2024 Data Expo Challenge

The 2024 Data Expo Challenge

The challenge data set for 2024 is the General Social Survey, https://gss.norc.org/.

• The General Social Survey (GSS) is a nationally representative survey of adults in the United States that has been conducted since 1972. The GSS is primarily funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and conducted by the non-partisan and objective research organization NORC at the University of Chicago. The GSS is the single best source for sociological and attitudinal trend data covering the United States. It allows researchers to examine the structure and functioning of society in general, as well as the role played by relevant subgroups and to compare the United States to other nations. The GSS collects data on a variety of topics in contemporary American society to monitor and explain trends in opinions, attitudes, and behaviors. The General Social Survey (sometimes, General Social Surveys) is a series of nationally representative cross-sectional interviews in the United States that have occurred since 1972. The GSS collects data on contemporary American society to monitor and explain trends in opinions, attitudes, and behaviors. The GSS has adapted questions from earlier surveys, thereby allowing researchers to conduct comparisons for up to 80 years.
• A complete list of GSS variables and their availability can be found on the GSS Data Explorer at https://gssdataexplorer.norc.org/. The GSS also hosts a YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/@GSS_NORC/playlists)  with a GSS video series of educational videos featuring the GSS. This is a great place to start learning more about the data and coming up with ideas for the challenge. A document explaining the GSS and data fields is attached; it also includes some wonderful resources to get you started in your analysis.

Contestants must use the GSS data but are encouraged to combine additional data sets in their analysis. We encourage participants to be creative in their research questions, objectives, and analysis. Novel and interactive visualizations to explore the data are always of interest.

Student Category

First Place: "Social Trust and its Impact on Survey Response Rates": Ujjayini Das and Andrew C. Forrester, University of Maryland

Second Place: "Exploring the 2024 GSS": Bryanna Schaffer, Yichi Song,  Adam Loy (advisor), Carleton College

Third Place: “Investigating American Optimism: Evidence from 2022 General Social Survey (GSS) Data”: Jacqueline Carlton-Wargo, Md Mahedi Hasan, Wooyoung Kim, David Rice, Washington State

Student Honorable Mention: Eric Chen, Ziyao Cui, Erick Jiang,  Nicholas Sortisio, Hiyang Wang, Cynthia Rudin (advisor),  Duke University

Professional Category

“Evaluating Social Trends using Dynamic Time Warping and Sentiment Analysis”: Natalie Winans and co-authors, PNNL