Purpose

    The UCSB Institute for Social, Behavioral, & Economic Research, in conjunction with social science departments, the Dean of the Social Sciences, and the Dean of the Graduate Division announces the 2007–2008 Call for Proposals for the first annual G.R.A.S.S.S.: Graduate Research Award for Social Science Surveys. The purpose of this program is to enrich the quality of graduate survey research in the social sciences at UCSB through a competitive program of awards to graduate students. All survey research projects are welcome. All eligible graduate students are encouraged to apply.

    Eligibility

    Graduate students in Departments and Programs in the Social Science Division of the College of Letters and Science are eligible to submit proposals. Collaborative proposals may include graduate students outside the Social Science Division as long as the lead investigator is a student within the Division.

    Criteria

    The program will fund survey research projects at all stages of development, as long as there is an identifiable outcome or product from the funded activity. Priority will be given to projects likely to lead to degree completion or extramural funding. However, all proposals for social science survey research projects submitted by graduate students in the social science division will be considered.

    Application procedures

    Budgets and allowable expenses

    Typical graduate student surveys range from $500–$2,000. Normally, survey costs will not exceed $3,000 for most web-based surveys. The Social Science Survey Center will provide the following services:

• Research Consulting and design       
• Computer Assisted Telephone Interview
• Web-based data collection
• Self-administered, paper-based, mail surveys
• Multimode quantitative and qualitative data collection
• Data management and analysis

    Timeline for proposed work and award administration

    All projects funded in this cycle will have a start date of January 1, 2008 and an end date of June 30, 2008. Upon written request and adequate justification, a 1 year extension will be granted. All project funds will be directly administered by ISBER.




    Evaluation and review

    The competitive review of eligible proposals will be by a selected committee of social science faculty under the direction of the Director of ISBER and the Director of the Social Science Survey Center. Proposals will be reviewed for their quality, significance, clarity, and feasibility. Funding decisions will be made in January 2008.

    Proposal contents

    Proposal cover sheets are available on the ISBER web site at: http://www.isber.ucsb.edu/grants/grasss/cover_sheet/

    Completed proposals should include the following:

• cover sheet, including project abstract (250 words), a list of other funding received for the proposed project, and a list of any previous funding award(s)
• proposal narrative, including: a statement of the problem, statement of significance, scholarly background, methods and procedures, and plan of work (3 pp. single spaced maximum, 12 pt. type)
• references cited (no page limit)
• proposed budget and justification (see SSSC Associate Director, Paolo Gardinali, for assistance in estimating survey costs and budget preparation.)
• c.v. (abbreviated 2-page maximum)
• A letter of endorsement from the graduate student’s advisor must be included with the proposal. This letter should confirm the scholarly context, support the plan of work, and affirm that the timeframe is realistic, as well as providing comment regarding the frequency of student contact during the project.

    Submission of proposals

    Submit an electronic copy of the proposal and coversheet by 5 p.m. on December 31, 2007, to Paul Ryan at: paula@isber.ucsb.edu. Late proposals will not be considered for funding in this cycle. There are no exceptions.

    Please contact Paolo Gardinali, Associate Director, Social Science Survey Center, at (805) 893-5213 or click here to contact Paolo, to discuss your proposal well before the proposal deadline.  Note: This is a requirement for eligibility