Intro-level ‘What is?’ audio slideshows online

The audio slideshows from ‘What is?’ sessions at the 5^th ESRC Research Methods Festival are available online:

·         What are qualitative research ethics?
·         What is analytic induction?
·         What are cohort studies?
·         What are community studies?
·         What is discourse analysis?
·         What are electronic data collection methods?
·         What is event history analysis?
·         What is geosimulation?
·         What is multilevel modelling?
·         What is multimodality?
·         What is narrative interviewing?
·         What is online research?
·         What is propensity score matching?
·         What is the regression discontinuity approach?
·         What is social network analysis?

More research methods videos from the 5^th ESRC Research Methods Festival are available on NCRM website.

Help define the UK Data Service identity: User Survey

The ESRC are establishing a new UK Data Service which integrates several existing services including the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS), the Census Programme and the Secure Data Service.

 

Work is now underway to establish an identity for the new service. To make it a cohesive and meaningful brand, we’d like to hear from data users – those who currently use digital research data, and those who might use it in the future.

 

Below is a link to a short survey designed just for data users. It’s a quick and fun questionnaire – not a research study, but a way to get some initial indications of what you think should characterise the UK Data Service’s ‘brand’. It should take less than 10 minutes of your time, and all responses are anonymous.

 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/UKdataservice_users

 

Please complete the questionnaire by Sunday evening, 16^thSeptember.

 

Funding call: Google Data Analytics

ESRC and Google are making funds available for research projects that demonstrate how publicly accessible online data, analytical and presentational tools can be used to further social and economic research.

The Google Data Analytics Social Science Research call is seeking proposals that showcase how academics can use online data analytical tools in creative and intellectual ways. Projects should:

·         Transmit best practice in use of such tools for social science
·         Show how the tools can be used to test social science theories
·         Suggest possible improvements or innovations to help integrate analytics – and open source data tools in general – into the teaching and learning community

Applicants can apply for a maximum of £125,000 from the ESRC towards the total project costs. The ESRC has allocated a total of £600,000 budget to the call and will fund up to a maximum of six projects.

 

The deadline for proposals is 2 October 2012. Full details are available on the ESRC website.

·         ESRC Google Data Analytics Social Science Research call

Economic Impact Evaluation of ESDS

ESDS generates value for money

An economic evaluation of the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS) reveals that for every pound currently invested in data and infrastructure, the service returns £5.40 in net economic value to users and other stakeholders. This compares favourably with the return on investment previously demonstrated for the British Library and for UK academic libraries in general.

The report, commissioned by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and prepared by external consultants, aimed to not only evaluate the economic benefits and impact of ESDS, but also to further develop impact evaluation methods that can provide the research council with robust and consistent estimates for all its investments in data service infrastructure.

The newly announced UK Data Service will draw on these strengths, as ESDS will be a key partner in the integrated service, providing users with a unified point of access to an increasingly extensive collection of research data including census data.

Full news story:

http://www.esds.ac.uk/news/newsdetail.asp?id=3291

ESRC link to full report:

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/impacts-and-findings/impact-assessment/economic-impact-evaluation.aspx

Announcing the UK Data Service

Continuing access to the most valuable collection of social and economic data in the UK has been secured with a £17 million investment over five years for the UK Data Service.

Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the new service is structured to support researchers in academia, business, third sector and all levels of government.

The new service, starting on 1 October 2012, will integrate the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS), the Census Programme, the Secure Data Service and other elements of the data service infrastructure currently provided by the ESRC, including the UK Data Archive.

The UK Data Service will provide a unified point of access to the extensive range of high quality economic and social data, including valuable census data. It is designed to provide seamless access and support to meet the current and future research demands of both academic and non-academic users, and to help them maximise the impact of their work.

Full news story:

http://www.esds.ac.uk/news/newsdetail.asp?id=3290

ESRC press release:

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/news-and-events/press-releases/22231/new-national-digital-repository-for-social-and-economic-data.aspx

Consultation on access to address register data for social science research

The ESRC has initiated a consultation to inform its approach in advocating academic access to GeoPlace address register data. As part of the consultation a survey is being undertaken. This, and further information, is available at

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/22050/consultation-on-access-to-address-register-data-for-social-science-research.aspx

CASS Short Course Programme 2012/13 announced

Full updated details of the new CASS Short Course Programme for 2012/13 are now available from the CASS website at www.southampton.ac.uk/cass

*** Please note that courses filled up very quickly and early booking is recommended ***

The 2012/13 Programme includes courses on:

• How to Analyse Survey Data: Methods, Software and Applications (by Prof Danny Pfeffermann, Prof Patrick Sturgis, Dr Moshe Feder and Dr Dave Holmes) • Questionnaire Design (by Dr Pamela Campanelli) • Survey Data Analysis I: Introducing Descriptive and Inferential Statistics (by Dr Olga Maslovskaya and Dr Amos Channon)• Survey Data Analysis II: Introduction to Linear Regression Modelling (by Dr Nikos Tzavidis) • Applied Multilevel Modelling (by Dr Ian Brunton-Smith and Dr Gabriele Durrant) • Regression Methods (by Dr James J Brown) • Essentials of Survey Design and Implementation (by Dr Pamela Campanelli) • Data Linkage: From Theory to Practice (by Dr Nathalie Shlomo) • Structural Equation Modelling for Cross-Sectional and Panel Data (by Prof Patrick Sturgis and Dr Katy Sindall) •Event History Analysis (by Dr Hill Kulu) (tbc) • Longitudinal Data Analysis (by Prof Peter Smith, Dr Ann Berrington and Dr Marcel Vieira)

Courses will be held in Southampton, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London.

For a course summary and details of dates and venues, please visit http://www.s3ri.soton.ac.uk/cass/programme.php

CASS (Courses in Applied Social Surveys) is a programme of short courses covering topics in survey design, data collection and data analysis methods. Courses are aimed at academic social scientists and applied researchers in government, market research and the independent and voluntary sectors.

CASS is part of the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods.

Teaching is interactive and responsive to course participants' needs. All courses include practical sessions or computer workshops to enable participants to put the learned methods into practice.

For most courses fees are £30 per day for UK-registered students. £60 per day for staff from UK academic institutions (including research centres), ESRC funded researchers and UK registered charitable organisations. £220 per day for all other participants. However please check the individual course you are interested in for exact fees. The course fee includes course materials, lunches and morning and afternoon refreshments. Travel and accommodation are to be arranged and paid for by the participant.

If you have any further questions please contact us at cass@southampton.ac.uk or look at our website www.southampton.ac.uk/cass

Data Horizons Questionnaire

This survey is an exploratory study of social science data users and those involved in data support services.

As part of the ESRC funded Digital Social Research programme, a team at Manchester University is conducting a scoping review of the changes in the data environment and the innovations that will be necessary to use social science data in the future.

Alongside the well documented expansion in the quantity of data, categorical shifts in the type and form of that data are happening and will continue to do so. Understanding the form that these shifts will take in the short, medium and long term, what the resultant data will look like and how we might use them is vital for the planning and development of the social science resource base and for the training of the next generation of social science researchers.

Please complete this short scoping questionnaire. https://selectsurveys.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=DATA_HORIZONS

All responses will be treated confidentially.

It should only take 15 minutes to complete and your input is very important.

You will also be entered into the prize draw for £50 of book vouchers.

Secure Data Service: One year celebration

27 June 2012

Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), Central London

A day of celebration for the Secure Data Service community of stakeholders, members, data owners and staff. Hear about new research already emerging from secure use of SDS microdata. Learn how the service is growing and improving. Meet and mingle with other researchers and data.

Schedule of events

• 14.30 – 17.00 Research presentations
• 17.00 – 19.00 Toast and reception

Come for the entire celebration, or just the evening toast and reception. Simply book your place at the link below.

Toast and reception
A toast to the first year! Brief comments at 17.30 highlighting the Service’s successes and planned future developments, followed by a reception where you can meet and mingle with staff, researchers and data owners.

Research presentations
Choose from a series of presentations focusing on research resulting from Secure Data Service data and projects, organised in three concurrent themes. For more details see the programme http://securedata.data-archive.ac.uk/media/28771/sds_anniversary_programme.pdf

Booking information
Building security requires all attendees to register in advance. Kindly book your place by Monday 25 June 2012 using the link below.

http://securedata.eventbrite.co.uk/?ebtv=C

Note: Bookings for these events are handled through Eventbrite.co.uk. Please refer to their separate privacy policy. If questions or concerns, contact the Secure Data Service directly.

Call for Applications: Chair of Governing Board, UK Data Service

THe ESRC are establishing the UK Data Service. The new Service will unify and extend what is offered by a number of ESRC data service providers, including the Economic and Social Data Service, the Secure Data Service, the ESRC Census Programme and others. It will become a cornerstone of the UK data infrastructure providing easier access to data resources to help maximise their academic and non-academic use and impact. The UK Data Service will be operational from October 2012. It will be directed and managed by the Director and the Strategic Leadership Team.

A Governing Board will be established to co-ordinate and manage the demands that will be placed in the Service, together with stakeholder expectations and interests. The UK Data Service Governing Board will have the responsibility and authority to ensure that the Service is developed, managed and maintained in a manner that maximises its benefit as a long-term world class data resource.

The ESRC are seeking an independent Chair for the Governing Board. This is a senior, part-time appointment (up to 15 days per annum) and will be remunerated accordingly.
Candidates should:

• have a strategic understanding of the complex environment the Service operates in including stakeholder perspectives
• demonstrate strong leadership, negotiation and influencing skills
• demonstrate experience of liaising and networking within the social science community and associated bodies at a national and international level.

The term of appointment, commencing 1 October 2012, will be three years initially with the possibility of renewal for a further two years up to a maximums of five years.

Further information

• Specification for the Chair of the UK Data Service Governing Board (PDF, 114Kb)

Applications should arrive no later than 16.00 on 15 June 2012. Interviews with shortlisted applicants are planned in the end of June 2012.

Contact

If you have any queries about the application process please contact:

• Kristine Doronenkova
  Email: kristine.doronenkova@esrc.ac.uk
  Telephone: 01793 444303 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 01793 444303 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Engaging with Retail: New opportunities for Masters' students to work with major companies

The ESRC is increasing its engagement with the retail sector, and one element of this is the opportunity for academics and Masters’ students to work with major companies such as Barclays, Boots, Co-operative, Dixons, John Lewis, Nationwide, Tesco, and Whitbread on projects which are important to the retail industry.

The initiative also provides a great way for both students and their supervisors to build links with major retail companies.  Working during the spring & summer, students will be eligible for a £500 award (for ESRC funded students in their Masters year of a 1+3) or entry for a £1,000 prize competition for the best dissertation (for non-ESRC funded students). Additional similar contributions are available from some of the participating retailers.

For further information about the scheme and the list of available projects please see the following link:

•      Masters students opportunities  http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/collaboration/working-with-business/retail-masters-student-projects.aspx       

This initiative is part of a wider programme by the ESRC to facilitate communication between the social science research base and retail businesses, promoting knowledge exchange and encouraging greater collaboration:

Engaging with retail  http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/collaboration/working-with-business/index.aspx

Launch of the ESRC Secure Data Service

On Tuesday 29th March the ESRC funded Secure Data Service will be officially launched at the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS), One Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET

To celebrate this major advance in the UK data infrastructure and the resulting increase in data access for policy based research, two events will be held:

Launch
6.00 Drinks reception
6.30 Keynote address and panel discussion
Speakers to include:

• Jil Matheson, National Statistician, UK Statistics Authority
• Paul Boyle, Chief Executive, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
• Julia Lane, Program Director, National Science Foundation (USA) and Chair, Secure Data Service Advisory Committee
• Melanie Wright, Director, Secure Data Service

To book your place: www.data-archive.ac.uk/news-events/2011/sdslaunch

Before the official launch there will also be a joint workshop


VML/SDS workshop: Joining together to improve research and impact

2.00-5.30  A decade of microdata: what have we learned, and what difference has it made?

This short workshop will focus on how changes in microdata access have affected research, policy and our understanding of the world, particularly in relation to economic performance. Information about how the VML and Secure Data Service will work together to provide researchers with access to data will also be provided.

To book your place: www.data-archive.ac.uk/news-events/2011/sdsworkshop

NOTE: Building security requires all attendees to book in advance. Kindly submit your booking form no later than Monday 21 March 2011.