Tate’s work concerns the impact of Blacks in U.S. politics.  As a numerical minority, how can they affect social change and achieve social and economic progress?  What political strategies should they adopt—insider or outsider ones?  Are Black opinions still significantly to the political left of other social groups in the U.S.?  How do Black lawmakers shape and contribute to the policymaking process?  Recently, Tate has shifted her focus to the study of women in U.S. politics.   Do women share a common outlook and vision in U.S. politics?  Do stereotypes about women still exist, and how do these stereotypes impact their politics?  Finally, are women lawmakers still somewhat different from men in government, or have they adapted to copy the leadership and legislative style of men as they have advanced politically?

Tate has received grants from the National Science Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Dirksen Congressional Center, and other sources.  

Belinda Robnett and Katherine Tate. 2023. Gendered Pluralism.  Ann Arbor, Michigan:  University of Michigan Press.

Katherine Tate, James Lance Taylor, and Mark Q. Sawyer.  2014.  Something's In the Air:  Race, Crime and the Legalization of Marijuana. New York, New York:  Routledge.

Katherine Tate. 2014. Concordance: Black Lawmaking in the United States Congress from 1977 to 2010. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press.

Katherine Tate. 2010. What's Going On? Political Incorporation and the Transformation of Black Public Opinion. Washington, District of Columbia: Georgetown University Press.

Katherine Tate. 2003. Black Faces in the Mirror and Their Representatives in the United States Congress. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. (Winner of the 2004 Southern Political Science Association's V.O. Key Jr. book award; the 2004 APSA's Race, Ethnicity, and Politics bookk award; co-winner of the 2005 National Conference of Black Political Scientists' Outstanding book award; named an "Outstanding Academic Title in 2003" by Choice Magazine.)

Lucius J. Barker, Mack H. Jones, and Katherine Tate.  1998.  African Americans and the American Political System, 4d Ed. Saddleback, NJ:  Pearson.

Katherine Tate. 1993. From Protest to Politics: The New Black Voters in United States Elections. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Co-winner of the 1994 Southern Political Science Association's V.O. Key, Jr. book award; enlarged paperback edition with new chapter, 1994; co-winner of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists' 1995 Outstanding Book Award.)

The 2023 recipient of the American Political Science Association Legislative Studies Section's Barbara Sinclair Legacy Award. The Sinclair Award honors the work of a scholar or set of scholars who have contributed a lifetime of significant scholarship to the study of legislative politics. 

Public Opinion: Undergraduate Seminar
In examining public opinion on a variety of issues, the course's principal objective is to help students understand the role of public opinion in democratic governments. In addition, students learn how to integrate poll data into their analysis of public opinion.

Women and Politics: Undergraduate Course.
In this course, we focus on the politics of United States women as activists, voters, candidates, and elected officials. To what extent does gender define all and political and social viewpoints of women and queers? This course will also consider the ways in which social class, ethnicity, marital status, parenthood, feminism, church beliefs, political orientation, and cultural beliefs influence women's public policy and politics.

Social Groups in United States Politics: Undergraduate Course
In this course, students examine the politics of social groups in order to gain a broader perspective of the United States political process. Topics can vary, and include a review of the major developments in United States politics for social groups.

Public Opinion: Graduate Seminar
This class provides students a review of scholarly approaches in the study of United States public opinion.