RFP (a .pdf file). - Institute for Research in the Social Sciences

Institute for Research in the Social Sciences
(http://iriss.stanford.edu)
Alumni Research Experience Program (A-REP): Call for Proposals
What is A-REP
Last year, IRiSS launched a new program engaging alumni volunteers in online Stanford social
science research experiments. The Alumni Research Experience Program (A-REP) gives
researchers access to hundreds of alumni who have agreed to serve as human subjects for
non-medical research. The subject pool is notable for providing access to a larger and more
diverse group of subjects (e.g., age, geographic distriibution) than what is typically available
using only Stanford students. This year we aim to increase the number of alumni participants
from over three hundred to the several thousand.
Award Information
This small grant program by IRiSS provides awards of up to $1000 each to 5 researchers
whose proposals are chosen through a competitive review process. Awards are intended to
support the programming of online experiments with reasonably high “production values” that
effectively engage subjects in the experiments.
Timing & Project Criteria
Projects must be interactive for the participants to make their experience engaging and
rewarding (see example below). We also encourage research questions focused on topical
social challenges, though this is not a requirement. Preference is given to proposals from
graduate student researchers in the social sciences.
Example: In one study last year, Woods Environmental Institute researchers assessed how the
media portrayal of global warming influenced people’s belief about the issue, and support for
potential policy responses. Subjects reviewed video footage of various news stories on global
warming, and registered their responses via an online survey.
Online experiments must be run during the winter and spring quarters (participants will have
computer Internet access) and require no more than 15-20 minutes of volunteers’ time per
experiment.
Procedures for Submitting a Proposal
A-REP issues an annual request for proposals. Eligibility is limited to students or faculty with
appointments in one of the six social science departments in the School of Humanities &
Sciences. Deadline for the current academic year is Friday, December 18, 2009.
Proposal materials must consist of the following:
Cover page The title of your project as well as the mailing address, e-mail, telephone,
and departmental affiliation of each investigator should be indicated on the cover page.

Abstract Outline your research in a one-paragraph abstract suitable for public reports and
IRiSS publicity materials.
Narrative Summarize your research question, theoretical foundations, empirical facets of
the research (if applicable), and if appropriate the societal significance that it seeks to address.
The narrative should be no more than two single-spaced pages with a font size of 11 points.
Budget These awards provide funding up to $1,000 to be used for reimbursable research
related expenditures. Please outline in rough terms how you will use the funds.
Electronic Submission
Proposals should be sent as an email attachment to tbrugh@stanford.edu. Documents
in pdf format are preferred, but not required.
Review Process
Proposals are reviewed by members of the IRiSS Executive Committee and former A-REP
alumni participants. The most important evaluation criteria are intellectual merit of the research
and effectiveness in an online experiment format.
Grant awards will be announced mid-to-late January 2010.
Requirements of Grant Recipients
Research projects involving human subjects must maintain Institutional Review Board
(IRB) approval. While proposals that have not yet undergone review will be considered for
funding, no funds will be disbursed until the project is approved by the IRB.
At least one or two of the chosen projects must be ready to be run as soon as February 2010,
as we envision running one project per month February through June. Award recipients are
obliged to report on the activities to which the grant is being applied within 3 months of the
project’s completion. Recipients may also be asked to attend and briefly present their project at
celebratory reception for participants in Fall 2010.
A-REP is supported by a grant from the Stanford Associates and the
Institute for Research in the Social Sciences.