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The College of Social Sciences and Humanities is pleased to announce the continuation of the CSSH Multi-generational Research Teams Program. In Spring 2021, this opportunity will support CSSH-supported SGA research assistants (currently funded PhD students) to work with faculty members to develop and conduct a faculty-led research project that engages students from multiple levels including post-docs (as applicable), graduate students, and undergraduate students. Faculty may apply as individuals or as a team of faculty.

Please send any questions to Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, Thomas Vicino.

Goal

The initiative’s goal is to support the development of multi-generational research teams that engage faculty, graduate and undergraduate students to advance faculty research. The development of such teams furthers our college’s mission to support faculty-initiated research as well as expand research opportunities for students at all levels. In addition, this team-based approach allows for the engagement of progressive mentoring models. Such models provide opportunities for mutual learning between faculty and students with diverse levels of research experience.

Examples of Multi-Generational Research Teams:

  • A faculty member or team of faculty members plans to conduct a research study including interviews. The faculty team supervises an SGA who conducts interviews. The doctoral student supervises an undergraduate student who conducts literature reviews or transcribes interviews. Additionally, the students each support the analysis process including development of a qualitative coding scheme and use of qualitative software program. The team meets regularly, and all participate in dissemination activities such as manuscript development, conference presentations, RISE etc.
  • A faculty member or team of faculty members plans to administer surveys to a large sample of subjects. An SGA works with the faculty member(s) to design the instrument and leads the training of masters and undergraduate students in survey administration. The whole team is involved in the process of applying for IRB approval. Once data are collected, the undergraduates help enter and clean the data and are mentored around data issues that can arise (missing data; skip patterns; etc.).
  • A faculty member or team of faculty members plans to conduct archival research to geocode historical maps and visualize archival records. An SGA works with the faculty member(s) to collect and analyze historical records from an archival library. An undergraduate student codes and formats the data with specific attributes. The whole team is involved in the process of geocoding and visualizing the historical documents. The research team presents at an academic conference and venues on campus.

To support these activities, Associate Dean Alisa Lincoln and Associate Dean Thomas Vicino will be available to meet one-on-one with faculty to discuss the use of multi-generational research teams within CSSH and the possibilities for the progressive mentoring model. In the Spring 2021 semester, the teams will participate in two workshops and make a final presentation in the Faculty Works-In-Progress series.

Maximum Award

The Office of the Dean will award up to 4 CSSH-supported SGAs to individual faculty or teams of faculty with academic home in CSSH who propose the creation of a multi-generational research team that conducts research and engages graduate and undergraduate students. The maximum award is one SGA per faculty-led multi-generational research team. Funding for the undergraduate student may be obtained in one of several ways including: work-study funds (if the student is eligible) and funding obtained through the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships PEAK Initiative. The college will provide limited funding to support undergraduate students who are not work-study eligible and who do not receive PEAK funding. Undergraduates may also pursue research for academic credit instead of funding. For more information on for credit and paid models, see CSSH Undergraduate Research Opportunities. Preference will be given to faculty members who do not already supervise graduate students via external grants.

Eligibility

All full-time T/TT faculty in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities are eligible to apply.

Application Materials

For the pilot opportunity, all materials must be submitted electronically, through the CSSH online application system, no later than 5:00 pm EST on November 2, 2020.

Applicants should prepare a brief prospectus that articulates a semester-long research project that will advance the development of a multi-generational research team. This should include a specific plan for developing a proposal for external funding including identification of specific funding mechanisms. The initial funding term will be Spring 2021. Applicants should indicate if they are interested in continuing the project into the full term of Summer 2021. In these instances, the Office of the Dean would work with the department to support a cost share of the summer SGA.

The application includes the prospectus and the curriculum vitae.

Prospectus

A three to four (double-spaced) page narrative that includes:

  • a strong description of the rationale and potential impact of the proposed project and the research team the faculty member(s) aim to develop including the skills and experiences sought for the assigned SGA and plans to include at least one undergraduate student in the research team;
  • a specific work plan and a description of how graduate and undergraduate students will be involved in the project;
  • a statement of how activities supported by this pilot opportunity will help mentor and train the multi-generational team and impact their career trajectories;
  • a plan to seek future external funding; and
  • an indication of interest to continue the project for the full Summer 2021 term.

While applicants may have specific students in mind and may so indicate in the prospectus, no offers or promises should be made to students prior to review of applications.

Review Process

Applications will be reviewed by the Office of the Dean.

Final Report

All awardees are expected to submit a final report at the conclusion of the project. This report should include a description of project activities and accomplishments, barriers faced and strategies to overcome them, any dissemination activities including papers or conference presentations, and finally, a description of the contributions of the members of the multi-generational team. This report should be no more than three pages long and should be sent to Associate Deans Tom Vicino and Alisa Lincoln by May 15, 2021.

Questions

Please send any questions to Associate Dean Thomas Vicino (t.vicino@northeastern.edu).

Apply Now

Apply now through the CSSH online application system.