Research

ISPS  supports its affiliates – faculty, post docs, graduate students, and fellows – in all their research needs in support of the ISPS mission to advance interdisciplinary research in the social sciences that aims to shape public policy and inform democratic deliberation.

The ISPS KnowledgeBase is the gateway to all ISPS data, projects, and publications. It is an integrated database which provides a one-stop-shop for ISPS-related research products.

Search the KnowledgeBase or browse recent additions.

Yale ISPS KnowledgeBase

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Field Experiments Initiative

In 2001, the Institution for Social and Policy Studies announced an initiative designed to encourage field experimentation in the social sciences at Yale. The term ‘field experiment’ refers to fully-randomized research designs in which observations found in a naturalistic setting — voters, patients, welfare recipients, community organizations, government entities, and the like — are assigned to treatment and control conditions. Read more..

IMPORTANT: The ISPS Field Experiments Initiative is suspended. Please check in for updates.

Special Projects:ESI

ESI The Economic Security Index (ESI) measures the share of Americans who experience a major drop in their available family income — whether due to a decline in income or a spike in medical spending — and who lack an adequate financial safety net to catch them when they fall. The ESI shows that economic insecurity disproportionately affects the less advantaged, but has risen substantially for all Americans. Read more…

Special Projects: Behavioral Research Lab

The Behavioral Research Lab (BRL) is a place for scholars from across Yale to conduct rigorous research in a controlled setting. Researchers will be able to deliver rich media content, conduct behavioral games, and field surveys in sessions held at the BRL. Participants will learn about important social scientific questions and techniques while being compensated for their time. The BRL connects scholarly research with the broader goals of ISPS, deepening our understanding of behavior and its consequences for politics and public policy. Read more…