Michael John Burton
Education
Ph.D., SUNY-Albany, 1995
Research Areas
- Data Science
- Decision-Making under Complexity
- Campaign Management and Strategy
Courses Taught
- CAS 5700, Data and Knowledge
- POLS 4070, Strategic Decision-Making
- POLS 4/5060, Elections and Campaigns.
- POLS 4/5230, Political Leadership
- POLS 4/5901, Advanced Political Analysis
About Dr. Burton
Michael John Burton is the director of data science in the College of Arts and Sciences & associate professor in the Political Science Department at Ohio University. He teaches data analysis, strategic theory, political leadership, and campaign management. His interest in data science evolved from a fascination with electoral competition, which led him to study game theory and data-informed decision-making. Current research goes to the ways in which human knowledge inevitably guides the interpretation of data.
With William J. Miller and Daniel M. Shea, he has written Campaign Craft: The Strategies, Tactics, and Art of Political Campaign Management, 5e (Praeger, 2015), and with Shea, Campaign Mode: Strategic Vision in Congressional Elections (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003). Published articles have involved electoral strategy, White House operations, consumer protection, and gun control. Dr. Burton is on the national board of the American Association of Political Consultants.
Dr. Burton spent several years as a political professional in Washington. He worked in the office of Vice President Al Gore as special assistant to the chief of staff and assistant political director. Prior to the White House, Dr. Burton worked in the office of Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski and the Congressional Research Service.