Cross-nationally comparative social survey research

Cross-nationally comparative social survey research (half day workshop)

24 June 2009 (AM)

CALL FOR PAPERS

A workshop organised by the ESRC's NCeSS research Node on Data Management through e-Social Science (http://www.dames.org.uk), and the CESSDA-PPP harmonisation initiative work package 9 (http://www.cessda.org/project/wps.html).

Paper submissions are warmly invited for presentations within the workshop on 'Cross-nationally comparative social survey research'.  This workshop aims to provide a forum for examining the contribution (current or potential) of e-Social Science to the conduct of comparative social research.  For further details see the workshop abstract below. 

Important Dates:
Submission Deadline:  4 May 2009
paper notification:  11 May 2009

Submission Instructions
Please send information on your proposed submission, including at least a title and abstract of 200 words or more, by email to Paul Lambert (paul.lambert@stirling.ac.uk).  Submissions will be reviewed by a committee associated with the DAMES research Node and other members of the international conference.  Feedback on reviews will be provided. 

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Extended Abstract

Micro-social survey data resources have flourished in recent decades, increasing in volume, and benefitting from improved standards in documentation and distribution. One response has been that more and more social scientists are exploiting such resources to engage in comparative analysis of cross-national survey data. Classically, this field is seen as an exciting endeavour, but one made highly challenging by questions of translation, data organisation, data analysis, communication between researchers, and the comparability and harmonisation of concepts and measures.

Cross-national data projects have developed very successfully in recent years without adopting explicit 'e-Science' approaches. However, there are numerous potential contributions to the field which could be made by an e-Science tradition, and we aim that this workshop will serve to identify - and cross-examine - these contributions. For instance, there are at least two concurrent e-Science projects which are concerned with organising heterogeneous data resources relevant to generating 'comparable' or 'harmonised' variable measures (the 'GE*DE' services being developed within the NCeSS DAMES Node, and the '3CDB' harmonisation platform being developed in the CESSDA-PPP). Other examples of relevant e-Science inputs to cross-national survey projects could include attention to secure access to complex, confidential micro-data; and contributions to translation and documentation associated with metadata standards. 

We invite two different types of presentation to this workshop, with a view to promoting fruitful dialogue between them. First, we invite papers which deal with existing initiatives in e-Science that are engaged with cross-national survey data requirements. Second, we invite papers which discuss complexities involved in collecting, documenting, distributing and analysing cross-national survey data, with a view to communicating the requirements of research in this area that might be assisted by an e-Science perspective.

A central question of this workshop is therefore 'how can e-Social Science help?' Underlying themes will include the value of the traditional distinction between pre- and post-harmonisation (which is called into question by initiatives such as the GE*DE services); whether current models for micro-data supply are optimal or sustainable; and how the analysis of complex cross-national data can be adequately contextualised and documented.  It is hoped that the workshop will serve to demonstrate relevant e-Science contributions, and will promote dialogue between social survey researchers and e-Science research communities.

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Proposed Format

We invite contributions to a half-day session hosting approximately 6 short talks plus a discussion session. We anticipate at least one talk representing the GE*DE project services and one representing the CESSDA 3CDP platform, with other contributions to be identified.

Paper proposals will be assessed by a committee, comprising Paul Lambert and Simon Jones (both of the DAMES Node), Markus Quandt (CESSDA PPP project), and may also be shown to other representatives of the conference programme committee.

Anticipated audience:
The workshop should be of interest to social scientists who are engaged in or interested in cross-nationally comparative social survey research, and to computer scientists interested in application areas in e-Science.