Journeys in Survey Research

  • Home page
  • Blog
  • Dedication
  • My personal pantheon (of the great and the good in survey research)
    • Mark Abrams >
      • Abrams publications
      • An interview with Mark Abrams (transcripts)
      • An interview with Mark Abrams (audio files)
      • Mark Abrams Prize
    • Angus Campbell >
      • SRU garden reception for Angus Campbell
    • Cathie Marsh
    • Tony Coxon
    • Roger Jowell
    • James A Davis
    • Norman Nie
  • Acknowledgements
    • Unsung heroes in support services
  • About the author
    • John F Hall: Career profile
    • John F Hall: Extra-curricular professional and political activities
  • About this site
    • What people have said about this site
    • Latest additions and modifications
    • How to use this site
  • Recent and planned activities
  • Textbooks
    • Textbooks for SPSS >
      • Highly recommended SPSS textbooks >
        • McInnes (2017) >
          • MacInnes, Chapter 4:​ Getting Started with SPSS
          • MacInnes, Chapter 5 Dealing with Data Documentation
          • MacInness 2017 (Web links)
        • Marsh and Elliott (2008)
        • Sweet and Grace-Martin 2010
        • Babbie, Halley, Wagner and Zaino 2013
        • Julie Pallant, SPSS Survival Manual
        • Andy Field
        • Boslaugh 2005
        • McCormick & Salcedo (2015)
        • McCormick & Salcedo (2017)
      • SPSS textbooks worth a look >
        • Hy (1977)
      • On-line SPSS textbooks
      • Textbooks requested or awaiting review
    • Textbooks: Statistics for Social Research >
      • de Vries 2018
      • Bergin (2018)
    • Textbooks: Survey Methods >
      • Crouch & Housden (2003)
      • Andres (2012)
      • Blair, Czala and Blair (2014)
      • de Vaus (2014)
      • Hoinville, Jowell et al (1977)
      • Marsden & Wright [Eds] (2010) >
        • Contributors to Handbook of Survey Research
      • Marsh (1982)
      • Moser & Kalton (1971)
      • Oppenheim (1992)
      • Pallant 2016
    • Textbooks: Data curation and sharing >
      • Corti et el (2014)
  • 1: Survey Analysis Workshop (SPSS)
    • What is SPSS?
    • SPSS Without Tears >
      • My first time: in at the SPSS deep end (1972)
    • Introduction to Survey Analysis Workshop (SPSS) >
      • IBM® SPSS® Statistics (Overview)
      • Note on SPSS tutorials on this site
      • Background to current project >
        • Author's note
      • SPSS versions used
      • Stata and SPSS
    • Summary guide to SPSS tutorials >
      • Block 1: From questionnaire to SPSS saved file
      • Block 2: Analysing one variable >
        • 2.1: Nominal and ordinal variables
        • 2.2: Interval scale variables
        • 2.3: Data transformations
      • Block 3: Analysing two variables (and sometimes three) >
        • 3.1 Two variables (CROSSTABS)
        • 3.2 Three (or more) variables
        • 3.3 Multiple response (MULT RESPONSE)
        • 3.4 Conditional data transformations (IF and DO IF)
        • 3.5 Derived variables (COUNT and COMPUTE) >
          • 3.5.1 Introduction to COUNT and COMPUTE
          • 3.5.2 Teenage Attitudes (Tutorials)
      • Block 4: Hypothesis testing
      • SPSS files and documentation used for tutorials and exercises >
        • Data sets used in Survey Analysis Workshop >
          • British Social Attitudes
          • Pre-course questionnaire on interests and experience
          • Quality of Life in Britain
    • Useful links for SPSS >
      • On-line SPSS Intros and tutorials
      • SPSS courses
  • 1a: Statistical concepts and methods
  • 1b: Teaching with Survey Data
    • SN 28: Relative Deprivation and Social Justice 1962-63
  • 1c: Developing research projects using survey data
  • 1d: Workshop and presentations for ASSESS (SPSS users in Europe)
    • Old Dog, Old Tricks: Using SPSS syntax to beat the mouse-trap
    • The Beginners' Guide to Survey Analysis Using SPSS
    • Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind: working with alien SPSS files
    • ASSESS 2014 Links to Contents
  • 2: Survey Research Practice
    • SR 502: Survey Research Practice (1976 - 1992)
    • Courses in Survey Methods >
      • (United Kingdom) Degrees, diplomas and certificates
      • (USA & Canada) Degrees, diplomas and certificates in survey research
      • Summer schools for survey methods
      • Short courses for survey research
    • Opinion polls >
      • Election poll débâcles
    • Web-based resources for survey research >
      • Survey Resources Network
      • On-line surveys
      • Question Banks
      • Survey methods guides and tutorials
      • Clips, tips and blogs
    • Useful links for Survey Research
  • 2a: Survey Research Methodology, Practice and Training
    • The place of survey research in the social sciences
    • Survey Research and Social Action
    • Academic centres specialising in survey research >
      • United Kingdom
      • USA and Canada
      • Europe
    • Professional and Voluntary Associations
    • Survey research organisations
    • Journals for survey research
    • Articles on survey research
  • 2b: Major survey series
    • United Kingdom (Major survey series: academic and other) >
      • British Social Attitudes >
        • British Social Attitudes: ​Exploring the SPSS files >
          • British Social Attitudes 1983 onwards: Cumulative SPSS file
          • British Social Attitudes: Making files from different years compatible
    • United Kingdom (Major survey series: government) >
      • ONS National Well-being >
        • ONS files
    • Europe (Major survey series)
    • USA (Major survey series)
  • 3: Subjective Social Indicators (Quality of Life)
    • Quality of Life: Measurement and methodology
    • Measures of psychological well-being
    • Values and Quality of Life
    • SSRC Survey Unit Quality of Life in Britain surveys 1971-1975 >
      • Abstracts, data and documentation
      • Publications based on the SSRC Quality of Life in Britain surveys >
        • Bibliography for Quality of Life in Britain and related surveys
        • Quality of Life of the Elderly in Residential Care
      • Surveys in schools >
        • "Trinians" survey
        • Playground to Politics
  • 4: Survey Unit, Social Science Research Council (UK)
    • Surveys by SSRC Survey Unit
    • Publications: SSRC Survey Unit
    • Courses, Conferences and Seminars
  • 5: Survey Research Unit, Polytechnic of North London
    • Survey Research Unit >
      • Training courses in survey methods
      • The place of SRU within PNL
    • Director's Working Group on the Survey Research Unit
  • Village life in Normandy
    • Notre Dame de Cenilly >
      • War and Peace in N D de Cenilly >
        • Armistice Day
        • German Occupation (1940 - 1944)
        • D-Day (6th June 1944) >
          • D-Day ceremony 9 June 2013
          • D-Day 70th Anniversary 2014
          • Lancaster bomber crew (Memorial Ceremony 8 June 2011)
          • Lancaster bomber crew (Memorial Ceremony 8 June 2014)
          • Lancaster bomber crew (Memorial Ceremony 7 June 2015)
          • Lancaster bomber crew ​(Memorial ceremony 5 June 2016)
        • Liberation July 1944 >
          • Field hospital in N D de Cenilly
          • Liberation celebrations (July 2006)
          • Visit of US 2nd Armored Division veterans (2 Sep 2009)
          • Liberation celebrations 2014
          • Unveiling of new monument (13 June 2015)
          • Re-enactment camp (Gavray, 11 July 2015)
      • Fête St Clair 2007
      • Fête St Clair 2010
      • Fête St Clair 2012 National pedal-car championships
      • La Noslière de Bas
    • Midsummer music
    • Paris trip (post Brexit)
  • Contact

Survey Unit
Social Science Research Council

[Page last updated 6 April 2015]

The report SSRC/ESRC: the first 40 years boasts:

‘…by early 1970 the first of the SSRC’s Units were established – a move which was to produce some of the Council’s greatest impacts and successes over the next forty years.’

The British Election Study Programme, University of Essex (1963)
SSRC/ESRC Data Archive, University of Essex (1967)
SSRC Survey Unit (1970)
The Industrial Relations Research Unit, University of Warwick (1970)
The Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford (1972)
Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure, University of Cambridge (1974)

All the above units warrant full entries, except the Survey Unit, which gets a single line:

 " . . and the Survey Unit which ran the Nuffield Summer School in survey methods under Dr Mark Abrams "

This page hopefully rectifies  that serious (and possibly intentional) omission.

In April 1970 the then Social Science Research Council (SSRC) set up its Survey Unit with the late Dr Mark Abrams as (part-time) Director.  The Unit was “attached to, but not of, the LSE” for computing and sundry other purposes.  Its brief was to offer advice and assistance in survey methods to academics and others doing surveys on public funds.  As well as conducting surveys for SSRC and its committees, it also had a watching brief on computing in the social sciences and an internal research programme to develop survey measures of Quality of Life.  Amid great controversy, SSRC closed the unit in 1976 and all staff were made redundant.

See also ESRC Green Paper on Data Policy and Archiving

Surveys

The unit conducted surveys for Council and other surveys as part of its internal research programme

Publications

The unit published various reports, some of which are downloadable from this site.

Courses, Conferences and Seminars

The unit offered a residential summer school on survey methods and also organised seminars and conferences relating to its research programme on Quality of Life (QoL) indicators, the  relationship of survey research to social theory and the development of computing in the social sciences
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  • Home page
  • Blog
  • Dedication
  • My personal pantheon (of the great and the good in survey research)
    • Mark Abrams >
      • Abrams publications
      • An interview with Mark Abrams (transcripts)
      • An interview with Mark Abrams (audio files)
      • Mark Abrams Prize
    • Angus Campbell >
      • SRU garden reception for Angus Campbell
    • Cathie Marsh
    • Tony Coxon
    • Roger Jowell
    • James A Davis
    • Norman Nie
  • Acknowledgements
    • Unsung heroes in support services
  • About the author
    • John F Hall: Career profile
    • John F Hall: Extra-curricular professional and political activities
  • About this site
    • What people have said about this site
    • Latest additions and modifications
    • How to use this site
  • Recent and planned activities
  • Textbooks
    • Textbooks for SPSS >
      • Highly recommended SPSS textbooks >
        • McInnes (2017) >
          • MacInnes, Chapter 4:​ Getting Started with SPSS
          • MacInnes, Chapter 5 Dealing with Data Documentation
          • MacInness 2017 (Web links)
        • Marsh and Elliott (2008)
        • Sweet and Grace-Martin 2010
        • Babbie, Halley, Wagner and Zaino 2013
        • Julie Pallant, SPSS Survival Manual
        • Andy Field
        • Boslaugh 2005
        • McCormick & Salcedo (2015)
        • McCormick & Salcedo (2017)
      • SPSS textbooks worth a look >
        • Hy (1977)
      • On-line SPSS textbooks
      • Textbooks requested or awaiting review
    • Textbooks: Statistics for Social Research >
      • de Vries 2018
      • Bergin (2018)
    • Textbooks: Survey Methods >
      • Crouch & Housden (2003)
      • Andres (2012)
      • Blair, Czala and Blair (2014)
      • de Vaus (2014)
      • Hoinville, Jowell et al (1977)
      • Marsden & Wright [Eds] (2010) >
        • Contributors to Handbook of Survey Research
      • Marsh (1982)
      • Moser & Kalton (1971)
      • Oppenheim (1992)
      • Pallant 2016
    • Textbooks: Data curation and sharing >
      • Corti et el (2014)
  • 1: Survey Analysis Workshop (SPSS)
    • What is SPSS?
    • SPSS Without Tears >
      • My first time: in at the SPSS deep end (1972)
    • Introduction to Survey Analysis Workshop (SPSS) >
      • IBM® SPSS® Statistics (Overview)
      • Note on SPSS tutorials on this site
      • Background to current project >
        • Author's note
      • SPSS versions used
      • Stata and SPSS
    • Summary guide to SPSS tutorials >
      • Block 1: From questionnaire to SPSS saved file
      • Block 2: Analysing one variable >
        • 2.1: Nominal and ordinal variables
        • 2.2: Interval scale variables
        • 2.3: Data transformations
      • Block 3: Analysing two variables (and sometimes three) >
        • 3.1 Two variables (CROSSTABS)
        • 3.2 Three (or more) variables
        • 3.3 Multiple response (MULT RESPONSE)
        • 3.4 Conditional data transformations (IF and DO IF)
        • 3.5 Derived variables (COUNT and COMPUTE) >
          • 3.5.1 Introduction to COUNT and COMPUTE
          • 3.5.2 Teenage Attitudes (Tutorials)
      • Block 4: Hypothesis testing
      • SPSS files and documentation used for tutorials and exercises >
        • Data sets used in Survey Analysis Workshop >
          • British Social Attitudes
          • Pre-course questionnaire on interests and experience
          • Quality of Life in Britain
    • Useful links for SPSS >
      • On-line SPSS Intros and tutorials
      • SPSS courses
  • 1a: Statistical concepts and methods
  • 1b: Teaching with Survey Data
    • SN 28: Relative Deprivation and Social Justice 1962-63
  • 1c: Developing research projects using survey data
  • 1d: Workshop and presentations for ASSESS (SPSS users in Europe)
    • Old Dog, Old Tricks: Using SPSS syntax to beat the mouse-trap
    • The Beginners' Guide to Survey Analysis Using SPSS
    • Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind: working with alien SPSS files
    • ASSESS 2014 Links to Contents
  • 2: Survey Research Practice
    • SR 502: Survey Research Practice (1976 - 1992)
    • Courses in Survey Methods >
      • (United Kingdom) Degrees, diplomas and certificates
      • (USA & Canada) Degrees, diplomas and certificates in survey research
      • Summer schools for survey methods
      • Short courses for survey research
    • Opinion polls >
      • Election poll débâcles
    • Web-based resources for survey research >
      • Survey Resources Network
      • On-line surveys
      • Question Banks
      • Survey methods guides and tutorials
      • Clips, tips and blogs
    • Useful links for Survey Research
  • 2a: Survey Research Methodology, Practice and Training
    • The place of survey research in the social sciences
    • Survey Research and Social Action
    • Academic centres specialising in survey research >
      • United Kingdom
      • USA and Canada
      • Europe
    • Professional and Voluntary Associations
    • Survey research organisations
    • Journals for survey research
    • Articles on survey research
  • 2b: Major survey series
    • United Kingdom (Major survey series: academic and other) >
      • British Social Attitudes >
        • British Social Attitudes: ​Exploring the SPSS files >
          • British Social Attitudes 1983 onwards: Cumulative SPSS file
          • British Social Attitudes: Making files from different years compatible
    • United Kingdom (Major survey series: government) >
      • ONS National Well-being >
        • ONS files
    • Europe (Major survey series)
    • USA (Major survey series)
  • 3: Subjective Social Indicators (Quality of Life)
    • Quality of Life: Measurement and methodology
    • Measures of psychological well-being
    • Values and Quality of Life
    • SSRC Survey Unit Quality of Life in Britain surveys 1971-1975 >
      • Abstracts, data and documentation
      • Publications based on the SSRC Quality of Life in Britain surveys >
        • Bibliography for Quality of Life in Britain and related surveys
        • Quality of Life of the Elderly in Residential Care
      • Surveys in schools >
        • "Trinians" survey
        • Playground to Politics
  • 4: Survey Unit, Social Science Research Council (UK)
    • Surveys by SSRC Survey Unit
    • Publications: SSRC Survey Unit
    • Courses, Conferences and Seminars
  • 5: Survey Research Unit, Polytechnic of North London
    • Survey Research Unit >
      • Training courses in survey methods
      • The place of SRU within PNL
    • Director's Working Group on the Survey Research Unit
  • Village life in Normandy
    • Notre Dame de Cenilly >
      • War and Peace in N D de Cenilly >
        • Armistice Day
        • German Occupation (1940 - 1944)
        • D-Day (6th June 1944) >
          • D-Day ceremony 9 June 2013
          • D-Day 70th Anniversary 2014
          • Lancaster bomber crew (Memorial Ceremony 8 June 2011)
          • Lancaster bomber crew (Memorial Ceremony 8 June 2014)
          • Lancaster bomber crew (Memorial Ceremony 7 June 2015)
          • Lancaster bomber crew ​(Memorial ceremony 5 June 2016)
        • Liberation July 1944 >
          • Field hospital in N D de Cenilly
          • Liberation celebrations (July 2006)
          • Visit of US 2nd Armored Division veterans (2 Sep 2009)
          • Liberation celebrations 2014
          • Unveiling of new monument (13 June 2015)
          • Re-enactment camp (Gavray, 11 July 2015)
      • Fête St Clair 2007
      • Fête St Clair 2010
      • Fête St Clair 2012 National pedal-car championships
      • La Noslière de Bas
    • Midsummer music
    • Paris trip (post Brexit)
  • Contact