Data Science and Research Services

Elizabeth A. Vandewater, PhD, Unit Lead
Laura Dixon, Research Dissemination and Public Relations

The Data Science and Research Services (DSRS) Unit is led by Dr. Elizabeth A. Vandewater. Vandewater received her doctorate in psychology from the University of Michigan in 1994, and pursued post-doctoral training in life course development, survey research and quantitative methods at the U of M’s Institute for Social Research. She is an experienced investigator with funding from NIH, NSF, CDC, DOE, the WT Grant Foundation, and the Kaiser Family Foundation. She is a recognized expert on the influence of media and technology on children’s health outcomes and health behaviors, and has served as the methodologist on CDC and NCI funded projects. Her current work focuses on text analytics and the incorporation of text based data in quantitative models. She has been a permanent member of the SSPS Study Section, and served as a guest member on many others. She has taught classes in Research Methods, Psychometrics, Multivariate Statistics, and Structural Equation Modeling. Whether your question is related to study design, analyses, programming, analytic plans for grant proposals, or responding to reviewer comments (from grant or journal submissions), she can help. Vandewater oversees the work of Laura Dixon, a media studies scholar who translates PRC scientific findings for diverse audiences, including generating and disseminating the PRC’s Research Brief Series.

DSRS Services and Activities Include:

• Statistical and Methodological Support
  • Consulting
  • Workshops and Lectures
  • Population Science Protocol Database
• Data Services and Support
  • Data Linking
  • BIG Data
  • Data Archiving
  • Survey and Data Collection Platform - REDCap
• Grant and Proposal Support
• Research Communication & Dissemination
  • Social Media
  • Tracking Media Highlights
  • Op-Eds
  • Research Briefs