On Thursday, April 25th, 2024, CISS presented a panel of academic press editors who shared insights and advice for how to successfully navigate book publishing in the social sciences. The presentation was followed by audience Q&A. The editors included Elizabeth Ault, Senior Editor, Duke University Press, James Cook, Senior Acquisition Editor (Social and Behavioral Sciences), Oxford University Press, and Liz Friend-Smith, Commissioning Editor, Cambridge University Press. Together, the Associate Provost for Graduate Affairs and the Associate Dean, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, are pleased to provide stipend-supported summer internships aimed at introducing PhD students in Social Sciences fields (including PhD students in Anthropology, History, Political Science and Sociology in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences) to career opportunities at institutions beyond academia. Interns will bring to their roles the array of skills developed during their PhD training, including research and writing and area-based expertise. CISS held an information session on Monday, March 25, 2024. On December 7th, the Center for Teaching and Learning visit with CISS postdoctoral scholars and other visitors who are approaching their first teaching experience at Boston University and shared some tips and tricks for planning a successful semester. Social science research has the power to influence social policy, improve human lives, and contribute to public good. Yet, research findings that are buried in academic journals often fail to have broader real-world impact. Many BU social scientists are doing effective public scholarship, writing op-eds for high-visibility media outlets and engaging in public conversations about cutting-edge issues. Learn from BU social scientists how to pitch, frame, and write an effective op-ed. Experts from CAS and BU Public Relations and Communications provide information on how to gain access to platforms like The Conversation, and how to cultivate relationships with editors to place your work. Publishing research in peer-reviewed journals is an essential component of a successful academic career. On Wednesday, October 18th, 2023, a panel of editors of prominent social sciences journals shared insights and advice for how to successfully navigate the peer-review process. The editors will discussed topics including: selecting a target journal, writing a successful manuscript, doing an effective revision, how reviewers are chosen, and the reasons why papers are rejected. The presentation was followed by audience Q&A. Academic Year 2023-24
CISS Book Editors’ Workshop (Spring 2024)
GRS/CISS Social Science Summer PhD Internship – Information Session (Spring 2024)
CISS CTL Teaching for the First Time @ BU Session (Fall 2023)
CISS Op Ed Workshop (Fall 2023)
CISS Editor’s Confidential: Journal Editors Demystify the Peer-Review Process (Fall 2023)
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) has generously provided funds to support an experiential learning initiative for undergraduate students to apply data science and computational skills to studying and building solutions to social problems. The Center for Innovation in Social Science (CISS) will partner with BU Spark! to match 3-5 faculty research projects with undergraduate technical teams who will apply data science and computational skills to the project. CISS and BU Spark! will provide a shared cohort experience and technical mentoring for the interns. The undergraduate Spark! teams will carry out the faculty research and participate in the mentored program between January through August 2023 (Spring and Summer ‘23 terms). Faculty applicants should specify whether they are seeking a student team for Spring ‘23, Summer ‘23, or both). CISS director Deborah Carr and BU Spark! Director Ziba Cranmer hosted an informational and Q&A session on Thursday, November 17 from 4-5 pm. In the info session, they provided examples of the types of projects that social scientists bring to BU Spark!, the specific tasks carried out by student teams, and suggestions on how to structure a successful application. The session featured remarks from Thao P. Nguyen, a PhD candidate in Sociology, CISS graduate affiliate, and UX Design Program Manager at BU Spark! Potential applicants who would like to consult with a BU Spark! representative about their project and its feasibility are invited to reach out to Associate Program Manager (Savannah Majarwitz) at smajarwi@bu.edu. To learn more about BU Spark!, click here. The PowerPoint slides can be found below. If you would like access to the recording, please email ciss@bu.edu. Download the PowerPoint Slides Every research publication started as a vague idea, which was refined and reformulated as the research evolved. How do scholars come up with innovative topics for their research? How do they navigate requirements for novelty in their idea, rigor in their techniques, and sound writing style? And how do these ideas get translated into feasible studies that can be carried out within a reasonable time frame? How can emerging scholars gauge whether their paper is publishable? On Thursday, October 20, 2022 CISS hosted prolific scholar Benjamin Sovacool (CAS Earth & Environment, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy), who led a presentation and discussion about ways to conceive, design, and execute research, move the project to publication, and even achieve impact after it is published. Social science research has the power to influence social policy, improve human lives, and contribute to public good. Yet, research findings that are buried in academic journals often fail to receive the visibility they deserve. On Monday, October 3rd, 2022 the Center hosted a workshop where attendees could learn from BU experts how to use tools like Twitter, Reddit, op-ed sites like The Conversation, online publications like The Brink, and relationships with reporters to amplify the impact of your work. Panelists will include experts from CAS and BU Public Relations and Communications offices. Panelists include Lily Belisle, CISS Communications Intern, Sydney Gross, CAS Associate Dean of Communications, Katherine Gianni, Digital Communication & Public Relations Associate, and Andrew Thurston, Editor, The Brink. Academic Year 2022-23
CISS and BU Spark! Information Session for Applications for Data Science & Computational Support for Social Scientists
From Half-Baked Idea to Publication – Launching & Structuring Academic Research Papers with Dr. Benjamin Sovacool
CISS Promoting and Publicizing Your Work
On April 26, 2022, the Center hosted an information session to introduce and answer questions about the Call for Proposals to Faculty and Graduate Student Research. More information on the call can be found on our website here. To apply, see the application here. The access password for the recording below is R*$w04Q4 Recording No Longer Available The Center hosts undergraduate research interns every year. On April 14, 2022, research interns presented their research and shared the results of their fascinating research projects. A flyer for the event can be found here. You can read the feature authored by CISS communications intern Lily Belisle and CAS communications intern Siena Giljum, found here. View the Intern Research Abstract Booklet (pdf) here. The access password for the recording below is Fd7F2f#W Recording No Longer Available The Center hosted a panel discussion “Non-Academic Careers for Social Science PhDs” on Thursday April 14, 2022 from 2-3:30 pm ET. The moderated discussion featured recent Boston University social science PhDs who have successful and varied careers outside the academy. Click here for PDF CISS Non-Academic Panel Flyer. The access password for the recording below is ndYC1qA! Recording No Longer Available On Feb 25, 2022, the Center for Innovation in Social Science, in partnership with the Graduate School, held a Zoom informational session for potential applicants to the stipend-supported PhD Summer Internships in the Social Sciences program. In the recording, you will see a panel discussion with former interns who discuss this experience as well as provide advice to individuals applying. Panelists included: Sara Bubenik (CAS Sociology) who worked for Partners in Health, Kelley Gourley (CAS Anthropology) who worked for MassInc, Lee Hair (COM Emerging Media Studies) who worked for Partners in Health, Meghann Lucy (CAS Sociology) who worked with the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, Songhyun Park (CAS Political Science) who worked with Commonwealth, and Phillippa Pitts (CAS History of Art & Architecture) who worked with Cultural Survival. In Summer 2022, paid internships will be available at the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Health & Human Services, The Department of Housing and Community Development, United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley, Partners in Health, BU Office of the Provost/Academic Affairs, and the BU Center for Antiracist Research. Internships will run for approximately 10 weeks. Interns will serve in their roles for no more than 20 hours per week and will receive a $6,500 stipend. Applications are due on March 14, 2022. Recording No Longer Available Publishing research in peer-reviewed journals is an essential component of a successful academic career. The editors of prominent social sciences journals shared insights and advice for successfully navigating the peer-review process. On Feb 14, 2022, editors discussed selecting a target journal, writing a successful manuscript, doing an effective revision, how reviewers are chosen, and why papers are rejected. Panelists included editors-in-chief Louis Chude-Sokei (The Black Scholar), Allan Cohen (The Milbank Quarterly), Alya Guseva (Socio-Economic Review), and Kevin Lang (Journal of Labor Economics). The session was moderated by Deborah Carr (Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 2015-20). Recording No Longer Available This workshop held on February 7, 2022 at 3:30, featured Jennifer Grodsky (BU Federal Relations), Kristian Boschetto and Cecilia Lalama (BU Foundation Relations), and Bill Ruch and Libby O’Hare (Lewis-Burke Associates). They shared strategies for seeking federal and foundation support for social science research. The session provided an overview of the supports and databases provided by BU and Lewis-Burke and offered guidance to those new to grant-seeking as well as experienced grant applicants. The slides for this workshop can be found here (Foundation Relations) and here (Federal Relations). Recording No Longer Available Center for Innovation in Social Science, Center for Data Science, and Spark! hosted Building Research Bridges Between Social and Data Sciences on November 4, 2022 at 4:00pm. The access password for the recording below is @cv?0S*=. Recording No Longer AvailableAcademic Year 2021-22
CISS Summer Research Grant Proposal Information Session
CISS Undergraduate Intern Showcase
Non-Academic Careers for Social Science PhDs
Social Science Summer Internship Program (Information Session)
Editor’s Confidential: Journal Editor’s Demystify the Peer-Review Process (Spring 2022)
Strategies for Seeking External Funding in the Social Sciences
Building Research Bridges Between Social and Data Sciences