TESS Special Competition Using Targeted Samples


Time-sharing Experiments for the Social Sciences (TESS) is an NSF-funded initiative. Investigators propose survey experiments to be fielded using a nationally representative US adults sample via NORC at the University of Chicago's probability-based AmeriSpeak® Panel.


Most TESS studies involve general population samples. We are excited to announce here a Special Opportunity for researchers to propose survey experiments to be conducted on targeted populations of adults – that is, subgroups of the US population that include only people who share specific characteristics.


In terms of specifics:

  • A non-exhaustive list of possibilities would include: African Americans; veterans; parents with children under age 18; people with diabetes; widows; Californians; homeowners; adults who have not been vaccinated for COVID-19; Republicans; regular churchgoers; full-time employees; smokers; college graduates; immigrants; adults under age 30; people with student loan debt; LGBT persons; obese persons; non-voters; people with household incomes over $150,000; and intersections of the aforementioned or other characteristics as long as the ultimate subgroup exceeds the population size indicated below.

  • Applications must specify precisely the targeted population(s) they wish to study and must identify the estimated prevalence of the targeted population(s) among US adults, using a credible source. Example sources include the Census, CDC, General Social Survey, Pew, etc. This information, including the source, must be included at the beginning of the application.

  • If a targeted population estimate is under 3%, the project is not feasible for us and so would be ineligible for this competition. If a targeted population is 3% to 5% and the desired sample size is 1000 or less, please inquire to tess.experiments@gmail.com about feasibility prior to submission. If a targeted population is at least 5% and the desired sample size is 1000 or less, there is no need to inquire prior to submission. (For larger sample sizes, scale appropriately such as 10% and 2,000, etc.).

  • If needed, the probability-based AmeriSpeak® Panel sample will be supplemented using NORC’s TrueNorth(™) calibration tool. NORC will maximize use of AmeriSpeak, supplement as needed with a non-probability sample, and use advanced statistical weighting to reduce the level of bias found in the lesser-quality non-probability sample.

  • Studies must fit within typical TESS sample size/unit parameters as provided at: https://www.tessexperiments.org/html/limits.html. For the competition, additional expenses due to special samples will not apply.

  • Please make clear at the top of the submission that the proposal is for the special competition.

  • TESS anticipates fielding up to 5 special competition projects.

Parameters are otherwise the same for other TESS proposals, and the instructions and requirements for these are provided at http://www.tessexperiments.org. These details should be reviewed by anyone wishing to apply.


For any other questions, please contact tess.experiments@gmail.com. Also, as with all TESS proposals, investigators whose proposals are successful will subsequently need to obtain IRB approval from their home institutions before their experiment can be fielded.


The deadline for proposals is March 15, 2022.

 

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