Hello,
The opportunity exists for our colleagues to use the PIAAC data set for further analysis around substantive research questions. If you're interested, here is a link to an announcement that is inviting you to propose data analysis and a report of your findings. Best of all or at least in addition, you could even earn some money for your efforts. One could also identify some of your colleagues in the Reading and Writing community and jointly develop a proposal. Share the work and the rewards!
This link will provide more details: http://us7.campaign-archive1.com/?u=d594c8ec6a0ea81ef5da0c3f4&id=9f32faba3d&e=e873225cd7
Overview: The Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is an in-person study conducted in participants’ households. The main assessment of PIAAC was conducted in 2011–12, and the results were released on October 8, 2013. It assessed the key cognitive and workplace skills of adults in 24 participating countries and regions, the majority of which are Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members. PIAAC directly assesses adults’ cognitive skills in the domains of literacy, numeracy, and computer-based problem solving. Extensive data are also collected through a background questionnaire, allowing for the measurement of the relationships between the cognitive domains and individuals' educational history, past and present workplace experience, skill use at work and at home, and use of information and communications technology. In the United States, PIAAC is funded by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
(http://air.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d594c8ec6a0ea81ef5da0c3f4&id=16bcb0e622&e=e873225cd7) of the U.S. Department of Education. For more detailed information about PIAAC, visit the NCES site at http://air.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d594c8ec6a0ea81ef5da0c3f4&id=269b6f4a80&e=e873225cd7
** Purpose and Expected Outcome: The American Institutes for Research (AIR), through a contract with NCES, is commissioning several research papers on a range of topics based on PIAAC data in diverse fields, including education, labor economics, sociology, and public health. The commissioned papers are intended to broaden the base of research in these areas based on exploration and use of the PIAAC dataset and its analytical tools. In addition, AIR has developed a research site (a wiki) where PIAAC researchers can discuss research and related data issues. AIR will also host an invitational PIAAC research conference in late 2014; the commissioned papers will be presented at this conference as well as published by AIR. Expanding the capacity of U.S. researchers in these ways will help to provide a deeper understanding of critical issues related to adult education, training, and lifelong learning, as well as the relationships between the skills assessed in PIAAC and the social and economic outcomes of individuals and societies.
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AIR invites researchers to submit short proposals for commissioned papers. The commissioned papers may address any major topic, besides the ones already listed, that can be studied through secondary analysis of PIAAC data and are expected to be approximately 7,500 words in length, excluding charts, tables, notes, and references. Successful proposals will clearly outline how applicants will use PIAAC data to support their research interests. Please be advised that there are four other papers (http://air.us7.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=d594c8ec6a0ea81ef5da0c3f4&id=e3f573f817&e=e873225cd7) that are currently in development on topics of skill proficiency as it relates to digital literacy, adult education and work transitions, job market outcomes and immigrant populations.
Eligibility: AIR wishes to commission papers from both junior and more established researchers. Current doctoral students and recent recipients of doctoral degrees (within the past 3 years) are encouraged to submit proposals as junior researchers. All applicants should be thoroughly familiar with the PIAAC background questionnaire and comfortable using the PIAAC dataset in appropriate statistical packages (e.g., IDB Analyzer and SPSS). All applicants must be U.S.-based researchers to be eligible.
Proposal Content and Format: Interested researchers should electronically submit a proposal (not exceeding five double-spaced pages) by March 28, 2014, to Saida Mamedova, at piaac@air.org (mailto:piaac@air.org) . The proposal should be organized under the following headings:
1. Research question: Clearly identify the hypothesis, problem, question, or idea to be studied. Explain why this is an important question worthy of scholarly investigation. Describe the intellectual merits and broader policy or practical impacts of the research.
2. Significance of the study: The significance of the study relative to existing research in a selected discipline or disciplines. Collaborations between researchers in multiple disciplines are encouraged.
3. Research plan: Describe the research design that will be used to address the research question, including the specific PIAAC variables that will be used for analysis, the types of analyses that will be conducted, and the statistical software that will be utilized. Indicate any additional countries besides the United States whose PIAAC data will be utilized. Research using related data from other surveys, such as the Current Population Survey or the American Community Survey, is encouraged, although PIAAC should be the primary data source for the research being proposed.
4. Plans for further research: Describe how the proposed paper will lead to the development of further research with PIAAC in specific areas.
5. Brief resume of relevant training, skills, and experience. Indicate whether author(s) are applying as junior researchers (i.e., current doctoral student or recipient of doctoral degree within the past 3 years).
Review and Selection: Proposals will be reviewed and ranked in terms of the following:
** overall quality (well-defined and realistic objectives, significance, approach, and innovation)
** importance of the proposed research topics/questions in the selected field
** proposal’s understanding of the complexity of the PIAAC data
** applicability of the PIAAC data to the proposed research question
** lead researcher’s skills and experience related to the proposed work
** appropriateness of the proposed research design and analyse
** potential impact of the proposed work on policy and practice
** proposed plans for further research with PIAAC data
AIR intends to commission 8–10 papers at $8,000 per paper, depending on the quality of the proposals and the availability of funds.
The final papers will be presented at an invitational conference supported by AIR in late 2014 and will be published by AIR.
Timeline:
** March 28, 2014: Proposals due.
** April 18, 2014: Applicants notified of awards.
** September 30, 2014: Commissioned papers due.