- Home page
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- My personal pantheon (of the great and the good in survey research)
- Acknowledgements
- About the author
- About this site
- Recent and planned activities
- Textbooks
- 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)
- 5: Survey Research Unit, Polytechnic of North London
- Village life in Normandy
- Contact
Survey Research Unit (1978 - 1992)
[Page last updated 30 July 2019]
Origins
Following a proposal to set up a Centre for Applied Social Research in the Faculty of Social Studies the Survey Research Unit was formally established as a research unit of the Department of Applied Social Studies on May 1st 1978, with John Hall as Unit Director.
Closely modelled on the SSRC Survey Unit (which had been closed by SSRC in 1976) and with very similar terms of reference, it provided advice and assistance on survey methods to academic, public and voluntary sector colleagues and attracted more than £1 million in externally funded research grants and contracts and around £400K in Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) funded research assistantships and fellowships, some of which came from small amounts of "end-of-year" money which, if unspent, would revert to ILEA..
Terms of reference:
The Polytechnic of North London
Survey Research Unit (Unit Director: John F Hall MA Dip Ed.)
The Survey Research Unit offers specialist advice and assistance on all aspects of survey research. This includes research planning and costing, problem formulation, questionnaire design and sampling, as well as the related uses of statistics and computing for data analysis.
The unit was formally established as a research unit of the Department of Applied Social Studies on May 1st 1978 and its terms of reference are:
to make available advice and assistance to staff and students of the Polytechnic on survey research and
on statistical and computing applications in the social sciences.
to seek to respond positively to requests for appropriate research or research assistance by local
authorities and other bodies, particularly in the London area.
to seek funds for social survey research and related work to be based in the Polytechnic and to respond
to requests for assistance in preparing grant applications by staff seeking funds for similar work in other
departments.
Survey projects
Besides offering practical help and guidance, the Unit also conducted research for the Polytechnic and its committees, government agencies,community groups, the research councils, research foundations and other funding agencies. This ranged from small-scale local studies to major national surveys, covering many different aspects of community activity and social policy.
Survey Research Unit Projects 1978 -1985 is actually a proposal to set up a research support service for community groups which led to a separate Community Research Advisory Centre. It is an annotated list of all projects by the Survey Research Unit at the Polytechnic of North London from 1976 to 1985.
Examples of funded surveys include:
Quality of Life of the Elderly in Residential Care
(£12,000: Personal Social Services Council)
Report:
Sheila Peace, John Hall and Graham Hamblin
The Quality of Life of the Elderly in Residential Care: Report on a pilot project
(Survey Research Unit, Polytechnic of North London, 1980)
National Consumer Study in One Hundred Local Authority Old Peoples Homes, 1980 [link to UKDS SN 2196]
(£79,000: Dept of the Environment)
Report:
Dianne Willcocks, Jim Ring, Leonie Kellaher, Sheila Peace
The Residential Life of Old People: A study in 100 Local Authority homes. Volume II Appendices
Book:
Dianne Willcocks, Sheila Peace and Leonie Kellaher
Private Lives in Public Places
(Tavistock 1987)
Survey Research Unit Projects 1985 - 1992 Lists all projects by the Survey Research Unit at the Polytechnic of North London from 1985 to 1992 (not included in earlier list covering 1978 to 1985) together with details of client, publications etc. Some post 1992 private consultancy projects also included.
Computing
It offered advice and assistance in computer processing and statistical analysis of new surveys or in secondary analysis of old ones and was particularly expert in the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). It also provided specialist post-graduate training in survey methods via two related postgraduate courses (part-time, evening)
Survey Analysis Workshop (Oct - Feb)
Survey Research Practice (Feb - June)
Research staff
Over the years SRU recruited and trained a number of researchers from various backgrounds and with varying levels of previous experience. As well as conducting research, some also made significant contributions to teaching social research methods. Many of them, together with undergraduate students working in SRU as temporary assistants or demonstrators, went on to occupy senior positions in social research. At least seven became full Professors in UK universities.
Survey Research Unit: Staff is a summary table showing where they were recruited from and, where known, their current whereabouts, with links to their profiles in universities and elsewhere. All staff had been successfully placed by the time the unit closed in 1992.
See also SRU garden reception for Angus Campbell featuring a 1978 video clip and a short photo gallery
Publications
SRU publications is an extensive list of publications, deriving from work done by SRU on external funds, in collaboration with other agencies and researchers or as student dissertation projects (See SRU Student publications).
Data sets
Data sets for surveys done by or through the SRU are listed on Survey Research Unit: survey data sets [pdf] Many data sets from 1986 and earlier have been irretrievably lost owing to PNL computer services spring-cleaning policy for student users, but most data from 1986 onwards have been preserved.
Closure
Research centres sometimes sit uncomfortably within academic institutions: it was no different with SRU and PNL, but at least I tried. It lasted 16 years and I'm proud of what we achieved.
Outdated financial, reporting and management systems within PNL were cruelly exposed by the arrival and development of SRU. SRU and other research centres developed and thrived only through the goodwill of administrative staff in personnel and finance and the support of computer staff.
Following the withdrawal of ILEA rate-borne funding for postgraduate Research Assistants and Research Fellowships (expected to register for Master and PhD respectively) SRU became completely self-funding.
Things ran smoothly until the "Harrington" affair prompted the resignation of Paul Corrigan (my Head of Department) which in turn led to the resignation of the Director of the Polytechnic. ILEA then imposed John Beishon as Director who in turn installed a new senior management team (including some very dubious appointments) which adopted inappropriate business models and completely undermined the professionalism, autonomy and discretion of successful research entrepreneurs, many of whom, including myself, took early retirement at the earliest opportunity in March 1992.
The Survey Research Unit closed with immediate effect, as did both postgraduate courses, Survey Analysis Workshop and Survey Research Practice. All SRU staff had found new posts well before the closure. The BSc Social Research was discontinued a year later. (See: The place of SRU within PNL)
Origins
Following a proposal to set up a Centre for Applied Social Research in the Faculty of Social Studies the Survey Research Unit was formally established as a research unit of the Department of Applied Social Studies on May 1st 1978, with John Hall as Unit Director.
Closely modelled on the SSRC Survey Unit (which had been closed by SSRC in 1976) and with very similar terms of reference, it provided advice and assistance on survey methods to academic, public and voluntary sector colleagues and attracted more than £1 million in externally funded research grants and contracts and around £400K in Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) funded research assistantships and fellowships, some of which came from small amounts of "end-of-year" money which, if unspent, would revert to ILEA..
Terms of reference:
The Polytechnic of North London
Survey Research Unit (Unit Director: John F Hall MA Dip Ed.)
The Survey Research Unit offers specialist advice and assistance on all aspects of survey research. This includes research planning and costing, problem formulation, questionnaire design and sampling, as well as the related uses of statistics and computing for data analysis.
The unit was formally established as a research unit of the Department of Applied Social Studies on May 1st 1978 and its terms of reference are:
to make available advice and assistance to staff and students of the Polytechnic on survey research and
on statistical and computing applications in the social sciences.
to seek to respond positively to requests for appropriate research or research assistance by local
authorities and other bodies, particularly in the London area.
to seek funds for social survey research and related work to be based in the Polytechnic and to respond
to requests for assistance in preparing grant applications by staff seeking funds for similar work in other
departments.
Survey projects
Besides offering practical help and guidance, the Unit also conducted research for the Polytechnic and its committees, government agencies,community groups, the research councils, research foundations and other funding agencies. This ranged from small-scale local studies to major national surveys, covering many different aspects of community activity and social policy.
Survey Research Unit Projects 1978 -1985 is actually a proposal to set up a research support service for community groups which led to a separate Community Research Advisory Centre. It is an annotated list of all projects by the Survey Research Unit at the Polytechnic of North London from 1976 to 1985.
Examples of funded surveys include:
Quality of Life of the Elderly in Residential Care
(£12,000: Personal Social Services Council)
Report:
Sheila Peace, John Hall and Graham Hamblin
The Quality of Life of the Elderly in Residential Care: Report on a pilot project
(Survey Research Unit, Polytechnic of North London, 1980)
National Consumer Study in One Hundred Local Authority Old Peoples Homes, 1980 [link to UKDS SN 2196]
(£79,000: Dept of the Environment)
Report:
Dianne Willcocks, Jim Ring, Leonie Kellaher, Sheila Peace
The Residential Life of Old People: A study in 100 Local Authority homes. Volume II Appendices
Book:
Dianne Willcocks, Sheila Peace and Leonie Kellaher
Private Lives in Public Places
(Tavistock 1987)
Survey Research Unit Projects 1985 - 1992 Lists all projects by the Survey Research Unit at the Polytechnic of North London from 1985 to 1992 (not included in earlier list covering 1978 to 1985) together with details of client, publications etc. Some post 1992 private consultancy projects also included.
Computing
It offered advice and assistance in computer processing and statistical analysis of new surveys or in secondary analysis of old ones and was particularly expert in the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). It also provided specialist post-graduate training in survey methods via two related postgraduate courses (part-time, evening)
Survey Analysis Workshop (Oct - Feb)
Survey Research Practice (Feb - June)
Research staff
Over the years SRU recruited and trained a number of researchers from various backgrounds and with varying levels of previous experience. As well as conducting research, some also made significant contributions to teaching social research methods. Many of them, together with undergraduate students working in SRU as temporary assistants or demonstrators, went on to occupy senior positions in social research. At least seven became full Professors in UK universities.
Survey Research Unit: Staff is a summary table showing where they were recruited from and, where known, their current whereabouts, with links to their profiles in universities and elsewhere. All staff had been successfully placed by the time the unit closed in 1992.
See also SRU garden reception for Angus Campbell featuring a 1978 video clip and a short photo gallery
Publications
SRU publications is an extensive list of publications, deriving from work done by SRU on external funds, in collaboration with other agencies and researchers or as student dissertation projects (See SRU Student publications).
Data sets
Data sets for surveys done by or through the SRU are listed on Survey Research Unit: survey data sets [pdf] Many data sets from 1986 and earlier have been irretrievably lost owing to PNL computer services spring-cleaning policy for student users, but most data from 1986 onwards have been preserved.
Closure
Research centres sometimes sit uncomfortably within academic institutions: it was no different with SRU and PNL, but at least I tried. It lasted 16 years and I'm proud of what we achieved.
Outdated financial, reporting and management systems within PNL were cruelly exposed by the arrival and development of SRU. SRU and other research centres developed and thrived only through the goodwill of administrative staff in personnel and finance and the support of computer staff.
Following the withdrawal of ILEA rate-borne funding for postgraduate Research Assistants and Research Fellowships (expected to register for Master and PhD respectively) SRU became completely self-funding.
Things ran smoothly until the "Harrington" affair prompted the resignation of Paul Corrigan (my Head of Department) which in turn led to the resignation of the Director of the Polytechnic. ILEA then imposed John Beishon as Director who in turn installed a new senior management team (including some very dubious appointments) which adopted inappropriate business models and completely undermined the professionalism, autonomy and discretion of successful research entrepreneurs, many of whom, including myself, took early retirement at the earliest opportunity in March 1992.
The Survey Research Unit closed with immediate effect, as did both postgraduate courses, Survey Analysis Workshop and Survey Research Practice. All SRU staff had found new posts well before the closure. The BSc Social Research was discontinued a year later. (See: The place of SRU within PNL)