Capabilities

At the critical early stages, research projects are defined and scoped by highly skilled NORC staff members who often collaborate with University of Chicago faculty and scholars. More

NORC’s Statistics and Methodology Department makes substantial contributions to virtually all NORC projects and builds the methodological infrastructure that underlies all major NORC studies. ​ More

​NORC operates its own Institutional Review Board (IRB) which follows a formal process for examining all research projects to assure human subjects protections and minimize respondent burden. More

​NORC has long been an innovator in survey design and operations, adept at data collection across multiple modes—landline, cell phone, paper, the web, and in-person interviews, as well as non-interview data sources.​ More

​NORC has broad capacity in the collection of non-interview data for varied purposes, including the collection of medical records and academic transcripts, the creation of observational protocols, and the gathering of biological samples or biomarkers, and environmental samples.  More

NORC’s Information Technology (IT) Group designs, implements, and maintains systems and infrastructure that support all of NORC’s operations. Its efforts enable other NORC departments to meet client objectives in all aspects of survey research, including sampling, data collection, analysis, and dissemination. More

​Evaluating programs requires combined knowledge of the analytic techniques involved in program evaluation and the complex policy and regulatory framework in which federal programs operate.  Our team brings expertise in both areas, honed by years of experience evaluating demonstration programs for a range of federal agencies. More

​NORC collaborates with federal agencies and nonprofit organizations to develop performance metrics and measurement collection systems to monitor funded program activities. More

​​From literature reviews to policy option papers, NORC researchers and analysts, often in collaboration with University of Chicago faculty members, engage in all aspects of public policy research and analysis.  More

​Qualitative methods can be used as a stage in survey design or as an independent source of qualitative data to inform effective research and analysis. More

​The effective dissemination of data and the knowledge gained from it is at the core of the scientific mission.  The tasks required to prepare and deliver data both for research and to inform policy have been central to NORC’s identity throughout its history.  More

​NORC’s staff is frequently asked to provide technical assistance (TA), often to the grantees of government- or foundation-sponsored programs.  This may include training, problem-solving, facilitating peer-to-peer communication and learning, and providing information and communication resources. More

​NORC is a leader in the development and management of data in a protected environment.  The NORC Data Enclave is a tool that allows the sharing, among a closed community of researchers, of datasets that are too sensitive to share broadly. More