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Values and Quality of Life
[Page last updated 26 February 2018]
This page refers to two surveys: the first was conducted by the European Value Systems Study Group (EVSSG), chaired by Prof Jan Kerkhofs, (Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium) and the second by the Working Group on Values and Social Problem Indicators in Contemporary Europe (VSPICE), chaired by Prof Walter Ruegg, (Universität Bern, Switzerland)
The Survey Research Unit (SRU) at the Polytechnic of North London (PNL) provided consultancy work on research design, data management and statistical analysis.
European Value Systems Study Group
Continuing programme of research into values, concentrating on spiritual and moral values, including aspects of psychological well-being. The EVSSG work was funded by a private family trust and developed into the Gallup World Quality of Life Survey [sic] and eventually to the current European Values Study. and European Quality of Life Surveys (EQLS). Fieldwork for the EVSSG studies was carried out by Gallup and associates in various countries of Western Europe:
Publications
Harding S D
On Value Systems in Europe: a report on the preliminary values studies prepared for the European Value Systems Study Group,
Survey Research Unit, Polytechnic of North London,February 1980
Harding S D and George C
European Values Pilot Survey: Comments on the British Data
European Value Systems Study Group, April 1981
Abrams M, Gerard D and Timms N (Eds)
Values and Social Change in Britain
Macmillan 1985
Harding S D and Phillips D R
Contrasting Values in Western Europe: Unity Diversity and Change
Macmillan 1985
Values and Social Problem Indicators in Contemporary Europe
The VSPICE development work at PNL/SRU was funded by grants from the Thyssen Foundation and the Volkswagen Foundation. The project was to test the use of Louis Guttman's facet theory to analyse survey data on moral and political values.
[From the Facet Theory Association website]
"Facet Theory, developed by Louis Guttman, is a systematic approach for coordinating theory and research. Most social-behavioral concepts are multivariate, and therefore their study requires a systematic design for defining observations. Moreover if the definitional design is to lead to cumulative results, it should be in a form that aids perception of systematic relationships with the empirical data. Guttman’s mapping sentence idea is intended to promote both purposes. A mapping sentence, which is a basic device of Facet Theory, contains a variety of facets. Each facet in the mapping sentence is one way of classifying the research issues, and is specified as having a certain role. According to Guttman, the general. hypothesis of Facet Theory is that the roles of the facets in a mapping sentence provide a rationale for a hypothesis of a correspondence between the definitional framework (the mapping sentence) and an aspect of the empirical data. The many published examples using the facet approach and arriving at structural lawfulness, provide the growing evidence that supports the general hypothesis of Facet Theory."
It was intended that he main VSPICE survey be carried out by universities and research agencies in their respective countries. The pilot survey was carried out in the UK by PNL/SRU and NOP.
Phillips D R
Values and Social Problem Indicators in Contemporary Europe: the British Pilot Survey
Research Report No 11, Survey Research Unit, Polytechnic of North London, July 1981
The 1981 VSPICE 1981 core questionnaire for use in all countries was designed by PNL/SRU. There was also a later VSPICE 1983 questionnaire. Each country was to be responsible for funding its own survey, but despite our input, no funding was forthcoming from ESRC for the main survey in the UK. In the event only two surveys were conducted, one in Switzerland, the other in Israel.
Ruth Meyer- Schweizer (Prof Emerita Sociolgy Bern) writes (29 Aug 2016)
"Unfortunately, our project died shortly after the last meeting in Switzerland, and only the then distrubuted pretests from Switzerland and Israel remained as a testimony of our too ambitious goals. The three dominant professors, Rüegg, Klages and Guttman, were not able to find a consensus for the content of the common project. And, in addition: Louis Guttman, the scientific leader, died in 1987, and Walter Rüegg was emerited same time and was no more interested to promote empirical research. A sad story, of course. But shortly after in 1990 an international group of researchers founded the International Association of Facet Theory, with the aim to promote the development of adequate empirical methods in social sciences in the tradition of Louis' thinkings. The construction of an common empirical project was banned into the background. To start you should be invited, but then we had no answer from you...,and unfortunately we lost you. The Facet Theory Association still works with success in biannual conferences and publications of the contributions."
Facet Theory Bibliography (compiled by Erik H. Cohen, July 2005) contains 822 entries.
See also Schwarz, S A Proposal for Measuring Value Orientations across Nations
This page refers to two surveys: the first was conducted by the European Value Systems Study Group (EVSSG), chaired by Prof Jan Kerkhofs, (Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium) and the second by the Working Group on Values and Social Problem Indicators in Contemporary Europe (VSPICE), chaired by Prof Walter Ruegg, (Universität Bern, Switzerland)
The Survey Research Unit (SRU) at the Polytechnic of North London (PNL) provided consultancy work on research design, data management and statistical analysis.
European Value Systems Study Group
Continuing programme of research into values, concentrating on spiritual and moral values, including aspects of psychological well-being. The EVSSG work was funded by a private family trust and developed into the Gallup World Quality of Life Survey [sic] and eventually to the current European Values Study. and European Quality of Life Surveys (EQLS). Fieldwork for the EVSSG studies was carried out by Gallup and associates in various countries of Western Europe:
Publications
Harding S D
On Value Systems in Europe: a report on the preliminary values studies prepared for the European Value Systems Study Group,
Survey Research Unit, Polytechnic of North London,February 1980
Harding S D and George C
European Values Pilot Survey: Comments on the British Data
European Value Systems Study Group, April 1981
Abrams M, Gerard D and Timms N (Eds)
Values and Social Change in Britain
Macmillan 1985
Harding S D and Phillips D R
Contrasting Values in Western Europe: Unity Diversity and Change
Macmillan 1985
Values and Social Problem Indicators in Contemporary Europe
The VSPICE development work at PNL/SRU was funded by grants from the Thyssen Foundation and the Volkswagen Foundation. The project was to test the use of Louis Guttman's facet theory to analyse survey data on moral and political values.
[From the Facet Theory Association website]
"Facet Theory, developed by Louis Guttman, is a systematic approach for coordinating theory and research. Most social-behavioral concepts are multivariate, and therefore their study requires a systematic design for defining observations. Moreover if the definitional design is to lead to cumulative results, it should be in a form that aids perception of systematic relationships with the empirical data. Guttman’s mapping sentence idea is intended to promote both purposes. A mapping sentence, which is a basic device of Facet Theory, contains a variety of facets. Each facet in the mapping sentence is one way of classifying the research issues, and is specified as having a certain role. According to Guttman, the general. hypothesis of Facet Theory is that the roles of the facets in a mapping sentence provide a rationale for a hypothesis of a correspondence between the definitional framework (the mapping sentence) and an aspect of the empirical data. The many published examples using the facet approach and arriving at structural lawfulness, provide the growing evidence that supports the general hypothesis of Facet Theory."
It was intended that he main VSPICE survey be carried out by universities and research agencies in their respective countries. The pilot survey was carried out in the UK by PNL/SRU and NOP.
Phillips D R
Values and Social Problem Indicators in Contemporary Europe: the British Pilot Survey
Research Report No 11, Survey Research Unit, Polytechnic of North London, July 1981
The 1981 VSPICE 1981 core questionnaire for use in all countries was designed by PNL/SRU. There was also a later VSPICE 1983 questionnaire. Each country was to be responsible for funding its own survey, but despite our input, no funding was forthcoming from ESRC for the main survey in the UK. In the event only two surveys were conducted, one in Switzerland, the other in Israel.
Ruth Meyer- Schweizer (Prof Emerita Sociolgy Bern) writes (29 Aug 2016)
"Unfortunately, our project died shortly after the last meeting in Switzerland, and only the then distrubuted pretests from Switzerland and Israel remained as a testimony of our too ambitious goals. The three dominant professors, Rüegg, Klages and Guttman, were not able to find a consensus for the content of the common project. And, in addition: Louis Guttman, the scientific leader, died in 1987, and Walter Rüegg was emerited same time and was no more interested to promote empirical research. A sad story, of course. But shortly after in 1990 an international group of researchers founded the International Association of Facet Theory, with the aim to promote the development of adequate empirical methods in social sciences in the tradition of Louis' thinkings. The construction of an common empirical project was banned into the background. To start you should be invited, but then we had no answer from you...,and unfortunately we lost you. The Facet Theory Association still works with success in biannual conferences and publications of the contributions."
Facet Theory Bibliography (compiled by Erik H. Cohen, July 2005) contains 822 entries.
See also Schwarz, S A Proposal for Measuring Value Orientations across Nations