Research Grants on Reducing Inequality

We are especially interested in supporting research to reduce inequality in academic, social, behavioral, or economic outcomes.

We are especially interested in research to reduce inequality along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, economic standing, language minority status, or immigrant origin status.

• Avoid treating dimensions of inequality (e.g., race, poverty) as variables without providing conceptual and/or theoretical insight into why and how the identified inequality exists.
• If proposing research on reducing inequality on a dimension other than race, ethnicity, economic standing, language minority status, or immigrant origins, or on ways in which a basis of inequality intersects with another, you must make a convincing case that this research will improve youth outcomes. For example, we encourage research on reducing inequality for LGBTQ youth, particularly in intersection with at least one of these prioritized dimensions.
Be very specific in naming the groups on which the study will focus. Avoid vague terms such as “at-risk youth” or “vulnerable youth.”

• Draw on extant theoretical and empirical literature to provide a rationale for why the specific programs, policies, or practices under study will equalize outcomes between groups or improve outcomes of a particular group.
• Identify how the study will investigate this rationale to determine whether it holds up to empirical scrutiny.

• The proposed study aligns with this program’s research interests.
• Specifically, this means that the proposed study aims to build, test, or increase understanding of programs, policies, or practices to reduce inequality in the academic, social, behavioral, or economic outcomes of young people ages 5-25 in the United States, along dimensions of race, ethnicity, economic standing, language minority status, or immigrant origins, or on another basis for which there is a compelling case.
• Studies that primarily focus on documenting the causes and consequences of inequality are not a fit with our interests.
• The letter of inquiry makes clear how findings will inform policies, practices, or programs that can or will be implemented through organizations, institutions, and/or systems.
• It is not adequate to propose a study that will document inequality and conclude with a general statement that research will be relevant for policy and practice

• The letter of inquiry reflects a mastery of relevant theory and empirical findings.
• The letter of inquiry states the theoretical and empirical contributions the study will make to the existing research base.
• The letter of inquiry discusses how the findings will be relevant to policy or practice.

• The proposed study employs rigorous methods (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed) that are commensurate to its goals.
• The study’s design, methods, and analysis plan fit the proposed research questions.
• The description of the research design makes clear how the empirical work will test, refine, or elaborate specific theoretical notions.
• Quantitative analyses might emphasize hypotheses and plans for testing them, while qualitative analyses might elaborate on how the research will illuminate processes underlying specific programs, policies, or practices.
• Plans for case selection, sampling, and measurement clearly state why they are well-suited to address the research questions or hypotheses.
• For example, samples must be appropriate in size and composition to answer the study’s questions. Qualitative case selection—whether critical, comparative, or otherwise—must also be appropriate to answer the proposed questions.
• The quantitative and/or qualitative analysis plan demonstrates awareness of the strengths and limits of the specific analytic techniques and how they will be applied in the current case.
• If proposing mixed methods, plans for integrating the methods and data are clear and compelling.
• If proposing quantitative methods, the letter of inquiry demonstrates that the study will have adequate statistical power to detect meaningful effects.
• Where relevant, the letter of inquiry discusses the potential generalizability of findings.
• The letter of inquiry demonstrates adequate consideration of the gender, ethnic, and cultural appropriateness of concepts, methods, and measures.

• The proposed methods, time frame, staffing plan, and other resources are realistic.
• The letter of inquiry assures that data will be successfully collected, describes the team’s prior experience collecting such data, and identifies strategies for maximizing response rates and access to data sources.
• Prior training and publications demonstrate that the research team has a track record of conducting strong research and communicating it successfully.
• Be sure to demonstrate that the research team is well-positioned to address the varied tasks demanded by the study’s conceptualization and research design. This might include combining expertise across disciplines or methods.
• Be specific about the value of each member’s contributions to the team. We strongly discourage teams that comprise many senior investigators for very limited time and effort or otherwise make cursory nods to multi-disciplinary or mixed-role project teams. Instead, clearly justify the unique value of each team member and the specific role each will play in different stages of the project.