Rockville, MD, Oct. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Abt Associates announced today that Dr. Karen Stein has joined the company as a principal associate and lead survey methodologist in the Data Science, Surveys, and Enabling Technologies Division, working on projects across the company.
She will focus particularly on the equity aspects of data collection to reduce bias in results, from ensuring the messaging to participants is culturally appropriate to aligning how we conduct the survey to the technologies participants use, e.g., telephone, in-person, web, smartphone, etc.
“I’m extremely pleased to have Dr. Stein on our team,” said Michael Link, vice president, Data Science, Surveys, and Enabling Technologies Division. “Her experience and expertise are critical to advancing our efforts to make equity the cornerstone of our work, ensuring broad representation in the projects we conduct, and reducing the risk of bias in the reports we produce.”
During her career, Dr. Stein led or contributed to more than 30 studies on topics ranging from prescription drug labeling and opioid misuse to e-cigarette use. She orchestrated a rapid message testing project to evaluate Food and Drug Administration messaging for consumers and healthcare professionals and led evaluation tasks for communications materials for the Census Bureau.
Her experience includes developing, conducting, and analyzing surveys and qualitative studies, managing projects and programs, and overseeing focus groups, including groups to evaluate the messaging effectiveness of a public health campaign on skin cancer in Black and Hispanic populations. She has also performed cognitive and usability testing of the National Crime Victimization Survey for the Department of Justice. Other agencies she has worked with include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Nutrition Service, Internal Revenue Service, and Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Stein served as a research analyst, then senior study director at Westat. She also was a post-doctoral research fellow in the Department of Family Medicine & Population Health at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. Before that, she was a lecturer and teaching assistant in Rutgers University’s Department of Sociology and a research assistant at Rutgers’s College of Nursing. Stein holds a PhD and M.A. in sociology from Rutgers and a B.A. in sociology and anthropology from James Madison University.
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About Abt Associates
Abt Associates is a global consulting and research firm that uses data and bold thinking to improve the quality of people's lives. From combatting infectious disease and conducting rigorous program evaluations, to ensuring safe drinking water and promoting access to affordable housing - and more - we partner with clients and communities to tackle their most complex challenges.
