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Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology Elizabeth Dotson

Elizabeth Dotson, Ph.D. Candidate
liz.dotson@wsu.edu
Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests:
Police and community mental health; Mental health; Use of force; and Police judgement and decision making (bio-behavioral factors)

Research and Teaching Experience:
My research experience includes serving as study manager for a member of quantitative and qualitative projects conducted at the Simulated Hazardous Operational Task Laboratory at the WSU. These studies include projects examining the effects of shift work on operational performance, police mental health, and police performance in simulator scenarios involving deadly force decision making. Additional research projects with other labs include the examination of secondary stress and burnout in public defenders as well as looking at the influence of marijuana legalization on the occurrence involuntary civil commitments. I have presented research at national conferences including ACJS, ASC, and APLS. My program experience includes R, SPSS, and STATA.

For the past four years, I have taught as an adjunct instructor in the Psychology department at Eastern Washington University both online and in-person. I have experience teaching a wide range of classes from research methods to the effects of drug use on behavior. I have received positive student reviews every quarter.

Recent Publications:

  • James, S., James, L., & Dotson, E. (2020). Evaluating the effectiveness of a police department’s early intervention system. J Exp Criminal.
  • Hemmens, C., Dotson, E., & Miller, M. (2019). Recent Legal Developments: Criminal Justice Decisions of the United States Supreme Court, 2018 Term. Criminal Justice Review.
  • James, L., James, S., Davis, R., & Dotson, E. (2019). The Impact of Suspect and Situational-Level Variables on Officer Performance During Police-Citizen Encounters. Police Quarterly.

Thesis/Dissertation Chair: Dr. David Makin