Christina Maimone
Research Data Services Lead, Research Computing Services
Northwestern University
Alex Storer
Research Analytics Consultant, Research Support Services, Graduate School of Business
Stanford University
Social science research increasingly requires specialized data analysis, data management, and programming skills that few researchers learn during their graduate training. By providing centralized staff trained both in research and data skills to support researchers, universities can increase research efficiency and enable social science researchers to undertake impactful projects that may otherwise be infeasible. We’ll discuss service, organizational, and funding models at different universities, and share what we’ve learned providing such support over the past seven years. What type of support do social science researchers need? What are the challenges in providing this service? How do project management practices contribute to service sustainability and quality? Participants will learn about the resources required to offer data science support and the impact universities can expect for making such an investment.