My research agenda investigates the impact of resources on politics and policy. More specifically, I examine how resources such as information, institutionalization, and professionalism impact policy adoption and feedback. My research specifically explores the impact of such resources at both the federal and state levels through the examination of legislative position-taking as well as various legislative outputs. Understanding these aspects of the legislative process will help us become better informed about which of these legislative processes work and, therefore, promote quality government.
My research has been supported by the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University, the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center at the University of Oklahoma, the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University, and the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.
PUBLICATIONS
BOOK
Dorssom, Elizabeth I. 2024. "Missouri Politics: Government in the Show-Me State." Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
Zelizer, Adam, Elizabeth I. Dorssom, and Patricia Kirkland. ”The Democratic Dilemma among Elites: Do Legislators Make More Reasoned Choices than Voters?" Political Behavior.
Dorssom, Elizabeth I. 2024. ”Train the Trainer: A Field Experiment Workshop for Graduate Students & Faculty.” in Teaching Experimental Political Science ed. Elizabeth A. Bennion. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Dorssom, Elizabeth. 2021. "Does Legislative Institutionalization Impact Policy Adoption? New Evidence from the Colonial and early State Legislatures 1757-1795." Social Science Quarterly 102(4):1451-1465.
EDITOR-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
Dorssom, Elizabeth. 2025. ”Using Social Media in American Government Classes to Encourage Political Engagement and Media Literacy.” Political Science Educator. 28(2)
Dorssom, Elizabeth. 2024. "Using a Smart Board to teach about federalism in American National Government." Political Science Educator. 27(2).
Dorssom, Elizabeth. 2024. "Comparing Various Technologies to Encourage Undergraduate Student Participation." Political Science Educator. 27(2).
Dorssom, Elizabeth I. 2023. "Sunsets are good; sunsetting all legislation is a bad idea." 3 Streams. February 8, 2023.
Dorssom, Elizabeth. 2023. "Encouraging Course Engagement through Anonymous Programs." Political Science Educator 26 (2).
Dorssom, Elizabeth. 2022. ”Gender Gap in Political Ambition.” in Readings in American Government. ed. James W. Endersby. New York City: WW Norton & Company
Torres-Beltran, Angie, Cameron Mailhot, Elizabeth I. Dorssom., Christina Boyes. 2022. ”Show Me the Money: Information, Strategies, and Guidelines for Applying to Grants and Fellowships in Graduate School." In Strategies for Navigating Graduate School and Beyond, eds. Kevin G. Lorentz II, Daniel J. Mallinson, Julia Marin Hellwege, Davin Phoenix, and J. Cherie Strachan. Washington, DC: American Political Science Association.
Benton, Mark and Elizabeth Dorssom. 2022. "Using Online Anonymous Participation Technology to Encourage Undergraduate Course Engagement" Political Science Educator 25(2).
Dorssom, Elizabeth I. "What Sunset Provisions Tell Us About Policymaking." 3 Streams. June 8, 2021.
MEDIA
Dorssom, Elizabeth. "Why Do Legislatures Use Sunset Provisions?" The Academic Minute. May 23, 2023.