Digging into Data (Information Technology/Sciences)

The creation of vast quantities of Internet-accessible digital data and the development of techniques for large-scale data analysis have led to remarkable new discoveries in genetics, astronomy, and other fields, and—importantly—connections between different academic disciplines. The Digging into Data Challenge seeks to discover how these new research techniques might also be applied to questions in the humanities and social sciences. New techniques of large-scale data analysis allow researchers to discover relationships, detect discrepancies, and perform computations on so-called “big data” sets that are so large that they can be processed only by using computing resources and computational methods that were developed and made economically affordable within the past few years. This “data deluge” has arisen not just from the capture and storage of data on everyday transactions such as Internet searches, consumer purchases, cell phone records, “smart” metering systems and sensors, but also from the digitization of all types of media, with books, newspapers, journals, films, artworks, and sound recordings being digitized on a massive scale. It is possible to apply data linkage and analysis techniques to large and diverse data collections, including survey data, economic data, digitized newspapers, books, music, and other scholarly and scientific resources. How might these techniques help researchers use these materials to ask new questions about and gain new insights into our world? To encourage innovative approaches to this question, eight international research organizations are organizing a joint grant competition to focus the attention of the social sciences, humanities, library, archival, and information sciences communities on large-scale data analysis and its potential applications. The four goals of the initiative are * to promote the development and deployment of innovative research techniques in large-scale data analysis that focus on applications for the humanities and social sciences; * to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers in the humanities, social sciences, computer sciences, library, archive, information sciences, and other fields, around questions of text and data analysis; * to promote international collaboration among both researchers and funders; and * to ensure efficient access to and sharing of the materials for research by working with data repositories that hold large digital collections.

Amount: $175,000

Date due: June 16, 2011

For more information, click here.

AERA Research Grants Program

AERA Research Grants Program provides small grants and training for researchers who conduct studies of education policy and practice using quantitative methods, including the analysis of data from the large-scale data sets sponsored by National Center for Education Statistics and NSF.

Research Grants are available for faculty at institutions of higher education, postdoctoral researchers, and other doctoral-level scholars. Applications are encouraged from a variety of disciplines, including but not limited to education, sociology, economics, psychology, demography, statistics, and psychometrics.

Amount: $35,000

Date due: March 9, 2011

For more information, click here.

Environmental Education Regional Grant Program

The purpose of the Environmental Education Regional Grant Program is to increase public awareness and knowledge about environmental issues and provide the skills that participants in its funded projects need to make informed environmental decisions and take responsible actions toward the environment.

Amount: $100,000

Date due: May 2, 2011

For more information, click here.

Research Center to Support Secondary Analyses of Head Start Impact Study Data

This cooperative agreement will provide funds to support a research center focused on secondary analysis of the Head Start Impact Study data. The overarching goal of this cooperative agreement will be to utilize existing data from the Head Start Impact Study to answer applied questions related to program characteristics that positively influence outcomes for Head Start children and families.

The grant will be awarded to a single institution that will lead a consortium of researchers in the implementation of several complementary studies using the Head Start Impact Study data to answer questions related to how aspects of Head Start centers, classrooms, and teachers moderate impacts on children and families. The specific goals of the grant program are to: 1) strengthen our understanding of the relationship between center, classroom, and teachers' characteristics and Head Start's impact by supporting studies with varied but strong methodological approaches to addressing this issue; 2) build a consortium of researchers conducting complementary studies of the relationship between characteristics of Head Start centers, classrooms, and teachers and impacts on children and families; and 3) build a community of researchers with expertise and knowledge of the Head Start Impact Study data.

For information regarding the Head Start Impact Study, visit the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation website at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/impact_study/index.html.

Amount: $600,000

Date due: May 2, 2011

For more information, click here.

IES Education Research Programs

The Institute of Education Sciences announces its Education Research Program grants. The central purpose of the Institute's research grant programs is to provide parents, educators, students, researchers, policymakers, and the general public with reliable and valid information about education practices that support learning and improve academic achievement and access to education opportunities for all students. In carrying out its grant programs, the Institute provides support for programs of research in areas of demonstrated national need.

Amount: Varies

Date due: Letter of intent due April 21, 2011; Proposals due June 23, 2011

For more information, visit the IES' Education Research Funding page.