College of Arts & Letters launches ND Population Analytics to accelerate policy-relevant work through big data

Published:December 12, 2024

Author: Mary Kinney

(Photo by Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame)

In partnership with the University of Notre Dame's Poverty Initiative, the College of Arts & Letters has launched a data-focused research effort that will foster and advance multidisciplinary work on a wide range of pressing demographic issues facing society, including poverty, rising inequality, declining health in the United States, family instability and falling religious participation.

Notre Dame Population Analytics (ND Pop) will catalyze policy-relevant research by creating an ecosystem of scholars on campus who strive to tackle important population-level issues in their work. Led by William Evans, the Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Economics and co-founder of the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities, ND Pop will be a hiring and convening force for innovative social scientists, empowering them with access to curated datasets, specialized staff and research associates, and other essential support services.

William Evans (Photo by Barbara Johnston/University of Notre Dame)

"Many of the problems facing the U.S. and other nations are demographic issues - the aging of the population, declining fertility, heavy concentration of the opioid crisis in at-risk populations and disparities in education outcomes across groups," Evans said. "Driven by its Catholic mission, Notre Dame is uniquely positioned to provide a voice on these key issues."

By leveraging the tools of data science, ND Pop aims to promote human flourishing through producing impactful research that can inform policy and practice.

"One of the most exciting aspects about this work is taking research beyond the academy and making it more actionable," Evans said. "Accessing big data will help us understand the dynamics of these key issues. We will be able to leverage the growing infrastructure at Notre Dame to create a lasting impact by informing policymakers, educators, health care providers, social service workers and others."

Through partnerships with Notre Dame Research, the Center for Research Computing and the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society, ND Pop will aim to establish a Federal Statistical Research Data Center (RDC), which would bring a secure research environment to campus for social science researchers to responsibly access sensitive data.

ND Pop has also quickly built up staff support for population research, hiring a project manager, a partnership program manager and three predoctoral research associates. ND Pop's partnership program manager, in partnership with Notre Dame Research, will assist with grant proposals to ensure faculty have the resources to capitalize on prestigious funding opportunities and improve the efficiency of the grant application process.

Jeffrey F. Rhoads (Photo by University of Notre Dame)

"Notre Dame has long been a driving force behind some of the most significant research on poverty," said Jeffrey F. Rhoads, vice president for research and professor in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. "Notre Dame Research is proud to partner with ND Pop to further enhance that strength by connecting it with the University's expanding capabilities in advanced data and computational science."

ND Pop's three predocs work with faculty across the sociology, psychology and economics departments to run the day-to-day operation of research projects and handle tasks such as coding, data cleaning and constructing data-sharing agreements. The predocs currently provide support for research that examines socioemotional outcomes for families who have experienced intimate partner violence, data on gender differences in child care, and the Census Tree dataset that uses machine learning models to link historical U.S. Census records.

With initial funding from the Poverty Initiative, ND Pop has begun supporting current faculty research and hiring. ND Pop is partnering with the Keough School of Global Affairs to support new faculty positions for preeminent scholars working at the intersection of migration and poverty, and it plans to be actively involved in attracting talented faculty in areas of research such as history, health and aging.

"To maximize the potential for ND Pop, we need broader representation of faculty with these skills across the social sciences," Evans said. "The investments in research infrastructure will not only make current faculty more productive, but they will make Notre Dame an attractive destination for scholars in population analytics."

Steven Alvarado (Photo by Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame)

Steven Alvarado, an associate professor of sociology, is working with a predoctoral research assistant to gather information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for a project regarding spatial inequality. His team is also accessing and dissecting data from the Indiana Department of Education for a project that examines the presence of weapons in K-12 schools and its impact on students' education.

Having access to statistical population data, Alvarado said, is essential for his research on understanding the causes and effects of inequality.

"This is the type of research that Notre Dame can really make its mark on," Alvarado said. "Through the development and infusion of efforts into expanding a population research science center, it can almost instantaneously elevate the national research profile of not only the social sciences at Notre Dame, but the University as a whole."

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or [email protected]

Posted In:

• Research
• Colleges & Schools