CORE B: DISSEMINATION COREOverview and ObjectivesThe Dissemination Core is the central mechanism for receipt of data from the Wave IV Data Collectionsubproject and the cleating house for development, exchange, and sharing of project data and information forProgram Project subprojects, Satellite Projects, and the broader scientific research community.Add Health data provides an unparalleled resource for the analysis of adolescent health and health behaviorswithin the social contexts in which they occur, and research that focuses on the transition from adolescence toyoung adulthood. Over 2,000 researchers nationwide in disciplines ranging from sociology, economics,nutrition, social work, psychology, public administration, medicine, education, health policy, health behaviorand health education, epidemiology, biostatistics, maternal and child health, anthropology, criminal justice andcorrections, behavioral genetics, and communication and journalism. It is anticipated that the demand for AddHealth data will continue to increase, as the third wave of data collection becomes more widely publicized andultimately when Wave IV data become available. Resources to facilitate the distribution and user-support forpublic access to Add Health data, fulfilling the data sharing mandate set forth by NIH in 2003, are alsonecessary to continue Add Health's commitment to national dissemination of all study data.The Dissemination Core will also play a key role in assisting Wave IV Program Investigators with informationsharingto support their research efforts. Developments in field work, data discoveries during cleaning, codingof variable construction, and documentation on special samples will be shared to keep investigators informedand to aid in their project analysis and plans. Manuscripts including working papers, conference presentations,and articles submitted or accepted for publication required for, or resulting from, Wave IV research efforts willbe circulated and readily available to all Wave IV investigators. These references will also be appended to amore general list of Add Health manuscripts reflecting scientific contributions from the broader community ofAdd Health researchers.The Dissemination Core will work closely with the Wave IV Data Collection subproject to plan for thecleaning, documentation and dissemination of Wave IV data. The Core will provide Wave IV ProgramInvestigators and the greater research community with the longitudinal data required to develop the analyticfoundations to their research, and will provide analytic and methodological support and documentation neededto analyze Add Health data. In the period immediately following the fieldwork, the Core will work intensely toprepare Wave IV data required for dissemination to the scientific community. When complete, Wave IV datawill be linked to the In-School, Wave I, II, and III data and will become the fifth, discrete, data collection timepointin the study.An important design and field component at Wave IV will be the collection of biomarkers. Add Health alreadyhas experience collecting, assaying, and housing a repository of biological specimens collected in the previousProgram Project (Wave III). At Wave IV, the number and type of specimens to be collected will expand.Biomarkers for a national sample of respondents who have been followed for over a decade will provide aninvaluable resource to the scientific community. At Wave IV, the Dissemination Core will create and expandthe specialized management activities associated with receipt, tracking, and maintaining an inventory ofspecimens to ensure that the archive accurately reflects what specimens are available for future Add Healthresearch.To ensure that awareness and use of Add Health data continues to increase in the research community, anexpansive dissemination strategy for new and ongoing research findings is required. The Dissemination Corewill be responsible for supporting dissemination efforts including the presentation of Add Health research andresearch methods, conducting workshops and seminars on the Add Health study at professional meetings,developing training seminars for new users of the data, and developing support documentation for users. TheCore will continue to support and maintain the project website as a mechanism to provide background,documentation, and user-support information for current and prospective users of the data. The website willalso publicize news, meetings, and events that feature Add Health research.The Dissemination Core's activities will be headed by the Add Health Wave IV Principal Investigator,Kathleen Mullan Harris, with assistance from the Deputy Director, Carolyn T. Halpern. Overall managementresponsibility for the technical output and services provided by the Dissemination Core will be theresponsibility of Francesca Florey, Add Health Project Manager. Technical leadership for data file preparation,cleaning, codebook preparation and data dissemination will be the responsibility of Joyce Tabor, Data ManagerTabor will be assisted by Lani Cartier, Contract Administrative Assistant, Tim Van Acker, Data SecurityAdvisor, Kim Chantala, Statistician and Analyst, Nancy Smith, Web Programmer, and a number of experiencedAdd Health programmer/analysts including Jose Sandoval, Karin Gleiter, Mariah Cheng, and Aimee Benson. Inaddition, the Core will have access to experts from the Spatial Analysis Unit at CPC that will assist with theGIS component of the study, Phil Page, Pablo Carvajal and Jay Stewart. The proposed staff for this Coreincludes all of CPC's most seasoned Add Health managers, programmers and analysts; some who have beenwith the study since 1994. Many of these individuals have contributed to developing and scaling-up systems fordata distribution and dissemination, and all are familiar with the rigor and complexity of the Add Health datasecurity management plan. Additional information about the administrative structure, staffing, and operations ispresented below.
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