NSF - General Social Survey Competition

Overview

The Research Infrastructure for the Social and Behavioral Sciences Program (RISBS) in the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences invites investigators who possess the theoretical, methodological, measurement and managerial skills, as well as organizational resources, to undertake a large-scale survey data collection project to submit proposals to conduct the General Social Survey (GSS) and the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) United States surveys. The GSS is a personal interview survey that collects data on a wide range of topics: behavioral items such as group membership and voting; personal psychological evaluations, including measures of happiness, misanthropy and life satisfaction; attitudinal questions on such public issues as abortion, crime and punishment, race relations, gender roles and spending priorities; and demographic characteristics of respondents and their parents. The basic GSS design is a repeated cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of non-institutionalized adults who speak either English or Spanish. In face-to-face mode, the GSS is a 90-120-minute in-person interview, with forty-five minutes devoted to the core items, 15 minutes to questions selected as part of the ISSP and 30 minutes allocated to topical modules. The core consists of questions that regularly appear on the GSS, allowing long-term comparisons. The topical modules are used to introduce new topics not previously investigated by the GSS and to cover existing topics in greater detail. The topical modules are currently supported by additional funding secured by the principal investigators (PIs) who propose them. Since 2022, there also has been a web mode, with the same questions delivered and answered primarily online. 

Beginning in 2006, the GSS core (questions that appear regularly on surveys) was translated into Spanish and administered in either English or Spanish, as preferred. This practice will need to continue in future surveys. 

Innovations in the data collection process that fall within the parameters outlined in this solicitation are welcome.

Project oversight is provided by the GSS Scientific Advisory Board that consists of prominent scholars with expertise in survey research, other social and behavioral methodologies, and a range of substantive areas. Board members review major project operations and participate in the initiation and development of topical modules. Board members represent the interests of the research communities that use the GSS. New Board members are nominated by the current board and usually serve four-year terms. It is expected that proposals will be designed so that the Scientific Advisory Board will continue to fulfill its important functions.

The GSS award will fund the following activities.

• Two waves, 2026 and 2028, of data collection for the GSS sample, including the United States ISSP surveys.
• Participation in the ISSP. The United States is one of the four founding members of the ISSP and the GSS representative to the ISSP is a member of the executive standing committee and may serve on subcommittees, for example, the survey drafting and methodology committees.
• Survey instrument and module development and experimentation for both the GSS and ISSP surveys based on scientific expertise in relevant social sciences.
• Survey design, innovations and continual enhancement (based on assessment and analysis) of the cross-sectional survey and possible future panel designs.
• Post data collection editing, processing and generation of constructed variables, data files and codebooks.
• Data dissemination through a cutting-edge web-based data archive.
• Provision of user assistance.
• Support for a Scientific Advisory Board.
• Interaction with the principal investigators of the ANES and PSID.
• Interaction and coordination with the principal investigators of the ANES to enable integration of the GSS and the ANES where beneficial.
• Outreach (see full Program Solicitation for details).

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 1 
Organizations are restricted to submitting only one proposal in response to this solicitation.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: 1 
Individuals identified as Senior/Key personnel (i.e., PI, co-PI, other senior/key personnel) are restricted to participating in only one proposal submitted in response to this solicitation.

The internal application is available on InfoReady at: https://asu.infoready4.com/#competitionDetail/1931828
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Letters of Intent: Submission of Letters of Intent is required. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Award amount: The Research Infrastructure in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Program (RISBS) in the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences expects to make one award for the next four-year funding cycle, fiscal years 2025-2028, to support the 2026 and 2028 GSS and the U.S. component of the ISSP survey. We anticipate an award in the range of $14 million and at most $16 million over four years to support two waves of data collection, dissemination activities, and outreach. The expected starting date is August 2025.