- Welcome
- Important notice
- About the author
- About this site
- Site guide + Search box
- Dedications
- Acknowledgments
- My personal pantheon (of the great and the good in survey research)
- Recent and planned activities
- Textbooks for Research Methods and Data Analysis
- 1: Survey Analysis Workshop (SPSS)
- 1a: Statistical concepts and methods
- 1b: Teaching with Survey Data
- 1c: Developing research projects using survey data
- 1d: Workshop and presentations for ASSESS (SPSS users in Europe)
- 2: Survey Research Practice
- 2a: Survey Research Methodology, Practice and Training
- 2b: Major survey series
- 3: Subjective Social Indicators (Quality of Life)
- 4: Survey Unit, Social Science Research Council (UK)
- 5a: Polytechnic of North London (1976-1992)
- 5b: Survey Research Unit (1978-1992)
- Village life in Normandy
- Contact
- Origins of the British Crime Survey
- British Crime Survey
What people have said about this site
[New page 10 May 2013: last updated 16 November 2017]
Retired? I should be so productive! You are a wonder!
Fritz Scheuren Senior Fellow and Vice President, Center for Excellence in Survey Research at National Opinion Research Center (NORC) University of Chicago: past President of the American Statistical Association
Thank you for your email and the link to your website. It looks to be a useful and valuable resource for my teaching. You should also know that I am very partial to websites that open with a picture of their creator sipping (or chugging) a beer. I was taken by your reminiscence about Cathie [Marsh]. I have such vivid memories of her energy and spunk. I still miss her after all of these years.
Charles Turner: Professor of Applied Social Research, City University of New York (CUNY).
Charles also kindly sent me his personal copies (“. .yours to keep for ever.”) of: Charles F Turner and Elizabeth Martin [Eds] Surveying Subjective Phenomena (vols 1 and 2) Russell Sage Foundation, 1984
Please let me tell you that I found your website a complete joy! Your method of stepping novice SPSS users through the path to enlightenment is done so very well.
Lois Timms-Ferraro: Associate Director, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, University of Connecticut
Your website looks very impressive and I will definitely recommend it to my undergrad and postgrad students. You have done a massive amount of work!
Dr Daniel Boduszek Research Criminologist and Methodologist, University of Huddersfield)
[Daniel has a nice set of tutorials covering a range of statistical analyses (using SPSS) and the examples are all from criminological research.]
Thanks very much for getting in contact with us about this and for drawing our attention to your resources. I had a look through these earlier today and you have made available some fantastic material. It is clear that you have put an incredible amount of work into this and I have already identified a variety of resources that our students would benefit from.
Dr Ciaran Acton, Lecturer, School of Sociology and Applied Social Studies, University of Ulster
I looked at several of your pages and was very impressed. I like the careful step by step way you lay them out. They are remarkably clear.
David C Howell (Emeritus Professor, Dept of Psychological Science, University of Vermont)
[See also his Statistical Home Page]
I was delighted to read about your experiences with SPSS, since 1972! Thank you for your enjoyable and informative website, and If you're thinking of doing a book, put me down as a customer..
Dr Dean McKenzie, NHMRC Postdoctoral Fellow, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Your stuff is incredibly useful. Have referred to it regularly. I want to turn the next version of my textbook into an eBook and would love to incorporate some of it.
Dr George Argyrous ANZSOG Senior Lecturer in Evidence-Based Decision-Making:
Editor, Evidence Base and author of Statistics for Research with a Guide to SPSS
Many thanks for your quick response and good resources. Tonight was the first night of class and things went well.
Dr Joseph Taylor Director of Research & Development, Biological Sciences Curriculum Study
That review [of textbooks] that you are doing is VERY valuable. And what you say is true: most of the available textbooks only mention syntax in passing. That in itself may not be a bad thing, what I think is important that totally new students be told that there exist 2 different approaches 'cause when you are learning you take everything as gospel. You see the way you described the 2 in your tutorial? I think that is the key.
Jackie London Maths teacher, Trinidad and Tobago (acknowledging advice and assistance with SPSS on survey for her M.Phil Thesis)
I have looked at your site and it is certainly one of the very helpful and extremely useful sites to use and recommend also to the students
Edith D. de Leeuw, Professor in Survey Methodology, Department of Methodology and Statistics, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University
Thanks for your note and for bringing the rich set of sources on attitudes and values to my attention.
Shalom H. Schwartz, Snajderman Professor Emeritus of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Thank you very much, John! You have a great site!
Matt Jans Data Quality and Survey Methodology Manager , UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
John, I shall never forget what you and your [Survey Analysis Workshop] course did for me. They'll never make another you, but your learning by doing approach was very empowering. I'll always be grateful to you.
Alex Bryson Head of Employment Group, National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) and Professor of Quantitative Social Science (UCL)
I think the website is the best learning tool I've come across for survey research. I use it as a resource for my students in program evaluation and research.
Brian Dates, Southwest Solutions
Like you, I was an early user of SPSS, starting with it the year after it was first released (when it was available only in the syntax version). I read and save your posts avidly. You perform a great service to the community.
Laurie Moseley, Professor Emeritus, University of South Wales
Retired? I should be so productive! You are a wonder!
Fritz Scheuren Senior Fellow and Vice President, Center for Excellence in Survey Research at National Opinion Research Center (NORC) University of Chicago: past President of the American Statistical Association
Thank you for your email and the link to your website. It looks to be a useful and valuable resource for my teaching. You should also know that I am very partial to websites that open with a picture of their creator sipping (or chugging) a beer. I was taken by your reminiscence about Cathie [Marsh]. I have such vivid memories of her energy and spunk. I still miss her after all of these years.
Charles Turner: Professor of Applied Social Research, City University of New York (CUNY).
Charles also kindly sent me his personal copies (“. .yours to keep for ever.”) of: Charles F Turner and Elizabeth Martin [Eds] Surveying Subjective Phenomena (vols 1 and 2) Russell Sage Foundation, 1984
Please let me tell you that I found your website a complete joy! Your method of stepping novice SPSS users through the path to enlightenment is done so very well.
Lois Timms-Ferraro: Associate Director, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, University of Connecticut
Your website looks very impressive and I will definitely recommend it to my undergrad and postgrad students. You have done a massive amount of work!
Dr Daniel Boduszek Research Criminologist and Methodologist, University of Huddersfield)
[Daniel has a nice set of tutorials covering a range of statistical analyses (using SPSS) and the examples are all from criminological research.]
Thanks very much for getting in contact with us about this and for drawing our attention to your resources. I had a look through these earlier today and you have made available some fantastic material. It is clear that you have put an incredible amount of work into this and I have already identified a variety of resources that our students would benefit from.
Dr Ciaran Acton, Lecturer, School of Sociology and Applied Social Studies, University of Ulster
I looked at several of your pages and was very impressed. I like the careful step by step way you lay them out. They are remarkably clear.
David C Howell (Emeritus Professor, Dept of Psychological Science, University of Vermont)
[See also his Statistical Home Page]
I was delighted to read about your experiences with SPSS, since 1972! Thank you for your enjoyable and informative website, and If you're thinking of doing a book, put me down as a customer..
Dr Dean McKenzie, NHMRC Postdoctoral Fellow, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Your stuff is incredibly useful. Have referred to it regularly. I want to turn the next version of my textbook into an eBook and would love to incorporate some of it.
Dr George Argyrous ANZSOG Senior Lecturer in Evidence-Based Decision-Making:
Editor, Evidence Base and author of Statistics for Research with a Guide to SPSS
Many thanks for your quick response and good resources. Tonight was the first night of class and things went well.
Dr Joseph Taylor Director of Research & Development, Biological Sciences Curriculum Study
That review [of textbooks] that you are doing is VERY valuable. And what you say is true: most of the available textbooks only mention syntax in passing. That in itself may not be a bad thing, what I think is important that totally new students be told that there exist 2 different approaches 'cause when you are learning you take everything as gospel. You see the way you described the 2 in your tutorial? I think that is the key.
Jackie London Maths teacher, Trinidad and Tobago (acknowledging advice and assistance with SPSS on survey for her M.Phil Thesis)
I have looked at your site and it is certainly one of the very helpful and extremely useful sites to use and recommend also to the students
Edith D. de Leeuw, Professor in Survey Methodology, Department of Methodology and Statistics, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University
Thanks for your note and for bringing the rich set of sources on attitudes and values to my attention.
Shalom H. Schwartz, Snajderman Professor Emeritus of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Thank you very much, John! You have a great site!
Matt Jans Data Quality and Survey Methodology Manager , UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
John, I shall never forget what you and your [Survey Analysis Workshop] course did for me. They'll never make another you, but your learning by doing approach was very empowering. I'll always be grateful to you.
Alex Bryson Head of Employment Group, National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) and Professor of Quantitative Social Science (UCL)
I think the website is the best learning tool I've come across for survey research. I use it as a resource for my students in program evaluation and research.
Brian Dates, Southwest Solutions
Like you, I was an early user of SPSS, starting with it the year after it was first released (when it was available only in the syntax version). I read and save your posts avidly. You perform a great service to the community.
Laurie Moseley, Professor Emeritus, University of South Wales