How to Apply
Principal investigators must be UI faculty from UI departments or units (tenure, clinical, or research faculty track). Applicants to SSW who are active CSSI researcher affiliates will be given priority. Cross-department and cross-college collaborations are encouraged but not required. Collaborations with faculty outside of the University of Iowa are allowed.
Applications are due Friday, March 3, 2025 by 5 pm.
Proposals must be submitted through our application portal below. Proposal requirements include:
Cover Page
Title of Proposal
Principal investigator full name, title, department, college
5-6 descriptive keywords
Abstract (100-200 words). Provide a succinct overview of the proposed survey project. State the research question(s). The abstract should be written for someone who is not an expert in the area. Assume the reviewers do not have technical knowledge in a specific field of study. Please avoid technical jargon, field-specific terminology, or acronyms.
Proposal Narrative
The proposal narrative should be no more than three pages (size 11 Times New Roman font; double spaced) and include all subheadings below. The proposal narrative should be uploaded as a pdf in the application portal. Note: Applicants are welcome to propose using the survey for multiple projects under a single funding cycle. If so, be sure to describe each project within the proposal.
Significance. Provide a brief explanation of the human/social/behavioral problem(s) being addressed, explain why it is important, and describe its relevance to the CSSI’s mission. State the research question(s).
Scientific Foundation. Summarize the conceptual/theoretical/methodological framework and empirical evidence that provides the foundation for the proposed survey.
Description of Survey Design and Analysis. Summarize the survey design, including a brief overview of the intended survey questions and measures, and proposed analyses that align with the research question(s). Note: Each survey question does not need to be fully developed at the time of application. If awarded, principal investigators will have until April 30, 2025 to submit the full list of survey questions.
Future Potential. Describe the anticipated outcomes in operational terms. For example, explain how the survey design is expected to lead to a proposal for external funding or journal article.
Timeline. Provide the anticipated timeline for accomplishing the project’s goals. Some preference is given to projects that can be completed in less than 12 months. The survey must be deployed no later than May 30, 2025.
Investigator Information. Describe the roles of the principal investigator(s), collaborating investigator(s), and any other personnel included in the proposal. For key personnel, include titles and brief descriptions of their expertise.
Reference List. Not included in the three-page maximum requirement.
CVs or Biosketches
Attach CVs or biosketches for all collaborators on this project.
Proposals will be evaluated on (1) contribution to social science research and applicant’s discipline or field of study, (2) adherence to proposal structure, and (3) relevance to the mission of CSSI.
CSSI administration will review the SSW proposals and provide a decision within two weeks from the date of submission. If further information is required regarding the proposal, CSSI administration may request a revise and resubmit from applicants. Please note that proposals receiving a revise and resubmit may take longer for a final decision on funding.
Once approved, awardees will have until April 30, 2025 to submit their initial draft of survey questions to the CSSI research services team for review and consultation.
Survey Design Information
Survey data for SSW will be collected through Verasight. Additional details regarding Verasight’s methodology are available here.
Survey data are collected from a nationally representative panel sample of adult respondents. Awardee will receive 1000 completed and validated responses.
Weights are calculated for the following adult population benchmarks, using an iterative raking method: age, race/Hispanic ethnicity, education, household income, metropolitan/non-metropolitan status, census region, partisanship, and 2020 presidential general election vote.
Measures include gender, age, education, Hispanic ethnicity, race, income, zip code, political identification, and 2020 presidential general election vote. Additional details regarding the wording of the demographic questions are available upon request.
Awardee may submit up to 35 “question units” using the following rubric:
Multiple choice questions: 1 question unit
Grid or matrix survey items: 0.33 question units
Short-form open-ended questions (single word or short phrase): 2 question units
Maximum of three long-form open-ended questions (maximum of 3 sentences each): 3 question units
Additional Notes: (1) questions must be compatible with the Qualtrics platform, and (2) attention checks are not an allowable question type.
Codebook and methods reports are provided following data collection.
