In 2013, the Chinese government launched its grand initiative to eradicate rural poverty by 2020. The initiative has made great progress since then, yet little rigorous empirical evidence is available due to data limitations. This project aims to use big data through both official and social media to analyze the trends, achievements, and challenges of this initiative and offer implications for the future and from a comparative perspective.

This project is eligible for a matching fund stipend from the Data Science Institute. This not a guarantee of payment, and the total amount is subject to available funding.

Faculty Advisor

  • Professor: Qin Gao
  • Department/School: School of Social Work
  • Location: 1255 Amsterdam Av
  • Dr. Qin Gao’s research focuses on poverty, inequality, and social policy in China and their international comparisons.

Project Timeline

  • Earliest starting date: 10/1/2020
  • End date: 7/31/2021
  • Number of hours per week of research expected during Fall 2020: ~10

Candidate requirements

  • Skill sets: Web scraping, text analysis, Python, data visualization, descriptive and associational statistics
  • Student eligibility: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, master’s
  • International students on F1 or J1 visa: eligible
  • Academic Credit Possible: No
  • Additional comments: Students need to be Mandarin-English bilingual.