SR502: Survey Research Practice (1976 - 1992)
[New page 3 Sep 2017, updated 24 March 2018]
Survey Research Practice (SR 502) was taught from 1976 to 1992 and was a sister course to Survey Analysis Workshop (SR 501) . They were the first ever post-graduate courses (part-time, evening) in the Faculty of Social Studies at the then Polytechnic of North London (PNL) and were based on the SSRC Summer Schools in Survey Methods held from 1970 to 1976 at Oxford, later Reading. SR 501 always preceded SR 502 as it was our firm belief that if people wanting to do surveys had a better understanding of what was involved in subsequent data-processing and statistical analysis, they would be less likely to undertake the kind of unrealistic and incompetent surveys which were then far too common, many of them using public funds.
SR 502 was administered by the Survey Research Unit, but was taught entirely by guest lecturers from outside PNL, all of whom were senior survey practitioners. It covered research design, sampling, qualitative research, questionnaire design, interviewing, telephone and postal surveys, coding, attitude measurement, commissioning, costing, reporting, ethics. From 1989 it counted for 15 points towards a (CNAA) Masters degree, provided students took the assessment. Final year students on the B.Sc. Applied Social Science (Social Research) took the course together with the post-grads, but as module SR 304 (see SR 304 Survey Research Practice for the 1991/92 teaching programme and specimen assessment: course pamphlet cover illustrated below.)
SR 502 was administered by the Survey Research Unit, but was taught entirely by guest lecturers from outside PNL, all of whom were senior survey practitioners. It covered research design, sampling, qualitative research, questionnaire design, interviewing, telephone and postal surveys, coding, attitude measurement, commissioning, costing, reporting, ethics. From 1989 it counted for 15 points towards a (CNAA) Masters degree, provided students took the assessment. Final year students on the B.Sc. Applied Social Science (Social Research) took the course together with the post-grads, but as module SR 304 (see SR 304 Survey Research Practice for the 1991/92 teaching programme and specimen assessment: course pamphlet cover illustrated below.)
Visiting lecturers (most now retired, some deceased) included:
the late Cathie Marsh
(SPS, Cambridge Univ, later CCSR Manchester),
Nick Moon (NOP, GfK/ now Academy of Social Sciences),
John O'Brien, (NOP),
Alan Marsh (OPCS/PSI)
the late Roger Jowell (SCPR/Natcen)
Sharon Witherspoon (SCPR/Natcen,
later Nuffield Foundation, now Academy of Social Sciences)
Barry Hedges (SCPR/Natcen)
Jean Morton-Williams (SCPR/Natcen)
Jane Ritchie (SCPR/Natcen)
Bridget Taylor (SCPR/Natcen)
Patten Smith, (Natcen, now Ipsos-Mori)
Martin Collins (SCPR/Natcen)
Roger Thomas (Natcen)
Gordon Heald (Gallup),
Malcolm Brighton (Document Reading Services:
later Milton Keynes Development Coiporation)
Wendy Sykes (Independent researcher).
I have unearthed some of the related course handouts and have scanned them in pdf format for this site.
They come from different years of the course and the lecturer is not always indicated.
Electoral registers and sampling error
(see Hoinville and Jowell 1977: memorable for the chapter on sampling by Barry Hedges: only one equation!)
Questionnaire design (Wendy Sykes, 32pp)
Postal and telephone surveys
Example of postal questionnaire (Manpower Services Commission)
Diary example
Interviewing
The postgraduate course closed in 1992 when, after prolonged and vindictive personal harassment by senior management (see: Papers relating to the Director's Working Group on the Survey Research Unit) I decided to take early retirement. Because of the way I had been treated, the visiting lecturers unanimously refused to continue teaching on it. However, much the same content continued to be delivered from Natcen, mostly by the same lecturers, as separate short courses. These are now well established and regualrly offered by NatCen learning.
Most of the same topics are also covered in tailor-made courses offered by Dr Pamela Campanelli via The Survey Coach