Sandra Marquart-Pyatt

I am a comparative researcher with substantive interests in environmental sociology, quantitative methodology, political sociology, and comparative social change. I specialize in the application of advanced quantitative techniques to pressing global social issues related to the environment and politics including environmental concern, sustainability, and democratic values. I joined Michigan State University (MSU) in 2009 and am jointly appointed in the Department of Sociology (SOC) and Environmental Science and Policy Program (ESPP). My substantive research examines social change comparatively and cross-nationally, and includes both macro-comparative and micro-level work. I seek to contribute to a deeper understanding of how and why macro-level and micro-level contextual factors shape the expression of environmental and political views and actions both across nations and over time. I examine these processes using quantitative methods such as structural equation modeling (SEM) and multilevel modeling, two approaches deeply rooted in sociology that specify latent constructs and allow the exploration of nested hierarchies, respectively. My substantive research program investigates environmental and political processes across gradients from the global to the individual in single countries as well as comparative context.