July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014

Table of Contents

1. href="#intro"> style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
   "Times New Roman"'>Introduction
2. href="#data"> style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
   "Times New Roman"'>Data style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
   "Times New Roman"'>
3. href="#icpsr"> style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
   "Times New Roman"'>ICPSR style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
   "Times New Roman"'>
4. href="#roper"> style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
   "Times New Roman"'>Roper style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
   "Times New Roman"'>
5. href="#fi"> style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
   "Times New Roman"'>Field
6. href="#src"> style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
   "Times New Roman"'>Student Research Conference
7. href="#website"> style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
   "Times New Roman"'>Website

Introduction style='"Times New Roman"'>

Founded in 1972, the Social
Science Research and Instructional Council (SSRIC) is the oldest of the
affinity groups in the California State University system. With
representatives from each of the CSU campuses, the Council is dedicated to
assisting students and faculty in their learning, teaching, and research by:

• style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
  "Times New Roman"'>Facilitating access to social
  science data and computer-related instructional and research materials
• style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
  "Times New Roman"'>Promoting quantitative social
  science research by students via the annual SSRIC student research
  conference
• style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
  "Times New Roman"'>Initiating and conducting
  training programs
• style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
  "Times New Roman"'>Recommending computerized
  social science projects in the CSU curriculum
• style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
  "Times New Roman"'>Providing a forum for sharing
  information about social science data and computer products
• style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
  "Times New Roman"'>Advising CSU administrators
  on policies related to providing quantitative social science data for
  research and instruction

Data

The SSRIC is the CSU systems’
clearinghouse for social science data, notably data from the Inter-university
Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), The Field Institute,
and the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research. These sources provide data
to support quantitative social science teaching, research and service by
students, staff and faculty, and well as sponsored programs and grant
development by CSU research centers.

All the functions described above
are performed by faculty representatives as a service.  Dues requested
of individual campuses primarily defray data subscription costs.

ICPSR

The Inter-university Consortium
for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) is the largest social science data
repository in the world. It is the primary source of social science data for
every research-oriented university and nearly every other university and
college in the United States. Data access is online and interactive under the ICPSR Direct system. The following table summarizes utilization by campus
from 2006-07 through 2013-14. 

During academic year 2013-14,
8,764 datasets (568.7 gigabytes of data) were downloaded from ICPSR by CSU
students, faculty, and staff. These totals represent a substantial increase
in usage from the prior year, which represents the low point in the series. This
ended three straight years of decline which may have been due in part to a
decline in the number of data base workshops provided to campuses by the
SSRIC. This decline is, in turn, the result of a near zeroing out of the
Council’s travel budget. The growth was a notable “return to form” for some
of the larger campuses (Fullerton, Long Beach & Northridge), which offset
declines at other large or medium campuses (notably Los Angeles, Sacramento
and San Diego).

In addition, usage data always
requires one important proviso. A single download may be used in a class with
many students, but only shows on the usage chart as a single download.
Additionally, a single faculty member may download a study to be used for research
by multiple faculty members.

ICPSR maintains a series of
topical archives that allow the user to analyze data using the SDA which was
written at UC Berkeley.  SDA is an online program that allows
individuals to access particular studies that have been set up for this
program. The table below shows the number of times that SDA data files in the
ICPSR were accessed by CSU campuses.  With the exception of the 2011-12
academic year, SDA use continues to slowly grow,
with 2013-14 having the second highest usage in the series.

ICPSR also offers an extensive
summer program in quantitative analysis.  Our membership in ICPSR allows
us to distribute a portion of our membership fee to cover tuition for one
participant in the summer program.  The following table summarizes the
number of faculty and students (primarily faculty) that were enrolled in the
ICPSR’s summer program from 2006 through 2014.  The number enrolling in
2014 was the third highest going back to 2006.

Roper Center for Public Opinion

The Roper Center provides public
opinion data for the nation and the world. Studies go back many decades
providing the opportunity to do longitudinal research.  The CSU
established a system wide membership in the Roper Center in October,
2004.  From October, 2004 through September, 2005 the CSU was
limited to 50 data sets per year and data had to be ordered through one point
of contact.  Starting in October, 2005, CSU students, faculty, and staff
could download Roper data directly to their desktop through RoperExpress
(similar to ICPSR Direct).  This resulted in a large increase in
utilization of Roper data. 

The following table summarizes the
number of data sets that were downloaded from the Roper Center archive during
2006-07 through 2013-14 by CSU students, faculty, and staff. In 2013-14, 850
datasets were downloaded. The Roper Center
also offers iPOLL which is a data base of survey questions which can be used
for trend analysis and to select data sets for downloading.  The table
also reports the number of times that students, faculty, and staff used
iPOLL.   In 2013-14, iPOLL was accessed 193 times, representing a
substantial decrease in usage from previous years. Dataset usage was near its
highest point in recent years, yet iPoll usage is
near its lowest. The increase in dataset usage was concentrated at two
campuses, whereas decreases in iPoll usage are
across most campuses.

The Field Institute

The CSU maintains a membership in
the Field Institute which provides our students, faculty, and staff access to
both current and past Field polls. The Field Institute is one of several
state polls that provide current public opinion data for the state on issues
of interest to policy makers, researchers, and students. In addition to
access to these polls, our membership in The Field Institute provides one
faculty member with the opportunity to place 12 questions per year on a Field
Poll.

The CSU contracts with UC Berkeley
to provide access to the data sets we receive from the Field Institute. The
following table provides information on the number of times that students,
faculty, or staff accessed the Field archive at Berkeley. The table below
shows the number of times that a person logged onto the Field archive to look
for or download data for the 2005-06 through 2013-14 academic years.  During
academic year 2012-13, 360 Field data sets were accessed. This represented a
sharp decline from previous years, and most of activity was concentrated at
just a few campuses. Usage increased slightly in 2013-14, concentrated at a
few campuses (though not the same campuses as in 2012-13.)

Student Research Conference

The SSRIC sponsors an annual
student research conference for both undergraduates and graduates where
students can present their research in a supportive setting. For many
students, this is their first opportunity to present their research at a
professional conference. The 2013 conference was held at San Francisco State
with about 30 presentations from about 8 participating campuses.  The
2014 conference was held at CSU Fullerton.  The following table
summarizes student research conference activity for the years 2007-2014.
 

*approximate

Website

The SSRIC Web site is online at href="http://www.ssric.org/node/www.ssric.org">www.ssric.org style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";"Times New Roman"'> . The site consolidates and expands information
previously scattered on servers at the Bakersfield, Los Angeles, and Pomona
campuses. The new site makes it much easier to communicate information about
resources, events, and services provided to students, faculty, and staff
through the Council. The site offers among other things:

• style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
  "Times New Roman"'>Announcements of upcoming
  events
• style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
  "Times New Roman"'>A contact list of Council
  representatives from each campus
• style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
  "Times New Roman"'>Information for
  research-oriented social science faculty throughout the CSU
• style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
  "Times New Roman"'>Comprehensive information
  about the annual SSRIC Student Research Conference
• style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
  "Times New Roman"'>Instructions for downloading
  ICPSR, Field, and Roper data
• style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
  "Times New Roman"'>Information about the Field
  Fellowship program
• style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
  "Times New Roman"'>Information about the ICPSR
  Summer Program
• style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
  "Times New Roman"'>Curriculum materials
  contained in the SSRIC Teaching Resources, including various modules and
  exercises and an SPSS primer for versions 19 and 22.
• style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
  "Times New Roman"'>Curriculum materials
  contained in POWERMUTT, an online text for teaching research methods in
  political science and cognate disciplines.
• style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
  "Times New Roman"'>Links to various sites that
  have useful research information.