Her research interests include the American presidency and Congress, women and American religion, the Catholic Church and politics, and religion and political extremism. In addition to publications in journals such as the Legislative Studies Quarterly and Mid-America, she is the author of The Spider Web: Congress and Lobbying in the Age of Grant (1985), and a forthcoming book entitled, The Yoke of Grace: American Nuns and Social Change, 1808-1917: A History of Catholic Sisters in the United States. Dr. Thompson holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.