A main objective of CONSIRT (Cross-National Studies: Interdisciplinary Research and Training Program) is to enhance the educational and professional training of graduate students of both The Ohio State University (OSU) and the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), and facilitate their international collaboration. In addition to the annual OSU Summer School in Social Sciences, during the past five years CONSIRT has organized three international workshops that trained graduate students from OSU and PAN in quantitative techniques and survey methods. In May 2013 CONSIRT will build on this tradition with an innovative new international project: The CONSIRT Workshop on Panel Design and Analysis featuring the Polish Panel Survey POLPAN 1988 – 2013 (hereafter, “POLPAN workshop”). The POLPAN Workshop is financed by a grant from the Polish National Science Centre, with assistance from the Polish Academy of Sciences and The Ohio State University.
POLPAN is the longest ongoing social science panel study in Central and Eastern Europe, and has few counterparts anywhere in the world. It is conducted on a national sample of adult Poles, in five year waves beginning with 1988. Over the years, POLPAN has drawn the attention of both faculty and students, who have been actively involved at various stages of its planning and implementation. Conferences and seminars in Poland (2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012) on the development and use of POLPAN included many former and current OSU graduate students. Professor Kazmierz M. Slomczynski, the Director of CONSIRT, has been Principal Investigator of POLPAN from the beginning, and with a grant from the (Polish) National Science Centre, CONSIRT is now preparing the 2013 wave.
Structure of the POLPAN Workshop
This event provides intensive two-week training on panel survey design and panel data analysis. The project features two innovations:
First, training incorporates international experience and the building of professional networks for both OSU and PAN students. To this extent, one segment of the workshop (week one) will be held in Warsaw, and the other part (week two) in Columbus, Ohio. In a “my house, your house” arrangement, selected students from OSU are invited to join their PAN colleagues in Warsaw for the first week, and selected students from the Polish Academy of Sciences are invited to rejoin their OSU colleagues in Columbus for the second week. This arrangement exposes OSU and PAN students to academic environments of excellence outside of their home institutions. At the same time, it is crucial for building the platform for professional networking through common research projects. Joint research projects are requirements for completing the workshop.
Second, the two-country structure of the POLPAN workshop fosters intensive training in both data collection and analysis. While in Poland, students will learn about the intricacies of designing and collecting longitudinal survey data. They will attend lectures by, and discuss with, experts in methodology who have designed POLPAN and have administered it over the last two decades. Topics range from sampling to item design, including special topics on the history of sociological panel studies in Europe. During their week at OSU, workshop participants will use POLPAN to train in quantitative analysis of panel data, including advanced special topics. The workshop is open to selected students (based on an application process) free of charge.
POLPAN Workshop Participants
The POLPAN workshop is intended for graduate students in the social sciences at OSU, PAN, University of Warsaw, Graduate School for Social Research and other leading Polish academic institutions, who have a strong interest in analyzing social change through time, and who possess a sound background in quantitative research methods. To facilitate individualized interactions with instructors and close communication among participants, CONSIRT plans the workshop as a small-group event.
The workshop’s structure and its location at both PAN and OSU, allow for two types of participants: (a) The International Exchange Group, consisting of graduate students from PAN and three from OSU who will participate in the full workshop, that is, in activities during week one (Warsaw) and week two (Columbus); (b) in addition, CONSIRT admits up to 10 students from leading Polish academic institutions for the Warsaw segment of the workshop, and up to 10 students from OSU for the one to be held in Columbus.
Evaluation of Student Performance and Certification
All workshop participants will have to complete a group-project using POLPAN data. Students who successfully complete the workshop requirements will receive a certificate of attendance from CONSIRT.
About CONSIRT
The CONSIRT Program has been established by the Departments of Sociology and Political Science of The Ohio State University and the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, and the Graduate School for Social Research at the Polish Academy of Sciences. For more information on research and training programs of CONSIRT, please visit the CONSIRT website: consirt.osu.edu