| CSSI News & Opportunities | Dear CSSI Community,
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the staff, researcher affiliates, campus leaders, and partners who were able to attend CSSI's one-year anniversary celebration at the Old Capitol Museum a few weeks ago. It was a pleasure to commemorate this milestone with the CSSI community. As we reflect on our first year, we are also looking ahead with enthusiasm to the continued growth and impact of our collective work in the years to come.
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This issue of the newsletter offers an exciting demonstration of CSSI's ongoing commitment to fostering innovative and interdisciplinary social science. We invite you to learn more about the scholars selected for our Research Convergence Residency Program and the newest cohort of our Dissertation Completion Program. The issue also highlights fresh opportunities for engagement - from a call for applications for our Grant Writing Residency Program to an upcoming "flash" workshop on ICPSR - a public data repository for the interdisciplinary social sciences.
Sincerely,
Mark Berg
Director, Center for Social Science Innovation
Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminology  | | | | CSSI seeks faculty and scientific staff from across disciplines to take part in its annual Grant Writing Residency Program (GWRP). GWRP participants work at the center and collaborate closely with our grant development staff to create polished, competitive proposals.
Apply by Dec. 1, 2025. | | | CSSI has selected a new interdisciplinary team for its Research Convergence Residency Program. The researchers will study how social isolation and disrupted sleep contribute to reliance on AI chatbots. Formed during the Social Determinants of Mental and Physical Health Micro Lab, the team will receive dedicated support to advance research on safer AI mental health tools.
Learn more about the project. | | | | Join CSSI for a quick introduction to the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), the world's largest archive of social science data. Learn how to search, access, and download datasets for your own projects, and discover the wide range of topics available through this resource. The workshop will also cover the different restriction levels of data access and how to navigate them effectively. As the University of Iowa's official ICPSR liaison, CSSI will highlight how our team can support your data access needs.
Register for the virtual workshop held on December 3, 1:00-1:45 PM | | | Katherine Britt was several years into her nursing career when her father was diagnosed with dementia. As the disease progressed, it wore away his ability to talk and eat. However, his favorite Bible verse spoken by a friend could still bring him to tears.
“Although he couldn’t communicate with us, he understood its meaning,” explains Britt, assistant professor in gerontological nursing in the College of Nursing and researcher affiliate with CSSI. “That was really powerful. We need to bring meaning to people who are facing a progressive illness and lose control of certain things.”
Continue reading about Katherine Britt’s research story. | | | | CSSI has selected four exceptional doctoral candidates for its 2025-2026 Dissertation Completion Program. This program supports graduate students as they complete their dissertations and prepare for careers in research, policy, and public service.
Read the announcement. | | | CSSI is preparing to deploy its next survey to a nationally representative sample of 1,000 U.S. adults. For just $200 per question, you can join the survey and get actionable insights on your research topic of interest. Demographic questions are included in all data.
Plant your questions today and watch your research grow. | |
CSSI Workshop Calendar
This workshop will introduce Python and foundational machine learning concepts, utilizing a dataset comprising textual content.
This workshop will delve deeper into text mining techniques and basic NLP (Natural Language Processing) approaches.
Social Science Research Opportunities from Our Partners
This seminar will cover fundamental concepts of proposal planning and writing for the arts, humanities, and social sciences, backed by concrete tips and sustainable strategies.
In-person | 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 3
Register by Wednesday, Nov. 26. | | | |
