Why ISR

The Institute for Social Research (ISR) is a well-regarded provider of program evaluation and policy research in New Mexico. Known as an authority on adult and juvenile justice issues in New Mexico, ISR staff members and faculty affiliates also have broad research and evaluation expertise in the fields of communication, criminology, domestic violence, education, economics, employee workloads and staffing levels, health, poverty and homelessness, political science, public policy and public administration, sociology, substance abuse treatment programs, statistics and evaluation research. They use mixed methods, such as data management and analysis, surveys, observations, focus groups, interviews and content analysis.

ISR is the administrative umbrella for three centers, all of which are funded entirely by contracts and grants. The centers are: the Center for Applied Research and Analysis (CARA), directed by Dr. Paul Guerin; the New Mexico Sentencing Commission (NMSC), directed by Linda Freeman; the New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center (NMSAC), directed by Kristine Denman. Dr. Tamar Ginossar serves as the Director of ISR. In addition, ISR administers several grants, Contracts, and projects for UNM Faculty as Principal Investigators.

ISR's Objectives are to:

  • Provide research services to government and NGO agencies,
  • Serve as a rich source of administrative data for faculty research projects,
  • Collaborate with state and local agencies and school districts to provide data-driven policy analysis,
  • Election science
  • Promote interdisciplinary research among social sciences faculty,
  • Train undergraduate and graduate students in policy analysis, and
  • Support grant development and grant administration for faculty-led research related to policy issues.

Project Research and Evaluation

ISR is dedicated to high quality research. Our staff includes sociologists, economists, and government policy experts. Evaluation is the way you show the importance of your project. ISR can work with you to get the most out of your project dollars.

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