Sabbatical Opportunity for Official Representatives

ICPSR frequently sponsors an Official Representative Sabbatical, an opportunity for an OR to work in Ann Arbor on a special project for up to three months during the winter or spring/summer term. ORs have found the sabbatical fellowships to be very rewarding, and ICPSR has benefited as well.

Generally, ICPSR announces the sabbatical opportunity during September for the upcoming year with the deadline for project proposals in November and an announcement of the sabbatical recipient in December. Proposals should briefly describe the planned activities and should be accompanied by a vita.

We suggest the following ideas for sabbaticals, although ORs are free to suggest their own projects:

Prepare instructional materials in one of the core social science disciplines such as sociology, demography, economics, etc. We especially encourage the development of modules that help students understand diversity issues, e.g., racial and ethnic health disparities, gender and gender identity, economic status, disabilities, geographic origins, religiosity.
Develop materials on statistical literacy such as materials for the Online Learning Center
Develop materials on statistical literacy
Work on browse classifications for studies in the ICPSR archive
Work on preservation activities

ICPSR will pay a stipend of up to $7,500, depending on the length of stay, and will also pay for the OR's travel and lodging. Finding housing is the responsibility of the OR, but we will be happy to assist with this. ICPSR will provide the OR with an office and a computer during the stay. We ask that the OR write a Bulletin article after completing the sabbatical.

Proposals for the 2011 OR Sabbatical are currently being accepted! Please see the 2011 program details (PDF 106K) for further information.

2008 Fellows

The 2008 fellows analyzed the evolving roles of ICPSR's Official Representatives. The articles documenting their work are found in the Spring 2009 ICPSR Bulletin (PDF 568K).

Gregory Adams, Sociology, Southern Connecticut State University, designed a project to help social scientists and librarians maximize their complementary relationship and advance the utility of social science data at the college level. He discusses his findings in: "Librarian and Faculty ORs: Shifting Roles and Social Capital."

Rui Wang, Social Sciences Librarian, Central Michigan University, identified best practices in the OR role that serve the growing needs and dynamic changes related to using the ICPSR collection. In her article, "The Evolving Role of ICPSR Official Representatives," she suggests a re-invention of OR roles to address the growing cyber-infrastructure of social science.

Previous Awardees

2007 Fellow

In an effort to meet the growing demands for international data, Denise DeGarmo, Political Science, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, produced a comprehensive online resource guide highlighting the international data holdings of ICPSR. The International Data Resource Center (IDRC) acts as a clearinghouse for international data housed at ICPSR.

2006

Lori M. Weber, Associate Professor of Political Science at California State University, Chico, developed a resource based on data about social capital. The module, titled "Investigating Community and Social Capital," introduces students to important social science concepts and develops skills in quantitative reasoning and data analysis.

Rachael E. Barlow, Social Sciences Data Coordinator at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, created a set of Web-based instructional materials designed to help students understand the links between datasets and the publications that report on analyses of datasets. The module is titled, "Exploring Data Through Research Literature."

2005

Donald Davison, the OR from Rollins College, spent a month in spring 2005 in Ann Arbor working on an instructional module using the National Election Studies. You can read more about his work in the Fall 2005 Bulletin (PDF 1.2MB).

2002

Michal Peleg, of the Israel Social Sciences Data Center, Hebrew University, worked on issues of confidentiality in social science data (see her article in the Fall 2002 Bulletin -- PDF 191KB) and also helped ICPSR to create an online Data Use Tutorial.

Jim Oberly, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, focused on the preparation of instructional datasets using ICPSR data (see his article in the Winter 2003 Bulletin -- PDF 749KB).