Android-based application will passively collect information on participants? geographic mobility and call logs. The project will experimentally test the importance of participating in a peer-based text forum for job leads and social support via the smartphones, as opposed to receiving job leads directly from the researcher. Prior scholarship has established the importance of social contacts for providing information and influence during job search; for individuals with fewer ties to the formal labor market, social support and motivation provided by peers may be particularly important for search persistence. This project is timely and policy-relevant, considering the scale of mass incarceration, the numerous challenges faced by individuals recently released from prison, and the mixed outcomes of employment reentry programs. The study capitalizes on recent advances in smartphone technology to study a traditionally hard-to-reach population. The experimental treatment - participation in a group-based text application - tests a potentially important and cost-effective intervention that employment reentry organizations can easily adopt. As part of the project, the researcher will develop an Android application, which includes a web-based interface for nonprogrammers, and will make the application available to social science researchers interested in non-traditional data collection methods.