Dissertation Grants
Call for Proposals

Next deadline August 29, 2008

With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the Institute of Education Sciences, the AERA Grants Program announces its Dissertation Grants Program. The program's goals are: (1) to stimulate research on U.S. education policy- and practice-related issues using NCES and NSF data sets; (2) to improve the educational research community's firsthand knowledge of the range of data available at the two agencies and how to use them; and (3) to increase the number of educational researchers using the data sets. The program supports research projects that are quantitative in nature, include the analysis of existing data from NCES and NSF, and have U.S. education policy relevance. Underrepresented minority researchers are strongly encouraged to apply.

Description
AERA invites education policy- and practice-related dissertation proposals using NCES, NSF, and other national data bases. Dissertation Grants are available for advanced doctoral students and are intended to support the student while writing the doctoral dissertation. Applicants for Dissertation Grants may be U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, or non-U.S. citizens. Applications are encouraged from a variety of disciplines, such as but not limited to, education, sociology, economics, psychology, demography, statistics, and psychometrics. Awards for Dissertation Grants are up to $15,000 for 1-year projects. In accordance with AERA's agreement with the funding agencies, institutions may not charge indirect costs on these awards. Dissertation grantees' final reports may either be an article of a quality and in a format suitable for publication in a scholarly journal, or a copy of the dissertation.

Research topics may cover a wide range of policy- or practice-related issues that include but are not limited to: science and mathematics education; the supply (pipeline) of students taking mathematics and science courses; teachers and teaching, including supply, quality, and demand; policies and practices related to student achievement and assessment; policies and practices that influence student and parental attitudes; contextual factors (individual, curricular, and school related) in education; educational participation and persistence (kindergarten through career entry); at-risk students; early childhood education; US education in an international context; school finance; the quality of educational institutions; and methodological studies. Researchers must include the analysis of data from at least one NSF or NCES data set in the project. Additional large-scale nationally representative data sets may be used in conjunction with the obligatory NSF or NCES data set. If international data sets are used, the study must include U.S. education.

Application Requirements
All applications for Dissertation Grants must include:

• An AERA Dissertation Grants Program cover sheet
• Research proposal (limited to 4 single-spaced pages) that addresses the following:
  • Brief review of relevant research/policy literature
  • Policy issue and its importance
  • Description of methodology including proposed data set and criteria for selecting data file, sample (e.g., groups used, exclusions to sample, and estimated sample sizes),variables (including selection of variables and rationale for, using them), and analytic techniques
  • Importance of findings to the policy issue
• Symbolic or figural model outlining the framework for the study
• Proposed budget
• Current curriculum vitae
• Substantive letter of support from applicant's faculty dissertation advisor that includes an indication of the student's current progress toward the degree and expected date of completion. If applicant is from a discipline other than education, a letter of support from a faculty sponsor with an education research background must also be included.

Evaluation criteria will include the importance of the proposed policy issue, the strength of the methodological model and proposed statistical analysis of the study, and relevant experience and research record of the applicant. Additionally, the review criteria will include the following: Is the policy issue clearly defined? What is already known on the issue? How does the methodology relate specifically to the policy question? Does the applicant know the data set? Does the analytic plan fit the question and the data? Is the applicant qualified to carry out the proposed study?

Application Submission
Proposals for Dissertation Grants will be reviewed three times a year, with funding decisions made within a month of the review date. Upcoming deadlines for proposals are:

August 29, 2008 to be reviewed in September
January 7 2009 (tentative date) to be reviewed in February
March 6, 2009 (tentative date) to be reviewed in March

It is anticipated that the submission process will be electronic for the 2008-2009 review cycles. Specific submission requirements and procecures will be posted on the web in summer 2008. Contact Jeanie Murdock (phone 805-964-5264 or email jmurdock@aera.net) if you have questions regarding the application or submission process. All awards are contingent upon AERA's receiving continued federal funding.

Additional Information Regarding Dissertation Grants

Applicants are strongly encouraged to read Estimating Causal Effects: Using Experimental and Observational Designs, by B. Schneider, et.al. prior to submitting a dissertation grant proposal.

Applicants should choose research topics that can be supported by the samples and variables contained in the proposed data set. Applicants should be familiar with statistical methods and available computer programs that allow for sophisticated analyses of the selected data. It is also important to select a topic that has policy relevance and that models to be tested include predictor variables that are manipulable (e.g., course work in mathematics, instructional practices used by teachers, parental involvement). Applicants should also be familiar with the specific data set's User Guides and/or Manuals (e.g., use of design weights and design effects).

Applicants are encouraged to capitalize on the capacity of large-scale data sets to look at diverse populations.

Applicants who plan to model achievement test data should define the achievement construct and identify the kinds of items to be used to operationalize the research project. Also, when planning to use existing subscales, the applicant should describe why these subscales are appropriate and how they will be applied. Existing subscales provided by NCES may not be appropriate for the proposed construct.

The AERA Grants Program has funded over 350 grant proposals to date. Applicants are encouraged to review the lists of Funded Research Grants and Funded Dissertation Grants to ensure that their proposed project has not already been done.

The proposal should be no more than four pages in length, single-spaced, in 12 point type with 1" margins. All documents should be single-sided (printed on one side of the paper) in black and white (do not use colored ink). Approximately one page should be devoted to an introduction and literature review, including only those references that are directly relevant to the proposed policy issue. One page should clearly define the policy issue and discuss how the variables selected are under the control of policymakers. Two pages should describe the methodology which lays out the variables that define the construct. Applicants must present a clear and well thought out model that identifies the selected variables and specifies the analysis to be done. Attachments such as a bibliography, variables list, diagrams, and tables are allowed, and are not counted in the 4 page proposal limit.

There is no specific format for the budget section. Funds may be used for tuition and/or institutional fees, books, living expenses, equipment, travel, supplies, computing time, etc. Institutions may not charge overhead on AERA Grants Program awards. Please be advised that if equipment is included in the budget and it will be purchased entirely with AERA funds, AERA will retain ownership of this equipment for the duration of the grant period. When the awardee's final report is submitted, the AERA Grants Program Governing Board will decide on the disposition of any equipment. Possible disposition could include AERA donating the equipment to the individual awardee, AERA requesting the equipment returned to AERA, or AERA donating the equipment to the awardee's institution.

If the applicant is employed by a contractor of NCES or NSF, the dissertation project must not be directly related to the applicant's work responsibilities. An additional letter from the applicant's employer is required as part of the application submission, stating that the dissertation project is separate from the applicant's job duties.

A researcher may submit only one dissertation grant proposal per review deadline. In addition, no researcher may have AERA Grants Program funding for separate awards that overlap. The maximum number of Research Grants an individual researcher may receive through the AERA Grants Program is one. Dissertation Grant recipients and participants in the AERA Statistics Institute are encouraged to apply for a Research Grant.

Dissertation Grantees may not accept additional grant or fellowship awards from another agency, foundation, institution or the like for the same dissertation project that is funded by the AERA Grants Program. If the awardee receives more than one grant or fellowship for the same project, in order to accept the AERA Grants Program Dissertation Grant, the other award(s) must be declined. Awardees may accept RA or TA appointments at their doctoral institutions and may have additional employment.

All Dissertation Grantees will be required to submit a brief (3-6 pages) progress report mid-way through the grant period. A final report will be submitted at the end of the grant period. Funding will be linked to the approval of the progress report and final report. Grantees will receive one-third of the total award at the beginning of the grant period, one-third upon acceptance of the progress report, and one-third upon acceptance of the final report. In most cases awardees may choose whether to have funds sent directly to them or have the funds channeled through their institutions.

Updated Mar-10-2008