Balazs Feher-Gavra
Researcher and data analyst
research
data analysis
social science
teaching
English
38 years old
Driving License
Cuenca (010150) Ecuador
Freelancer
Available
A social scientist with an interdisciplinary background looking to work in an applied field that strives to bring about positive societal change.
Ph.D. Student
Department of Political Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Since August 2012
Full-time
Lincoln
United States - Nebraska
- Ríséarch on political párticăpation - In my dissertation I use a variety of methods to show the impact of two variables, agenda congruence (how well the elite's perceived agenda matches that of the individual) and latent dimension congruence (how well the liberal-conservative dimension represents the structure of a person's own political views) on different forms of participation, including: institutional, non-institutional, and civic participation, as well as voting. The methodological framework of the study is SEM with non-linear components added, based on my own data as well as international datasets.
- Research on political ideology - The main focus of my research has been to uncover the 'real' factor structure of political ideology as opposed to the simplified conservative-liberal (right-left) view. In the process I developed a survey and used CFA to demonstrate the existence of a five-factor structure. These results have the potential to reshape the way we conceptualize political ideology and the left-right dimension.
- Individual teaching - I had the privilege to teach the department's Political Analysis course, an extensive introduction to social scientific research centered primarily on methods and critical thinking tools.
- Teaching assistant - I participated in the teaching of and contributed to the development of two courses: Power and Politics in America (an online introductory class) and Genetics, Brains, and Politics (a class centered on the emerging discipline of Biopolitics, my department's specialty).
For my efforts I received the department's Best Teaching Assistant Award and was nominated again in my second year. - Othmer Fellowship - For the duration of my first three years (their longest span) I was only the second student in the history of the department to receive the prestigious Othmer Fellowship offered to the 30 highest qualified applicants to the entire university in a given year.
Adviser
MyDocumate
Since November 2014
Freelancer
China
- Copy editing of application materials (statement of purpose, personal statement, resume, letter of recommendation)
- Proofreading of said materials
- Content-related suggestions (see 'company description' for more details)
Founder, Coordinator, Researcher
Political Ideology Research Lab at Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest
2010
to 2014
Budapest
Hungary
- Leadership - I co-founded the research lab and acted as its coordinator for the first 2.5 years of its lifespan. My responsibilities included: strategic planning, recruiting, organizing meetings, providing feedback, setting tasks, and in general coordinating and supervising the lab's work.
- Representation and networking - I represented the lab at various conferences and gatherings and initiated, as well as maintained cooperative efforts with other institutions such as CEU's PolBeRG.
- Producing research in the field of political ideology - I was lead or co-author on a number of papers and conference presentations. For more details please see the portfolio uploaded.
English Teacher
EduQuick
Since September 2015
Part-time
Bahrain
- Online English teaching to various groups of students at different levels, mainly in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
English as a Second Language Teacher, Literacy Tutor
Lincoln Literacy
September 2014
to August 2015
Lincoln
United States - Nebraska
- ESL teaching to immigrants and refugees living in Lincoln
- Literacy teaching to Americans
Editor, Junior Coordinator
Journal of European Psychology Students
March 2011
to March 2013
Netherlands
- Team coordination - During my second year at JEPS I was responsible for the functioning of the Scientific Affairs team. My responsibilities included recruiting, strategic planning, task allocation, prioritizing, monitoring, assistance, feedback, and the organization of meetings.
- Journal editing - As editor, I exercised initial quality control (making sure the articles submitted fulfilled our criteria for formatting, references, structure, and basic quality of content), as well as assigned Associate Editors to each manuscript and served as the link between them and the author(s).
Currently ABD, graduating in August, 2016.
An online MOOC about a variety of models (aggregation, decision making, linear, tipping points, economic growth models, Markov processes, Lyapunov functions, social networks, random walks, replicator dynamics, the Game of Life), their use, and the way they aid thinking regarding various social phenomena.
Specialization: Social and Organizational Psychology.
Started in the pre-Bologna era therefore the two levels were lumped into one five-year study program (severely delayed in my case because of my shifting focus to psychology and other fields).
-
SPSS
Expert
-
Mplus
Advanced
-
Excel
Advanced
-
Social Network Analysis with UCINET
Good
-
SAS
Good
-
R
Intermediate
-
Agent-based modeling with NetLogo
Intermediate
-
Python for data analysis
Notions
- Content analysis including coding, grouping, and analyzing open-ended responses (both words and longer paragraphs)
- Content analysis with WordStat
- Hungarian (mother tongue)
-
English (C2, "second mother tongue")
Expert
-
German C1
Advanced
-
Spanish B1
Intermediate
-
Undergraduate level courses (evaluation based on student and employer feedback)
Expert
-
Presentation using PowerPoint and Prezi
Expert
-
ESL in person and online at various levels (evaluation based on student performance)
Expert
- Creative writing
- Reading, chiefly fiction, science fiction, and politically themed non-fiction.
- Kyokushin Karate
- Brazilian Ju Jitsu
- Yoga
- Meditation (not technically a sport but a very important activity nonetheless)
