FAQs
Finding and accessing case studies and interviews
Finding and accessing case studies and interviews
How can I search for a case study or interview about a particular country?
From any page on ISS’s website, click on “countries” and then select the country you are interested in. You will be directed to a page containing links to all ISS publications and interviews from that country.
How can I search for a case study or interview about a particular reform area or topic?
There are several ways of searching for ISS materials relevant to your interests.
Click on either “publications” or “interviews.” From there, you can use the options in the right side bar to filter your publications and interviews by focus area, type, topic, country.
Alternatively, from any page on ISS’s website, click on “focus areas.” From there, you will see a list of ISS focus areas (e.g., civil service, city management, elections) and escaping traps (e.g., building a reform team and staff, containing patronage pressures, etc.). Once you’ve selected a focus area or trap, you will be directed to all ISS publications and interviews on that topic.
Finally, if you prefer to enter your own search terms, you can use the “search full site” function in the upper left corner of every website page. You can also search publications or interviews by clicking on “publications” or “interviews” and then entering your search below the left sidebar filter.
What regions and countries does ISS cover?
ISS has conducted research in Africa, Asia, Europe, Central Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East. Click on “countries” for more information.
What reform areas and topics does ISS cover?
ISS research covers reforms in civil service, elections, policing, centers of government, decentralization, and more.
The governance traps ISS studies include building a reform team and staff, containing patronage pressures, getting the news out and managing expectations, balancing the central and local, reducing the divisive effects of competition, reconciling economic policy and institution-building goals, and eliminating markets for public office.
Please click on “focus areas" for more information.
The most likely reason a tape and transcript do not appear is that the author did not provide clearance. When we interview, we ask each person to acknowledge that he has consented to the conversation. If you asked to review the transcript, we send it to you. If you do not reply after three requests, we often try to clear selected quotes, but we do not post the tape and transcript to the web. If you would like your tape and transcript to appear, please contact us and we will convey the transcript to you for review.
ISS interviewed colleagues for a case study but the case study does not appear on the site. Where is it?
We do not publish all cases conducted by our research specialists, although we draw on the full range of cases when we prepare analytical studies. If we feel we were not able to obtain sufficient depth and breadth in the interviews conducted, even though some interviews were very helpful, we may decline to post the case. We may also withhold a case so as not to place people who offered helpful observations at risk.
I am having technical problems accessing content (MP3s and PDFs).
There are multiple ways to access PDF and MP3 files. If you are experiencing problems accessing the content in the browser, we encourage you to download the file. Choose one of the following options: Right click on the "download" link and choose to either download to save the file or open with an application available on your computer. To download applications to use the file, see below:
For PDFs: Adobe Acrobat Reader
For MP3s: Windows Media Player, Quick Time, iTunes
If you experience further problems accessing files, please Contact Us.
Use of ISS materials
Must I pay to use case studies for the course I teach or for a discussion group?
No, you may use the case studies and duplicate them for educational purposes free of charge. However, you must abide by the terms of use spelled out below and credit them appropriately (see the last item in these section or click on Terms of Use). You may not charge other people a fee for using ISS cases and no one may make commercial use of any of the materials on this site.
Conditions of Use & Citation Information for Interviewees
We all owe much to the practitioners and advisers who have offered to exchange their reflections with counterparts. Please feel free to contact our staff if you have questions about a conversation you have allowed us to make available or if you have questions about the interview process.
If one of our staff members has recently contacted you to conduct an interview, you may find copies of our pre-interview guidance in the "research" section of our website.
If you wish to discuss a transcript or our clearance procedures, please send an email to Production Specialist James Golder (jgolder@princeton.edu) or Bobst Program Manager Maureen Killeen (mkilleen@princeton.edu), telephone us at 1-609-258-2615, or send mail to the address below. You may also complete a copy of our clearance form and send it to us.
Innovations for Successful Societies
Bobst Hall
Princeton University
83 Prospect Avenue
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
What should scholars know about using ISS materials?
Scholars who wish to use or quote information contained in the oral history archive are governed by the conditions of use and citation requirements that apply to other users. Scholarly users should also make note of two other points.
ISS interviews ask practitioners, advisers, and monitors to reflect on aspects of institution building. The interviews are voluntary. The people interviewed have the right to review a transcript of their statements and to limit the release of passages in a variety of ways. If an interviewee has excerpted material, the transcript reflects the change with ellipses and sometimes with a notation.
In some instances, although the meaning of the speaker in the interview tape is clear, the verbatim transcript contains repeated words, hesitations, etc., that make the print version harder to follow than the spoken version. With the clearance of the interviewee, program staff members sometimes edit these verbatim remarks to produce prose faithful to the content and word choice of a passage, causing small departures from the audio tape in the interest of smoother written communication. This practice departs from the norms many oral historians hold dear. However, without these changes some speakers will not place their interviews on the record.
Terms of Use
By downloading interviews,case studies, policy notes or other material from our website you enter into a legal agreement with Princeton University.
1) Princeton has obtained information on institutional reform from interviews with government officials, academics, representatives of international, civil society and non-profit organizations and other individuals.
2) In downloading or otherwise employing this information, users agree that:
a) They will employ the material ONLY for educational, scholarly and other non-commercial purposes.
b) They will not sell, transfer, assign, license, lease, or otherwise convey any portion of this information to any third party. The case studies may not be altered (edited, abridged, or added to) without the written permission of ISS.
c) Any users’ publications, presentations, or other communications that incorporate or otherwise rely upon information from this archive will acknowledge that such information was obtained through the use of the website and that such information was obtained through the use of specific interviews and documents. The website URL is www.princeton.edu/successfulsocieties. The citation should include the author's name, the program name, URL, document name, and the date accessed.
d) Users acknowledge that Princeton may, from time to time, revise and update or otherwise modify the content and/or format of the archive.
e) Users' access to and use of the archive is at their own risk. Users shall not hold Princeton liable for any loss or damages resulting from the use of information in the archive.
Although all efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information collected, Princeton does not warrant the accuracy, completeness, timeliness or other characteristics of the any material available online. Princeton assumes no liability for any errors or omissions with respect to the functioning of the archive.
Feedback and suggestions
I think your analysis is wrong. How may I suggest a correction?
We anticipate that not everyone will agree with every fact presented or with the analysis offered. We welcome comments. If your remarks are relatively short, please send them through the Contact Us link above. If you wish to offer longer remarks or supplementary materials, please convey these via e-mail (bacon@princeton.edu) or regular mail to the Associate Director, ISS/IFS, Bobst Hall, Princeton University, 83 Prospect Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08544. We do not guarantee that our work will reflect all suggestions. We make every effort to fact check and corroborate all information provided.
How may I suggest a topic, question, or case the program should pursue?
Please send your ideas to Associate Director Laura Bacon (bacon@princeton.edu) or convey your information through our Contact Us link above. We welcome ideas.
The program interviewed me. How can I correct a biographical note the program has posted about me or ask for another change in my information?
We make every effort to respect your wishes and apologize if corrections are necessary. Please contact the associate director (bacon@princeton.edu)
Getting involved in ISS
Are there any post-doc positions or visiting scholar positions available?
Regrettably, our current financial plan and space limitations do not enable us to accommodate post-docs or visiting scholars at this time.
Does the program offer internship opportunities?
We host a lively undergraduate internship program for Princeton University students. The program offers several compensated positions during the term as well as during the summer. Interns carry out a variety of research tasks, check facts, and review the accuracy of transcripts. They are full participants in staff activities. The program announces internship competitions at several points during the year. Alternatively, please send a cv and cover letter to the Bobst Center Program Manager Maureen Killeen (mkilleen@princeton.edu). Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate students from other universities in most instances. Summer 2013 Internship Applications Due by March 15.
Are there jobs available with this program?
Any open positions with this program will appear on the Princeton University Open Positions website under the Woodrow Wilson School (WWS) departmental listings. Please go to the main Princeton University website and locate the "Administration & Services" link on the homepage. Then click on Human Resources and follow the links to job announcements/open positions. Set the department filter to "Woodrow Wilson School" (WWS 285). Applications must be conveyed via the university's website, although you are welcome to send a c.v. directly to us to supplement your main application. When we have open positions we fill these with people who have past experience in one or more of the locations in which we work, comfort in interview settings, very strong writing and analytical ability, some knowledge of our subject matter and strong language skills. A non-negotiable requirement of the job is ability to travel for at least one month out of every quarter.
Additional information
Does the program provide advice or consulting services?
The program offers an idea bank. The analysis we are able to offer is contained in the policy briefs on this website and in our other publications. Our information is a collective resource, available to all at no charge, subject to the terms of use above.
Can you connect me with experts in this area?
The program does not currently sponsor a network of its own and it does not share its listserv. However, we try to post links to professional networks in each subject area. Please click on the focus area of interest to you and navigate to the networks heading. To join our listserv, click on the tab at the upper right side of this page.
Do you offer courses, degrees, or other opportunities for study?
ISS is not a degree-granting program and does not offer courses, although the director and others may offer classes through the program's sponsoring organizations, Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy & International Affairs and the Princeton University Department of Politics . For graduate study opportunities in these programs, please visit their respective websites.
