The Institute for Survey Research (ISR) is currently directing and contributing to several projects across the country. Below is a list of current projects. For more information about these, and other projects, contact at isr@temple.edu or 215-204-8355.
This project examines the response to a series of automated SMS text messages used as a “primary” mode of data collection. A sample of 1,000 mobile subscribers was contacted via a “cold text” asking them to participate in a five-question survey regarding their opinion on a local park; a raffle of 10 iPads was offered as incentives. Nonrespondents received follow-up phone calls to determine their reason(s) for not responding, such as a nonworking number, the inability to receive text messages, noninterest in text message survey participation, or invasion of privacy.
Principal investigator: Heidi Grunwald
Project director: Nina Hoe
This project is an evaluation of the PACE Center for Girls, Inc., a school-based, gender-responsive alternative to institutionalization or incarceration for girls with high-risk behaviors. In collaboration with MDRD, ISR manages multimode web, phone and in-person data collection for 1,000 girls in 16 Florida sites.
Philadelphia launched a bike sharing system in the spring of 2015. In the fall of 2014, ISR conducted focus groups with residents to determine how to make the new bike share program accessible, useful and interesting to all residents of the city. Currently ISR evaluates the impact of Bike Share outreach efforts.
ISR collects data from three school districts across the country to evaluate the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation Initiative Innovative Professional Development (iPD). Teachers and principals from over 200 schools across the districts are being surveyed through web-based and paper surveys, over the course of three years with two data collections per year.
In collaboration with researchers at The George Washington University, ISR is currently managing all data collection efforts for a study investigating how factors such as poverty, racial discrimination, incarceration, crime and neighborhood values relate to Black men’s sexual risk behaviors with their sexual partners in Washington, D.C. Prior to launch, ISR supported instrument design through cognitive interviews and pretesting.
In collaboration with John Jay College and Temple University, ISR conducted pre- and post-intervention in-person computer-assisted surveys with over 1,200 residents in four selected treatment and control communities in Colorado and New York. ISR’s data collection support is for a comprehensive outcomes evaluation project for Ceasefire, an evidence-based intervention of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
This baseline survey was conducted in four neighborhoods in Philadelphia selected by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health to represent areas with high smoking rates in the city. ISR surveyed 400 Philadelphia residents on the street near entrances to stores that sell tobacco products. The survey confirms the findings of preliminary research indicating that knowledge is weak about smoking’s effects on cancer in 10 different parts of the body, but knowledge about lung cancer is high.
In collaboration with MDRC, ISR collected data from faculty at five community colleges to evaluate the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation Initiative Completion by Design. Web-based data was collected for faculty and staff at five geographically diverse community colleges.
ISR collects data for The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia PROMIS Norming initiative via programming and monitoring IVR system. Data collection consists of creating an IVR survey for 4,000 parent-child dyads for voice verification. Parent-child dyads (children aged eight to 17 years and their parents) are asked to complete a short interactive voice recorded (IVR) survey (managed by ISR) upon completion of the primary online survey (managed by GfK-an online panel survey company). ISR’s role is to attempt to validate the legitimacy of the panel dyads.
ISR collects data for CHOP’s Clinical Validation of Pediatric Global Health Scale via telephone survey with a multimodal sequential recruit and survey at three points for 1,000 parent-child dyads. Data collection consists of a baseline survey, one month follow up and a six–12 week follow up with client-provided list sample. A countable dyad requires both parent and child to complete the interview at each wave.