Research Partnerships

CFP: 2023–24 CDH Research Partnerships

Deadline: March 1, 2023

The Center for Digital Humanities seeks curious, experimental scholars to collaborate on our Research Partnership grants. Princeton faculty from any discipline are welcome to propose small-scale projects that integrate methods, sources, or critique from the humanities, the data-driven or computational sciences, data science, and/or design.

Project Eligibility

Applicants must propose an idea, problem or provocation that can be explored over the course of approximately 6 continuous months during the 2023–24 academic year.

Types of projects may include:

• Computationally-driven projects that draw on methods from text mining, natural language processing, machine learning and AI, and potentially computer vision, in order to model and examine cultural data in new ways. Outcomes could include a set of visualizations, a code repository, a machine learning model, and/or an article (academic or for the general public).
• Data-driven projects that analyze, make arguments, or tell stories with data of any kind—textual, geo-spatial, network, image, audio, etc. Outcomes could be a custom data representation (such as visualization, sonification, or physicalization), and/or an article (academic or for the general public).
• Software engineering projects to create a reusable software module or tool to enable or advance a particular research argument.
• Humanistic critique of or critical engagement with data-driven technologies, machine learning, or design. Examples include: a technically-informed close reading of text and images automatically generated by so-called “artificial intelligence”; a study of the questionable data and visualizations used to promote misinformation on social media; an inquiry into the capture and monetization of personal data as a form of colonialism. Outcomes would be an article or essay (academic or general public).
• We welcome other creative or boundary-pushing project ideas.

For examples of previously-awarded projects, please see here: https://cdh.princeton.edu/updates/introducing-the-202223-research-partnerships/

Please note that project data must be ready for analysis at the time the collaboration starts. Data may be either custom-made or from an existing dataset. If the latter, any data-use agreements must be signed prior to the start of the project. Scholars who need to create or refine their datasets should apply for a CDH Data Fellowship.

Creating a public-facing website is out of scope for this grant.

Fellowship Details and Responsibilities

Princeton faculty may apply as individuals or with a collaborator/team. Grantees will be matched with CDH staff with relevant technical, domain, or project management expertise.

Grantees receive $5,000 (award will be split if there are faculty co-PIs), and research funds up to $3,000 for student assistants ($25/hour for graduate students; $15/hour for undergraduates). Funds will be transferred to home departments for administration.

Grantees are expected to actively collaborate with CDH staff during the course of the award, and must be available for weekly or biweekly meetings (in person or Zoom).

Grantees will be required to submit a final report at the conclusion of their award, along with a spending report. Unused research funds will be returned to the CDH at the conclusion of the grant period.

Visiting faculty are not eligible.

Application Process

To apply, please submit a 1,000-word project proposal that includes:

• A clear statement of the concept or problem
• The desired outcomes or project goals
• A clear explanation of the project’s intervention in your field. How is the approach innovative or unique? Has this approach been tried before?
• If the project is data-driven, briefly describe the data. Please submit a data sample, and indicate that you have the rights to use or publish studies based on this data. Please consult staff at the Princeton Research Data Service if you are unsure.
• The expertise needed from CDH staff
• An indication of your preferred start dates for the 6-month partnership (July 2023–December 2024)
• Funding request. Please also indicate any other funding secured or requested for this project.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend a grants information session at noon on Wednesday, February 15 (in person and on Zoom--information here), or to reach out to the CDH for consultations and dataset review before submission by using our consultation form. Requests for grant consultations must be submitted by February 21, 2023 to ensure that we can meet with you before the application deadline.

Application material should be sent as a single PDF file to cdh-info@princeton.edu by 11:59 pm EST Wednesday March 1, 2023 with the subject line “Research Partnership Application.” Applications will be reviewed by CDH’s Faculty Executive Committee. Notifications will be sent out by April 1, 2023.