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

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.)  
Picture
                                                                   
​​
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

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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