The Consortium for Research on Contemporary Asia (Croca)

THE CONSORTIUM FOR RESEARCH ON CONTEMPORARY ASIA (CROCA) and THE ASIA CENTER

Invite you to join us for a forum

FRIDAY, October 30, 12:00 – 1:20 216 OSH

Wang Weidong Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Renmin University of China and Executive Deputy Director, National Survey Research Center, Renmin University of China

A New State of Social Science Data Collection in China

Dr. Wang Weidong will give a brief overview of all important large-scale academic survey projects started in recent years, including:

- China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) and China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) run by Peking University, - China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) run by the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, and - China Labor Force Dynamic Survey (CLFDS) run by the Renmin University of China. - Dr. Wang Weidong’s talk will emphasize three projects which he has been directly participating in:

- Chi nese General Social Survey (CGSS), - Chi na Education Panel Survey (CEPS), and - Chi na Religion Survey (CRS).

In recent years, the arising of academic survey data has brought the social-economic fundamental data collection in China into a new stage. Around 2010, several Chinese Universities respectively started their national representative longitudinal survey projects and have been continuously releasing data and findings. Universities, together with government and commercial survey companies, have formed the architecture of three pillars of social science data collection in China. Facing the strong challenge presented by academic survey projects, Chinese government and survey companies have to adjust their strategy in social-economic data collection and related field. In academic community, besides for the opportunity of research data enrichment, scholars on China study need to learn how to utilize these new data collection platforms and find local collaborators on data collection projects having special requirements.

WANG Weidong is Associate Professor of Sociology and Executive Deputy Director of the National Survey Research Center at the Renmin University of China. His main areas of interest are sociology of religion, sociology of education, statistical methods, and survey methodology. Wang Weidong is the PI of the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), Co-founder of the China Religion Survey (CRS), Co-PI of the Chinese General Survey (CGSS), Co-PI of the Chinese Employer-employee Matched Data Survey (CEEMDS), and the Executive Director of Chinese National Survey Data Archive (CNSDA).

The Asia Center, a Title VI National Resource Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, serves as a hub for Asia-related activities at the University of Utah involving teaching, research, and outreach to K-12 schools and the broader community. The center supports Asian Studies in its broadest sense. It houses an interdisciplinary Asian Studies Program offering B.A. and M.A. degrees with tracks focused on East, South, Southeast, and Central Asia, Russia, and the Pacific.

The purpose for CROCA forums is to stimulate and support interdisciplinary research on issues involving contemporary Asia. These forums provide opportunities for faculty and advanced graduate students to generate new ideas and research questions, learn about the strengths and limitations of data sources, and identify potential collaborators (who may be in other colleges). CROCA is a program of the

College of Social and Behavioral Science Institute of Public and International Affairs (IPIA) Masters of Public Policy (MPP), Masters of Public Administration (MPA), and Masters of International Affairs and Global Enterprise (MIAGE) Programs

Lunch will be provided, and thus RSVPs are required.

Please respond to [email protected] by October 26.