FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Click on a question to see the answer. If you have any questions regarding this information, or cannot find what you are looking for, please email us at oduminstitute@unc.edu
About the Institute
The Odum Institute is a research institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Originally founded as a social science institute in 1924 by renowned sociologist Howard W. Odum, the institute has expanded greatly in the last century and now acts as a campus resource for research support services. You can read more about our history here.
Our team provides a variety of services to students, faculty, and staff to assist with academic research. Services include:
- Consultations in various research methods and data analyses
- Shorts courses and workshops
- Access to a digital archive
- Multimedia production and audio transcription
- Survey data collection
Check out the complete list of Odum’s services and facilities for more information.
Howard W. Odum was an accomplished Jersey cow farmer who believed dairy farming was a viable, sustainable solution to the South’s economic crisis at the time. You can read more about Odum’s cows here.
Contact the Institute
Visit our contact page to contact the institute, or our staff page to contact individual staff members directly.
We are located on the second floor of Davis Library on UNC-Chapel Hill campus. Check out our visit Odum page for more information.
- Address: Davis Library, 2nd Floor
Campus Box 3355
208 Raleigh Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3355 (for package deliveries, use zipcode 27517)
The Institute is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on university holidays.
Consultations
Quantitative analysis
- We provide online statistical consulting via Slack, Teams and Zoom. You can also reach our statistical consultants by emailing odum.lab.consultants@unc.edu.
- If your project requires more in-depth support, you may be connected with one of our full-time statistical experts, Cathy Zimmer or Chris Wiesen.
- To find consultant specializations and determine which consultant is best suited to answering your questions, please visit the quantitative analysis page on our website. There you will also find a schedule for our ResearchHub statistical consultants.
Qualitative research
- Our qualitative expert Paul Mihas (Paul_Mihas@unc.edu) is available by appointment for consultations on qualitative research design, data collection, and strategies for analysis. He can also provide resources or guidance for researchers conducting ethnographic, phenomenological, grounded theory, or pragmatic qualitative research.
- Odum also provides specialized computer programs QSR NVivo, ATLAS.ti, and MAXQDA via our machines in the computer lab on the second floor of Davis Library. Training and consultations in their use, and in the use of the web application Dedoose, are also available. See our short course schedule to find dates for future trainings, and check out our qualitative research page for more information on these software packages.
Mixed methods analysis
- Due to our expertise in both quantitative and qualitative research analysis and methods, the Odum Institute is uniquely suited to providing support and guidance for mixed methods research. Contact Paul Mihas (Paul_Mihas@unc.edu) to schedule an appointment, and visit our mixed methods page to see common consultation topics.
Survey Research
- Our survey research expert Jessica Grant (jgrant1@unc.edu) is available for brief consultations on various aspects of survey research, including questionnaire design, data collection modes and methods, and pretesting and cognitive interviewing. Our statistical expert Chris Wiesen (919-357-3583) is also available for consultations on sampling, weighting, and estimation.
- We provide consultation on using the Qualtrics survey software tool on a walk in basis during 6 specified hours per week.
- If you cannot attend walk-in hours, feel free to email our Qualtrics consultant at qualtrics@unc.edu. There are also resources available on the Qualtrics page of our website.
You can contact our consultants through email or by phone. Here is a quick list of contact information and areas of expertise for our consultants (please see the “What areas does Odum offer consultations in?” for more detailed information):
Consultants
Jessica Grant
Associate Director of Research; Director of the Certificate in Survey Science
jgrant1@unc.edu
Paul Mihas
Assistant Director of Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research
919-962-0513paul_mihas@unc.edu
Brief consultations in every topic listed above are available to UNC students, faculty, and staff free of charge. More extensive consulting is available on a cost-reimbursement basis – contact the appropriate consultant from the table in the “How do I contact consultants?” tab above to obtain a pricing estimate.
Online Statistical consulting and Qualtrics hours are always free.
Trainings
A short course is just what it sounds like – a short standalone course on a specific topic. The duration of courses varies – some take place over a lunch break, while some occur as a series spanning three-to-five days. Short courses provide a lot of information in a very short amount of time, giving participants the opportunity to discover or delve deeper into a broad range of topics without having to commit the time, money, or energy required for a long-form course.
You can find upcoming short courses on our short course page or our calendar.
Many short courses are free for UNC CH students (requiring only a small refundable deposit), with discounted fees for UNC CH faculty, staff, residents, post-docs, and visiting scholars. Exceptions are courses included in our Certificate is Survey Science (CSS), courses included in our summer program with Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), and the two annual short course series we co-sponsor, Qualitative Research Summer Intensive (QRSI) and Data Matters.
Course costs are indicated in all course descriptions posted on our website. They are also open to those outside of the UNC Chapel Hill community.
Anyone can attend our short courses.
The Qualitative Research Summer Intensive is a 8-day short course series cosponsored by the Odum Institute and ResearchTalk, Inc., which takes place every July.
To get a better idea of the course offerings and registration pricing, please visit our QRSI event page.
A Certificate in Survey Science is a 12-hour graduate program which includes coursework in sampling, questionnaire design, and data collection methods. Before graduating with the Certificate, students demonstrate real world experience in survey data collection. The Program is designed for individuals currently enrolled in a graduate degree program at UNC, and for individuals who have completed a bachelor’s degree, are currently working, and may have no immediate plans to pursue a graduate degree.
For more information about this program, please visit the Certificate in Survey Science page.
Sponsored by the National Consortium for Data Science (NCDS), the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI), North Carolina State University and the Odum Institute for Research in Social Science, the Data Matters: Data Science Summer Workshop Series is a week-long series of classes for researchers, data analysts, and other individuals who wish to increase their skills in data studies and integrate data science methods into their research designs. Individuals from all disciplines and industries are welcome. Both one- and two-day courses will be offered; participants are welcome to register for one, two, or three classes. Classes will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information about this series, please visit the Data Matters website.
Other Services
A printable version of the Odum Institute’s facilities document is also available.
Odum offers video production services for a range of projects, including broader impact videos, online courses, and promotional materials. Video services can be tailored to any particular project, and can include assistance at any stage, from brainstorming and storyboarding, to filming, to the final post-production stage of editing.
We also offer audio transcription services for researchers looking to transcribe interviews or focus groups.
For more information, please check out the Odum Institute’s facilities document.
If you are looking for someone to conduct your mail, Web, or mixed-mode survey, members of our survey group are available on a cost-reimbursement basis. As their time permits, our staff can develop your survey, conduct data collection, and provide a data file in your choice of format.
For more information about our data collection services or to obtain a cost estimate for your project, please email our Assistant Director of Survey Research Jessica Grant at jgrant1@unc.edu.