Deadline: 15-Mar-23
The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) invites proposals from across the social and behavioral sciences, humanities, data sciences, and related fields for a dissertation research grant competition as part of the Data Fluencies Project.
SSRC seek to support projects that mobilize new knowledge and aim to foster more just and equitable futures. Possible topics of interest include:
- Mis- and disinformation online
- Algorithms and social justice
- Information integrity
- Public-interest technology
- Digital culture
- Big data governance and accountability.
Funding Information
- Five dissertation projects will be awarded for up to $15,000 per award.
- Maximum one page timeline of activities. Research schedule (between six and 12 months).
Eligibility Criteria
- The Data Fluencies Dissertation Grants is open to PhD students who are actively enrolled in doctoral programs in the United States and Canada—regardless of citizenship. Applicants to the program should have completed all PhD coursework and reached “all-but-dissertation” (ABD) status by the beginning of the grant term.
- Applicants who are selected to receive the fellowship should indicate whether the project has already obtained approval from an institutional ethics committee (e.g., their university’s IRB) if the research involves the participation of human beings as study subjects, and they must provide a copy of the approval. However, institutional ethics review approval is not required at the time of application.
Selection Criteria
- Proposals will be evaluated by a multidisciplinary and cross-regional review committee based on their relevance to the topic, quality, intellectual merit, potential for innovation, the fit between their research question and research design, and feasibility.
- Proposals should display a thorough knowledge of the major concepts, theories, and methods in the applicant’s discipline and in other related fields, and should provide a bibliography relevant to the research.
- Applicants should provide evidence of having attained an appropriate level of training to undertake the proposed research, including evidence of a degree of language fluency sufficient to complete the project.
Review Criteria
- Intellectual merit: the intellectual significance of the proposed project and its capacity to advance scholarship, scientific understanding, and/or public knowledge. The degree to which the project offers thoughtful and generalizable models or new pathways for studying relevant topics (e.g., discriminatory technology, information integrity, privacy and security, online mis- and disinformation) in ways that foster more just and equitable futures.
- Feasibility: the appropriateness of the proposed activities, methods, planned activities, and budget to accomplish the stated aims of the proposed project.
- Qualifications: the degree to which the applicant has the expertise, skills, and knowledge to accomplish the stated aims of the proposed project.
- Ethics and Privacy: the commitment, and stated plan, to meet or exceed standards for the ethical use of data, including the protection of individuals and their privacy.
For more information, visit SSRC.
