Using Large-Scale Databases for Research and Grant Writing Gina M. Pannozzo, CEURE Reva M. Fish, Educational Foundations April 22, 2011

National Center for Education Statistics Federal government entity Housed jointly within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

National Center for Education Statistics Conducts and reports educational research Provides researchers with data for secondary analysis Provides statistical data on education to government officials and the general public

Research Programs And Data Products

Elementary/Secondary Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Study (BTLS) Follows a cohort of teachers who started in 2007 Private School Study (PSS) Data collected every two years since 1989 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) Data collected from public school principals Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS) Follows students from tenth grade through adulthood

Elementary/Secondary High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) Follows a cohort of more than 25,000 9th graders Career/Technical Education Statistics (CTES) Secondary, postsecondary, and adult learners School District Demographics System (SDDS) Characteristics of school districts and K-12 students Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) Data on teachers, principals, schools, school districts, and library media centers

Elementary/Secondary State Education Reforms (SER) Major developments in state-level education policies Common Core of Data (CCD) Administrative data from all public schools Education Finance Statistics Center (EDFIN) Explores issues related to education finance Rural Education in America (Rural) Conditions in education in rural America National Household Education Survey (NHES) Educational activities of the U.S. population

Postsecondary Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) Education and employment of students who complete a baccalaureate degree Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS) Student characteristics, school and work experiences, persistence, transfer, and degree attainment

Postsecondary Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Data from all primary providers of postsecondary education National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) How students and families pay for education National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF) Data about faculty and instructional staff

International NCES coordinates the participation of the U.S. in international studies, including: Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)

Early Childhood/Elementary Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten cohort (ECLS-K) 21,000 children who entered kindergarten in 1998 Followed through 8th grade Birth cohort (ECLS-B) 14,000 children born in 2001 Followed through kindergarten

Database Training and Funding Opportunities

Database Training Opportunities Conferences for researchers, policy makers, education officials and administrators on a wide-range of topics. Workshops and Training Seminars for researchers to learn about different databases and receive individual support for their research. Personnel Exchange offers travel funds to allow state or local elementary/secondary education agency staff the opportunity to share information about education data collection, management, and usage across educational agencies. Travel costs/funding associated with attending conferences and workshops/training seminars are typically covered by NCES! For Information on Training Opportunities, go to: http://ies.ed/gov/whatsnew/conferences/?cid=2

Other Database Training Opportunities AERA (American Educational Research Association) Mini-courses (usually 2-6 hours) sponsored and facilitated by NCES. These are designed as introductions to understanding the basic design of databases, available information, and sample research questions. Pre-conference workshops/statistical institutes (usually 1-2 days) on specific databases. Annual Institute on Statistical Analysis for Education Policy in Washington, DC. The next one is May 24-26, 2011. Application deadline will be early January 2011. AERA Statistics Instituted for Faculty is a 3-day training designed to work with faculty who teach graduate research methods in the integration of the analysis of large-scale datasets into their courses. The next one will be held in Summer 2011. Application deadline will be early January 2011. For Information on Training Opportunities, go to: http://aera.net

Funding Opportunities Institute of Educational Sciences (IES) http://ies.ed.gov/funding/ Grants programs on multiple topics offered annually Research grant programs specifically look for integration of secondary data analysis of NCES data with new data collection Professional development/training grants look for the use of NCES data and reports in funding proposals

Funding Opportunities AERA Grants Program http://aera.net/grantsprogram/about_AERA/purpose.html Supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NCES Designed specifically to foster the use of large-scale databases from NCES, NSF and other federal agencies for research on education issues Awards small grants ($10,000 - $35,000) for one or two year projects Grants are typically awarded three times per year (January, June, September)

How Can CEURE Help??? Library of Public-Use databases and training manuals from NCES Working with faculty to identify specific databases that would provide opportunities to pursue research interests Assisting in the design and development of workshop/ training and grant proposals Providing data analysis support to faculty