Successful closing of the interdisciplinary research area FAIR
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The interdisciplinary research area “From Prediction to Agile Interventions in the Social Sciences” (FAIR), funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science in North Rhine-Westphalia, was successfully completed at a joint closing event on July 31, 2025. The research will be continued at the newly founded Center for Agile Prevention and Intervention Research (Agile PAIR).
In the interdisciplinary research area FAIR, 10 principal investigators from 4 faculties collaborated with the Dortmund Data Science Center (DoDSc). The FAIR researchers from the fields of data science, statistics, education, psychology, rehabilitation science, and sociology focused on developing and applying innovative research methods from data science and used these to address social challenges in highly relevant areas such as education, health, social inclusion, and participation.
Research projects at the IFS have included studies on the influence of digital media on vocabulary learning, motivational and emotional processes in learning, and the long-term development of domain-specific career aspirations and motivation in adolescence and early adulthood. Furthermore, large-scale assessments such as the PIRLS study were used to investigate how the home reading environment, as well as social interactions with peers and teachers, affect reading performance. In addition to current research, FAIR focused on interdisciplinary exchange, especially on research methods. This was facilitated, among other things, by the FAIR Graduate Program, which introduced statistical methods to young scientists, and several workshops, such as a workshop on learning analytics at the IFS.
Further information: FAIR project website and announcement about the Agile PAIR research center