( ) DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE
PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
BETHESDA, MARYLAND 20014

January 31, 1974






Re: 1 R01 HD 08352-01

Dr. Elsa M. Chaney
Department of Political Science
Fordham University
Bronx, New York 10458

Dear Dr. Chaney:

This is in reply to your request for the reviewers' evaluative comments
concerning your research grant proposal, "Women's Non-familial Roles
and Population Policy." I am glad to furnish a summary of such comments.

The reviewers regarded your proposal as a well-written one that aims
at shedding light on an area of considerable importance in population
research. As the reviewers pointed out, while the approach is not likely
to yield definitive answers to the questions posed, even for Peru, it
is a step toward formulating better in-depth hypotheses about the processes
involved. The reviewers thought that the strategic option of selecting
a small sample for intensive investigation is valid, given the current
state of knowledge on this topic and that the research design is imagi-
natively and soundly conceived. Particularly intriguing to the reviewers
is the use of four communities representing points along a spectrum of
urbanity and modernity, and the combination of three methods of data gath-
ering. In the opinion of the reviewers, the investigators' awareness of
limitations of current methods and your willingness to experiment with
new techniques is definitely a plus; the field is very much in need at this
time of developing better devices for eliciting information from nonliterate
and semi-literate populations.

According to the reviewers, a weakness of this study is the attempt to
discover by cross-sectional research what would require a longitudinal
design to provide a definitive answer. The reviewers pointed out that
to determine whether non-familial roles have an effect on fertility, one
would, ideally, begin with a group of about to be married women and trace
over time the fertility motivations of those remaining in the home and
those working outside. They indicated that it is not entirely clear from
the proposal whether it is planned to move beyond an examination of atti-
tudes and practices toward fertility in particular communities to an
analysis of how working women and women at home differ in fertility prac-
tices, if, indeed, they do. The reviewers noted that the in-depth inter-
view portion of the design will utilize high and low fertility women from





page 2 Dr. Chaney


urban and rural areas, some of whom work and some of whom do not. The
reviewers pointed out that the interview emphasis will be on community
patterns, standard life crises, and major economic and political events
impinging on the women, but seemingly little on retrospective history
taking that might partially compensate for the cross-sectional design
in collecting data.

In the judgment of the reviewers, the investigators appear to have very
good, complementary backgrounds for the proposed research. The reviewers
noted that collaboration is to be arranged and sites would be chosen in
consultation with several Peruvian institutions and that the investigators
have contacts at several though not all of these institutions. The
reviewers did not think that you would experience any difficulty in
gaining access to the field. The reviewers pointed out that from a
scientific standpoint Peru will be an excellent location for the kind
of research described, since it shares with many other Latin American
countries the problems of rapid population growth.

I hope that this information is useful to you. If you need additional
information, please write or call me (301-496-6515).

Sincerely,



Sidney H. Newman, Ph.D.
Behavioral Scientist Administrator
Population and Reproduction
Grants Branch
Center for Population Research
National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development








Juno 17, 1974


Sidney TI. Ieumwn, Ph.D.
Center for Population Research
National Instituto of Child Health and Development
National Institutes of Health
Bethosda, Maryland 20014
Dear Dr. rTou nan:
Before lconin~ for Tfe:rico tomorro-; and getting involved in our
summer sorinar, I did wmnt to drop you a note to thank you for
seeing no and for your help on my grant application, I appreciated
it very much,
As you suggested, I till be in touch with you in September for a
possible resubmission in October.
,iin-y caludos,


EBla II. Chancy