2004-02-13: Winter 2004

Minutes of Winter, 2004 Meeting

February 13-14, 2004

San Diego State University

 

Present: Jim Gerber, Kanghu Hsu, John Korey, Randy MacIntosh, Ed Nelson, Jim Ross, Richard Taketa, Gene Turner

 

  1. MSC to approve minutes of fall 2003 meeting at CSU Sacramento
  2. Telephone conference call with Ilona Einowski (Berkeley) regarding Field data
    1. Ilona has set up a test site for the Field data files. URL is http://ucdata.berkeley.edu/new_web/csuftp/. Click on Restricted in the left frame. It is restricted to the CSU IP addresses that Randy gave Ilona. The IE Browser (under Tools, Internet Options, Advanced) must be set to “Use Passive FTP”. If a window pops up and asks for a login and password, the browser setting is incompatible with the FTP server. All representatives should try this out and email Ed to indicate whether they were able to make this work. Please try it both in your office and in one of your labs.
    2. The first option was to have the campus provide another port for FTP access to the Field data. The campus declined to do this because of security concerns. Berkeley decided to set up their own access point on an in-house server.
    3. We indicated to Ilona that this might be a problem. Many campus labs do not allow the user to change the settings for browsers. We tested this in the lab at San DiegoState which did not allow users to change settings.
    4. Ilona said that Field does not use a consistent naming convention for Field data files including codebooks, raw data files, SPSS system files, and SPSS syntax files.
    5. Sometimes Field sends the SPSS system file, the raw data file, and the codebook. Other times it sends the raw data file, the SPSS syntax file, and the codebook. Rarely does it send all four files. Ilona needs a standard way of naming files.
    6. Services that we would like Berkeley to provide:


                                                               i.     

Downloadable files (codebook, raw data, SPSS system file, SPSS syntax file)


                                                             ii.     

IP authentication


                                                            iii.     

Search capability (using UCSD search engine)


                                                           iv.     

Technical assistance (amount of assistance would need to be worked out)


                                                             v.     

Ilona indicated that this would cost $3,000 per year assuming we can easily resolve the access issue. We discussed the possibility of a one-time set up fee.


                                                           vi.     

We also discussed the possibility of creating SDA files for all Field data sets. Ilona will develop a cost estimate that will be contingent on negotiating with Field a way of producing codebooks in a consistent format.

  1. Discussion of other issues relevant to SSDBA services
    1. How to handle other data files including Roper files, Sociometrics files, and miscellaneous files including INS data, census data, and a few other files -- Jim Gerber indicated he would discuss the possibility of storing these data files at the Social Science Research Laboratory (SDSU) with Doug Coe.
    2. Other services that we thought were important:


                                                               i.     

Workshops—approximately four workshops per year on CSU campuses


                                                             ii.     

Travel support to one SSRIC meeting per year (maintains current travel support)


                                                            iii.     

Support for Teaching Resources Depository

    1. We tried to develop possible cost estimates for these services. Remember that these are only our best guesses.


                                                               i.     

Berkeley—providing access to Field data sets (without SDA) ($3,000)


                                                             ii.     

Berkeley—providing Field data sets in SDA format ($7,000)


                                                            iii.     

SDSU—providing access to Roper data files, Sociometrics data files, and other miscellaneous data files ($3,000)


                                                           iv.     

Travel support ($12,000)


                                                             v.     

Workshops ($5,000)


                                                           vi.     

Teaching Resources Depository support ($4,000)


                                                          vii.     

Total ($34,000)


                                                      viii.     

To this figure we must add the dollar amount for the social science data bases (ICPSR, Field, Roper) that the campuses must provide. For 2003-2004, the campuses provided $46,250.


                                                           ix.     

Grand total ($80,250) assuming the previous estimates.

  1. Field Committee Report
    1. Field Question Credits for 2004-2005 -- Chancellor’s Office will receive four to five of the six question credits for 2004-2005
    2. MSC to recommend Corissa Gwynne Barbary (Hayward) for Field Student Intern. Ed to talk with her by telephone first to make sure she understands the nature of the work to be done as student intern.
    3. MSC to recommend Kimberly Nalder (Sacramento) as Field Faculty Fellow and Francis Neely (San Francisco) to receive question credits.


                                                               i.     

Nalder would receive seven or eight questions as Faculty Fellow and Neely would receive six question credits. The reduced number of questions for the Faculty Fellow allows for the four or five questions the Chancellor’s Office will use.


                                                             ii.     

This is contingent upon Nalder revising the proposal to improve the questions that will be proposed to Field. Ted Lascher is willing to work with Nalder on the development of the questions.

  1. Telephone conference call with Desdemona Cardoza, Dean of the College of Natural and Social Sciences, CSULA, regarding SSDBA
    1. Dean Cardoza is considering making a proposal to move the SSDBA from Academic Technology to the College of Natural and Social Sciences as part of the establishment of a Social Science Research Center.
    2. Some funds might remain in Academic Technology for technical and server support. Other funds would move to the college for programming and maintaining the website.
    3. Ed to send the Dean a list of the components that we would like to see in a revised SSDBA (see list in section on conference call with Ilona).
    4. The Dean will work with Peter Quan to prepare a proposal with the components costed out so we can compare our options.
  2. ICPSR Summer Program-Jim Gerber is the new czar for the summer program. A description of the summer program is on ICPSR’s website: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/sumprog/. ICPSR provides the CSU with $3,000 to distribute to faculty to help with expenses. All campus reps should notify their faculty of the availability of these funds and send interested names to Jim. Interested faculty should apply directly to ICPSR and send Jim a copy of their application form and a cover letter indicating their interest in being considered for these funds.
  3. Student Research Conference—Pomona-Friday, April 30
    1. There is a website describing the conference at http://www.class.csupomona.edu/pls/src.html.
    2. Keynote speaker is Earl Babbie.
    3. Rooms have been reserved in the Union.
    4. Posters were distributed. John will send them to representatives not at the meeting.
    5. Awards


                                                               i.     

Two awards for best undergraduate and best graduate paper (each $100). Funds from SPSS book fund.


                                                             ii.     

One award for best paper using SSDBA data ($100). Funds provided by SSDBA. MSC to change the title of this award to best paper for quantitative data instead of SSDBA data.

    1. Ed to send list of research-oriented faculty to SSRIC for revision. Then Ed will distribute a notice about the conference to all faculty on the list. John to send Ed the notice to send out.
  1. Randy will contact the Deans at Chico, Long Beach, and San Bernardino is to ask if they would appoint a new SSRIC representative. These are the three campuses where we have vacancies at the moment.
  2. Teaching Resources Depository
    1. Question is how we can revise the TRD to make it more useful.
    2. How can we find support for a technician to make the necessary changes and for faculty to create the materials to put on the TRD?
    3. Ed to send NSF proposals to Jim Gerber. Jim to consult with Bock Allen, Professor of Educational Technology and Director, Center for Teaching and Learning, SDSU.  Brock is an expert on the theory of instructional design and the psychology of technology-based learning.
    4. Ed to contact Lynda Harding (CETL, Fresno) to get information on Pedagogy Enhancement Teaching Grants.
  3. MSC to elect Richard Taketa as chair of SSRIC for 2004-2005.