Welcome to the Bureau of Sociological Research (BOSR)

Whether you are a researcher looking to find out more about the services we provide or a study participant wanting to know more about the surveys we are conducting, we invite you to take some time to become acquainted with our projects, staff and services.

The BOSR is a one-stop survey research shop that collects data to help answer important questions facing society.  We are located in Benton Hall—our home since October 2006. The BOSR supports a number of projects that use telephone interviewing, in-person interviews, focus groups, Web-based surveys, scannable questionnaire forms, and grant accounting. As a quick overview, some of our current projects are detailed below.

The links at the top will help you navigate through the history of the BOSR, the types of projects we regularly conduct, and information on how we may be able to help you in your research. If the BOSR is new to you or if it has simply been awhile since you've visited us, we hope that the information you find here will be useful to you as you learn about the exciting ways we may be able to assist you with your research, today or in the near future.

Upcoming Events

Data + Funding = Big Results: How BOSR and SSP Can Help You Meet Your Research Goals

December 11, 2009

12:30 to 1:30 pm

104 Benton Hall

Please join us for an informal presentation on how the BOSR and the Survey, Statistics and Psychometrics (SSP) Core Facility at UNL can help you in the process of meeting your research goals.  Topics to be covered include avenues for receiving funding for research and economical ways to collect publishable data or data in support of a grant application.  Data collection can be an expensive and daunting endeavor.  This discussion, relevant to both faculty and graduate student researchers, will present strategies for identifying funding opportunities to collect data that lead to big results such as funded grants and published research. 

Data, Donuts, Surveys & Solutions
 

Thanks to everyone who attended our spring and summer Data & Donuts sessions. We invite you to tell us what you thought of the sessions and what would be helpful at future events: email us

For more information about Data & Donuts, click here.

Current Projects

Young Adult Alcohol Opinion Survey

The Young Adult Alcohol Opinion Survey is part of an effort by the State of Nebraska to document experiences and opinions about impaired driving and related behavior.  Funding for this study came from a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) federal grant recevied by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.  A random of selection of 10,000 young adult drivers (aged  19 to 25) in Nebraska was asked to complete the survey via paper or on the web.  The information will be used by the State to try to reduce crashes, injuries, and deaths that result from impaired driving.

Family Choices Study: Follow-up Survey

We are currently calling back many of the women Penn State and BOSR interviewed about three years ago for the Family Choices Study. This important, longitudinal telephone survey asks women from all sorts of backgrounds about their child-bearing and family-building decisions. If you recently received a letter from us asking for your continued participation, or if you are just curious, click here for more information about this project

Post-School Outcomes Survey

The Nebraska Department of Education is again working with the BOSR to conduct telephone interviews with high-school-age students who exited a Nebraska high school during the 2007-2008 school year. This year marks the third year that the NDE and BOSR have collaborated on this project to learn about former students' work and educational experiences since leaving high school. If your household has received a letter from us or a call from one of our telephone interviewers, it is very important that we speak to your household about this study. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at 1-800-480-4549 or email us.

The Role of Creditors' Committees in Chapter 11 Cases

The BOSR is working with Michelle Harner, assistant professor at the University of Maryland College of Law, to conduct two Web surveys about the role of creditors' committees in chapter 11 bankruptcy cases.  If you or someone in your firm or company recently received a letter or e-mail from us about our survey for Committee Members or Professionals, we look forward to learning about your experiences and opinions.  If you have questions about this research, completing the survey, or who we identified to participate, please contact one of our project managers at 1-800-480-4549 or by email.

The BOSR also helped Professor Harner develop an online survey interface to code approximately 300 chapter 11 case dockets as another part of this research project.  Overall, this legal scholarship will help to collectively better understand the role of creditors' committees in the chapter 11 process.