Sociology | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Sociology Program (Funding Opportunity Number: PD 98 1331; CFDA: 47.075) funds basic research that advances understanding of how human social organization works and how it changes over time. The program is broadly interested in societies, institutions, organizations, groups, and demographic processes, with an emphasis on explaining core social mechanisms rather than producing narrowly descriptive accounts. Topics explicitly within scope include (but are not limited to) organizations and organizational behavior, population dynamics and demography, social movements, social groups, labor force participation, stratification and social mobility, family and kinship processes, social networks, socialization, gender roles, and the sociology of science and technology.

The program encourages projects that are theoretically grounded and empirically oriented. Proposals may involve original data collection or secondary analysis of existing data, and NSF is open to the full range of rigorous quantitative and qualitative methods. In addition to substantive contributions, the program welcomes methodologically innovative work, including improvements to data collection and analysis, especially when those advances are tied to clear sociological theory and research questions. Related to this emphasis, NSF highlights opportunities connected to strengthening qualitative research through methodological innovation and integration.

NSF also supports Sociology Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement funding, designed to help defray direct, research-specific costs that students face while conducting dissertation research. Examples of allowable or typical costs include acquiring datasets, obtaining additional statistical or methodological training, travel to consult with scholars associated with original datasets, and fieldwork conducted away from the student’s home campus. Regular research proposals are submitted under PD 98 1331, while dissertation improvement proposals use a separate solicitation identifier (noted in the opportunity text as NSF 14 604). Applicants are expected to choose the correct program announcement/solicitation number in the proposal cover sheet depending on whether they are submitting a standard research project or a dissertation improvement proposal.

All proposals are reviewed using NSF’s two foundation-wide criteria: intellectual merit and broader impacts. For the Sociology Program’s assessment of intellectual merit, four elements are emphasized as especially important: the research problem must be clearly grounded in sociological theory; the project must be based on empirical observation or be capable of empirical validation or illustration; the research design and methods must match the questions being asked; and the expected results should advance understanding of social processes, social structures, and/or sociological methods. In practice, this means competitive proposals typically connect a strong theoretical argument to a well-justified empirical strategy and make a clear case for what the field will learn that it does not already know.

The opportunity is listed as a discretionary grant program with no cost-sharing or matching requirement, and eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any specific clarifications that may appear in the full announcement. The NSF Sociology Program also points applicants toward a range of crosscutting NSF-wide opportunities that may complement sociology research or support training and infrastructure, including ADVANCE, CAREER, EHR programs, the Graduate Research Fellowship Program, IGERT (historically), Major Research Instrumentation (MRI), SBE Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (MPRF), Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), Research at Undergraduate Institutions (RUI), Science of Learning Centers (SLC), Science and Technology Centers (STC), and SBIR.

The posting includes recurring submission deadlines: regular research proposals are due annually on January 15 and August 15, while dissertation research improvement proposals are due annually on February 15 and October 15 (as reflected in the opportunity’s deadline notes). For technical issues accessing or submitting the announcement through Grants.gov, the listing directs users to NSF’s Grants.gov support (grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov).

Browse more opportunities from the same agency: National Science Foundation

Browse more opportunities from the same category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development

Next opportunity: Linguistics

Previous opportunity: Economics

USGrants.org Applicant Portal:

Are you interested in learning about about how to apply for this government funding opportunity? You can create a free applicant account and receive instant access to our applicant portal that many business owners like you have benefited from.

Apply for PD 98 1331

 

[Watch] how do funding administrators access proposals?

Applicants also applied for:

Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (PD 98 1331) also looked into and applied for these:

 

Grant application guides and resources

It is always free to apply for government grants. However the process may be very complex depending on the funding opportunity you are applying for. Let us help you!

Apply for Grants

 

 

Premium leads for funding administrators, grant writers, and loan issuers

Thousands of people visit our website for their funding needs every day. When a user creates a grant proposal and files for submission, we pass the information on to funding administrators, grant writers, and government loan issuers.

If you manage government grant programs, provide grant writing services, or issue personal or government loans, we can help you reach your audience.

Subscribe to Leads

 

Request more information:

Would you like to learn more about this funding opportunity, similar opportunities to "PD 98 1331", eligibility, application service, and/or application tips? Submit an inquiry below:

Don't forget to subscribe to our grant alerts mailing list to receive weekly alerts on new and updated grant funding opportunities like this one in your email.