IPOL Releases 2021 Legislative Report

The Iowa Policy and Opinion Lab (IPOL) released its 2021 Legislative Report. The report summarizes research done by IPOL and its five thematic student research groups over the last year. The report focuses on policymaking activity by the Iowa state government during the 2021 legislative session. In addition to providing a broad overview of topics discussed in the legislative session, the report summarizes specific bills that are topical or otherwise of interest to students in IPOL’s research groups. Bills are also linked to public opinion data generated through the IPOL's random sample survey of Iowans and from other sources employing similar methods.

The featured research groups this year focused on the following public policy topic areas:

• COVID-19
• Environment
• Health
• Race and Crime
• Social Issues

Read the full IPOL report here.

The Iowa Policy and Opinion Lab (IPOL) is a collaborative research group led by Professors Fred Boehmke in Political Science and Kajsa Dalrymple in Journalism and Mass Communication. Student research affiliates in IPOL collaborate to study policymaking and public opinion in Iowa. This includes examining policy choices in the legislative, executive, and judicial branches and collecting data on public opinion among Iowans.

IPOL seeks involvement from students with a wide variety of perspectives and experiences. No prior research experience is necessary, just an interest in learning more about the research process and a willingness to participate in and contribute to the group’s progress. Student research affiliates work through training modules to get up to speed on the basics of social science research. We expect and hope that many students stay involved with IPOL for multiple semesters and will obtain useful skills in research and data analysis over time. IPOL relies on peer mentoring so that more experienced students will help guide and support the work of newer students.