In her research, Shasa Dobrow explores the question of why people make seemingly irrational decisions to pursue extraordinarily competitive, challenging career paths. Specifically, she investigates the nature of a subjective orientation—the sense of calling—that may compel some people to pursue paradoxical career paths. She is conducting an ongoing longitudinal study (begun in 2001) of hundreds of young musicians in which she develops a conceptual definition and survey measure of calling, as well as investigating the antecedents and consequences of calling.

Shasa is also engaged in research on the dynamics of developmental mentoring networks over time.