My research interests lie within and at the intersections of community and urban sociology, the sociology of education, and criminology. Listed here are brief descriptions of some of my current and former projects (for a more detailed look at my dissertation, see Dissertation).

Cornell Criminal Records Panel Study
Active
PI: Erin York Cornwell
Description: This study analyzes survey data from individuals involved in a class action suit against the U.S. Census Bureau, Gonzalez et al. v. Pritzker, which alleged the U.S. Census Bureau had engaged in discriminatory hiring practices and thus provided a settlement for class members — all Black or Hispanic Americans — that included, among other benefits, the option to participate in a survey (Cornell Criminal Records Panel Study (CCRPS)). CCRPS began in 2017, followed by two additional waves of survey distribution in 2019 and 2021, and collected data on respondents’ criminal records, their education and employment history, their community engagement, and their attitudes toward the justice system. We are currently investigating the impact of an early first arrest — one that occurs either as a juvenile (before the age of 18) or as an emerging adult (between the ages of 18 and 24) — on college completion and network formation.
Working Papers:

Dodderidge, Lillian and Erin York Cornwell. “A Lasting Impression: Early Arrests and Socioeconomic Outcomes Over the Life Course.”  
*Draft available upon request

York Cornwell, Erin and Lillian Dodderidge. “The Impact of an Early First Arrest on Network Formation Over the Life Course.”  

College Education Attainment inside New York State Prisons and Post-Release: Exploring Impacts, Opportunities, and Barriers
Active
PI: Sadé Lindsay 
Description: Serving as the primary research team for the Cornell Prison Education Program (CPEP), Sadé Lindsay, Tess Pendergast, and I have worked to internally evaluate CPEP’s early stage reentry efforts and understand the impact of a higher education in prison (HEP) post-release. We are currently studying how prisons legitimize their authority as institutions, with a particular focus on the heterogeneity in standards and practices related to research and evaluation and how directives from departments of correction (DOCs) may constrain and possibly censor original research projects.
Publications:

Pendergrast, Theresa L., Sadé L. Lindsay, and Lillian Dodderidge. Forthcoming. “Co-designing Support Post-Incarceration: Merits and Challenges of Participatory Evaluation Frameworks in Academic Reentry.” in Bloomsbury Handbook on Prison Education: Second Edition, edited by E. Corbett.  
*Copy available upon request

Pendergrast, Theresa L., Sadé L. Lindsay, and Lillian Dodderidge. 2024. “Bridging Higher Education in Prison and Reentry: Lessons from the Cornell Prison Education Program’s Reentry Initiative.” Report for the Cornell Prison Education Program.  
*Copy available upon request

Research in Progress:

“Legitimizing Mass Incarceration: A Content Analysis of the Standards and Directives Operationalizing the Practices of Correctional Facilities in the U.S.” with Sadé Lindsay and Theresa Pendergrast.

“The Implication of DOCs Research Directives for Research on Prison Systems.” with Sadé Lindsay and Theresa Pendergrast.

Cornell Law School Juvenile Justice Project
2020-2024
PI: John Blume
Description: As the GIS Research Assistant for John Blume’s research and judicial advocacy group, I primarily worked with Census, police, court, and school-level data to visualize how local demography, contact with the criminal legal system, and education related to one another in various neighborhoods in South Carolina where defendants with whom we worked lived prior to incarceration. These mapping efforts aided lawyers’ development of mitigation for their clients who were arrested for violent felonies as juveniles or emerging adults. This work inspired the research questions I addressed in my qualifying paper, which is currently under review.
Research Outputs:

Dodderidge, Lillian. “Framing the Factor of Youth: Prosecutorial Discretion in Juvenile and Emerging Adult Cases.” Under Review

Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School (CRPHS) Internal Research and Evaluation
2017-2020
Description: In my roles as Academic Manager and Program Director for Academic Support & Operations, I served as Project Site Lead for a multi-year grant with other Cristo Rey Network schools to explore enrollment patterns and improve retention data. I liaised between CRPHS, the Cristo Rey Network headquarters, grant officials, and outside consultants. Outside of this particular project, I led various internal research and data management projects for CRPHS, including an effort to clean and match more than 870 students’ data from distinct and noncommunicative sources, the development of a master database for all CRPHS student data, creation of clear protocols for data management, and partnerships with outside consultants and our School Psychologist to evaluate current practices and translate findings to school leadership.
Research Outputs:

  • Mini-skills presentation, National Association of School Psychologists Convention (Baltimore, MD February 2020 with Rachel Hodas)

  • Practitioners Conversation, National Association of School Psychologists Convention (Baltimore, MD February 2020 with Rachel Hodas)

  • Paper presentation, National Association of School Psychologists Convention (Baltimore, MD February 2020 with Rachel Hodas and Sarah Edelson)

  • Poster presentation, National Association of School Psychologists Convention (Atlanta, GA February 2019 with Rachel Hodas and Sarah Edelson)

  • Poster presentation, National Association of School Psychologists Convention (Atlanta, GA February 2019 with Rachel Hodas and Sarah Edelson)

Center for Hunger-Free Communities at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health
2012-2016
PI: Mariana Chilton
Description: As Administrative & Communications Coordinator, I provided editorial support for all publications and reports produced by the Center including white papers, grant proposals, peer-reviewed publications, and low-literacy materials. After I left the Center to pursue teaching, I worked part-time as a Research Assistant for their internal evaluation of the Witnesses to Hunger program. In this role, I transcribed recorded interviews and focus groups between researchers and members, staff, and associates of the Witnesses to Hunger program, coded transcripts and supported the analysis of the qualitative data using ATLAS.ti, developed fidelity measures for phase II of the study, created surveys for affiliates with the program, and supported the writing, design, and editing of the phase I progress report and the editing of the final report.
SelectedResearch Outputs:

Research