A new book examined the assertion that effective evidence-based social research could influence policy and practice.
Source: Gayle Letherby and Paul Bywaters, Extending Social Research: Application, implementation and publication, Open University Press (01280 823388)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Dec
A report examined the proposals of Research Councils UK for reforming the Research Councils peer review system for giving project grants. It said that unless the RCs retain a distinctive role in a well-delineated dual support system (which the proposals undermined), logic and political pressures would eventually put them at risk.
Source: Tom Sastry, A Dangerous Economy, Higher Education Policy Institute (01865 284450)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Dec
A paper identified a number of requirements for the further development and use of qualitative longitudinal research in the social sciences.
Source: Janet Holland, Rachel Thomson and Sheila Henderson, Qualitative Longitudinal Research: A discussion paper, Working Paper 21, Families & Social Capital ESRC Research Group/South Bank University (020 7815 5750)
Links: Working paper
Date: 2006-Dec
A report summarized the results of a consultation exercise which set out to identify the research needs in research methods perceived by the social science community.
Source: Nick Bardsley, Rose Wiles and Jackie Powell, Report on a Consultation Exercise to Identify the Research Needs in Research Methods in the UK Social Sciences: Stage 1 Report, National Centre for Research Methods/School of Social Sciences/ University of Southampton (023 8059 4539)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Dec
An article presented the findings of a study which investigated the experiences of parent researchers involved in a community survey within a Sure Start programme. Some of the strengths and difficulties of participatory research were discussed, and comment made on the extent to which lay involvement impacted on the conduct of the survey.
Source: Ann Rowe, 'The effect of involvement in participatory research on parent researchers in a Sure Start programme', Health and Social Care in the Community, Volume 14 Issue 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Nov
A new book examined the importance of research in determining the reputation and success of universities and academics. It provided an overview of changing policies on funding and evaluating university research, and analyzed how this affected the status and hierarchical positioning of universities.
Source: Lisa Lucas, The Research Game in Academic Life, Open University Press (01280 823388)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Oct
The government announced plans to establish a new centre of excellence to lead research into philanthropy and charitable giving.
Source: Press release 16 October 2006, Cabinet Office (020 7261 8527)
Links: Cabinet Office press release
Date: 2006-Oct
An article examined which social research activities should require independent regulation, and how best to define what counted as research.
Source: Janet Boddy, Annette Boaz, Carol Lupton and Jan Pahl, 'What counts as research? The implications for research governance in social care', International Journal of Social Research Methodology, Volume 9 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Oct
A large-scale research programme on ageing was launched, called the 'New Dynamics of Ageing Programme'. The programme was a collaboration between five of the United Kingdom's Research Councils. It was designed to target research resources at all dimensions of ageing, from biological to social and cultural aspects.
Source: Press release 30 October 2006, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: ESRC press release
Date: 2006-Oct
An article examined patterns of consent and consent bias in the context of a large general household survey. There were biases in consent to data linkage between benefit/tax credit administrative records held by the Department for Work and Pensions and wage/employment data held by employers.
Source: Stephen Jenkins, Lorenzo Cappellari, Peter Lynn, Annette J ckle and Emanuela Sala, 'Patterns of consent: evidence from a general household survey', Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A, Volume 169 Issue 4
Links: Article
Date: 2006-Oct
A report said that the copyright system might in important respects be impeding, rather than stimulating, the production of new ideas and new scholarship in the humanities and social sciences.
Source: Copyright and Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences, British Academy (020 7969 5200)
Links: Report | Summary | British Academy press release
Date: 2006-Sep
A paper assembled existing documentation about the data available from the British Household Panel Survey that could be used to create consistent and complete work-life histories for respondents. It discussed some of the practical and conceptual challenges in deriving consistent work histories from the BHPS data, and documented aspects of the data and its manipulation.
Source: David Mar , Constructing Consistent Work-life Histories: A guide for users of the British Household Panel Survey, Working Paper 2006-39, Institute for Social and Economic Research/University of Essex (01206 873087)
Links: Working paper
Date: 2006-Aug
A report provided an introduction to the role of statistical modelling of complex social situations, in particular the application of advanced methodologies in an educational context.
Source: Antony Fielding and Harvey Goldstein, Cross-classified and Multiple Membership Structures in Multilevel Models: An Introduction and Review, Research Report 791, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2006-Aug
A paper examined the impact a change in data collection mode, from face-to-face interviewing to telephone, might have on data quality. Telephone respondents were more likely to give socially desirable responses across a range of indicators.
Source: Annette J ckle, Caroline Roberts and Peter Lynn, Telephone Versus Face-to-Face Interviewing: Mode effects on data quality and likely causes - Report on phase II of the ESS-Gallup mixed mode methodology project, Working Paper 2006-41, Institute for Social and Economic Research/University of Essex (01206 873087)
Links: Working paper
Date: 2006-Aug
An article defined 'responsive design' of surveys (the use of computer techniques to alter the design during the course of data collection, to improve survey cost efficiency and to achieve more precise, less biased estimates). It used examples to illustrate the responsive use of 'paradata' to guide mid-survey decisions affecting the non-response, measurement, and sampling variance properties of resulting statistics.
Source: Robert Groves and Steven Heeringa, 'Responsive design for household surveys: tools for actively controlling survey errors and costs', Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A, Volume 169 Issue 3
Links: Article
Date: 2006-Jul
A report examined how quality might be defined in social policy research.
Source: Saul Becker, Alan Bryman and Joe Sempik, Defining Quality in Social Policy Research: Views, perceptions and a framework for discussion, Social Policy Association (S.Becker@bham.ac.uk) with Joint University Council Social Policy Committee
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jul
An article examined ways of dealing with bias caused by non-response in social surveys used to estimate unemployment duration distributions.
Source: Gerard van den Berg, Maarten Lindeboom and Peter Dolton, 'Survey non-response and the duration of unemployment', Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A, Volume 169 Issue 3
Links: Article
Date: 2006-Jul
A think-tank report said that monopoly intellectual property rights gave too great a priority to innovation compared to public access to information, leading to significant social and commercial costs. It argued for greater priority to be given to the public domain and open approaches to knowledge production, to allow full advantage to be taken of the possibilities offered by the digital age.
Source: Rufus Pollock, The Value of the Public Domain, Institute for Public Policy Research, available from Central Books (0845 458 9911)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jul
A paper examined the increasing use of dependent interviewing (where substantive answers from previous interviews are used to tailor the wording and routing of questions).
Source: Annette J ckle, Dependent Interviewing: A framework and application to current research, Working Paper 2006-32, Institute for Social and Economic Research/University of Essex (01206 873087)
Links: Working paper
Date: 2006-Jun
The government began consultation on a new system to replace the 'research assessment exercise' (RAE) after 2008. It said that the 2008 RAE should proceed as planned, but the panels responsible for assessing individual subjects should be able to make greater use of metrics - statistical analysis - alongside or instead of peer review where they thought this was appropriate. A "shadow" metrics exercise covering all subjects should be run in parallel with the RAE.
Source: Reform of Higher Education Research Assessment and Funding, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Consultation document | DfES press release | Hansard | HEFCE press release | BBC report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Guardian report (3)
Date: 2006-Jun
The Royal Society launched a trial of an 'open access' journal service, which would allow people to read new scientific papers free of charge immediately after they were published on the web. The new service offered authors the opportunity to pay a fee to have their paper made freely available on the web immediately if it was accepted for publication by any Royal Society journal.
Source: Press release 21 June 2006, Royal Society (020 7839 5561)
Links: Royal Society press release
Date: 2006-Jun
An article examined an approach that involved 'piggy-backing' on an existing national survey in order to generate a sample of older people from minority ethnic backgrounds.
Source: Chih Sin Hoong, 'The feasibility of using national surveys to derive samples of older people from different ethnic groups in Britain: lessons from `piggy-backing' on the Family Resources Survey', International Journal of Social Research Methodology, Volume 9 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-May
A report said that plans to abolish the research assessment exercise (RAE) would cost more, and lead to increasing separation between teaching and research. The government's alternative proposal to make funding dependent on winning research grants would also damage intellectual freedom by making universities dependent on major funders.
Source: Tom Sastry and Bahram Bekhradnia, Using Metrics to Allocate Research Funds: A short evaluation of alternatives to the Research Assessment Exercise, Higher Education Policy Institute (01865 284450)
Links: Report | Summary | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Apr
A report examined various issues surrounding research access to population-based collections of data and materials on health. It said that access to collections could be improved: but the provision of access would have to be actively facilitated, guided, funded, and rewarded.
Source: William Lowrance, Access to Collections of Data and Materials for Health Research, Medical Research Council (020 7636 5422) and Wellcome Trust
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Apr
An article examined the criticisms of education research that had been made by government and related non-departmental public bodies and stakeholders. It said that researchers should beware of allowing their work to be shaped entirely by the government's call for research that was directly useful to policy by always prioritizing applied or practice-based approaches.
Source: Geoff Whitty, 'Education(al) research and education policy making: is conflict inevitable?', Educational Research, Volume 32 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Apr
A report examined the process of random assignment, and what it took to implement a social policy using this methodology, including informed consent processes. It investigated how volunteers and staff perceived random assignment, their understanding of the process itself, and their responses to being assigned to the control or programme group.
Source: Robert Walker, Lesley Hoggart and Gayle Hamilton, with Susan Blank, Making Random Assignment Happen: Evidence from the United Kingdom Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) demonstration, Research Report , Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Date: 2006-Mar
An article examined the use of systematic review methods in housing research. It called for a more thoughtful approach to the method, and more careful consideration of when systematic reviews might be appropriate.
Source: Alison Wallace et al., 'Evidence for policy making: some reflections on the application of systematic reviews to housing research', Housing Studies, Volume 21 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Mar
An article examined experiences of undertaking health and social research involving children (in Australia and England), and focused on securing the informed consent of children to participate in such research.
Source: Rachel Balen et al., 'Involving children in health and social research: 'human becomings or active beings ?', Childhood, Volume 13 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Mar
The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced (in the 2006 Budget statement) that a working group would be created to examine a 'metrics-based' system to replace the research assessment exercise (RAE) from 2008.
Source: Budget 2006: A strong and strengthening economy - Investing in Britain s future, Cm 968, HM Treasury, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | HMT press release | DfES press release | HEFCE press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Mar
A paper examined the potential role of systematic reviews of evidence in the area of energy policy. It concluded that systematic reviews might only be appropriate for a subset of energy policy questions; and that priorities in research funding might need to change if their use were to become more widespread.
Source: Steve Sorrell, Improving the Evidence Base for Energy Policy: The role of systematic reviews, Working Paper 146, Science Policy Research Unit/University of Sussex (01273 686758)
Links: Working paper
Date: 2006-Feb
A new book examined the processes of interviewing. It focused on interviewing not just as a tool to be used within other frameworks such as case studies and surveys, but as an approach to organizing a project as a whole.
Source: John Schostak, Interviewing and Representation in Qualitative Research, Open University Press (01280 823388)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Feb
Two linked reports examined a research project into older people s views on services, which involved older people themselves as researchers.
Source: Roger Clough, Bert Green, Barbara Hawkes, Gwyneth Raymond and Les Bright, Older People as Researchers: Evaluating a participative project, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033) | Mary Leamy and Roger Clough, How Older People Became Researchers: Training, guidance and practice in action, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report 1 | Summary 1 | Report 2 | Summary 2
Date: 2006-Feb
A report said that the social science community in the United Kingdom was generally older than that of the natural and physical sciences. This presented a challenge to the long-term health of the social science research base: but there was considerable variation within this picture, with some disciplines facing particularly acute problems and others being in a healthy state demographically. Seven key priority areas were identified which needed the greatest attention, including socio-legal studies, social work, and education.
Source: David Mills, Anne Jepson and Tony Coxon, Demographic Review of the UK Social Sciences, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Report | ESRC press release
Date: 2006-Feb
A report examined how the systematic review process could be extended to a synthesis of qualitative studies, using the example of older people s views on hospital discharge.
Source: Using Qualitative Research in Systematic Reviews: Older people s views of hospital discharge, Social Care Institute for Excellence (020 7089 6840)
Links: Report | Links to appendices
Date: 2006-Feb
An article said that the government had "traduced" the results of independent research on crime trends and policy.
Source: Tim Hope, 'Things can only get better', Criminal Justice Matters, Number 62
Links: Article
Date: 2006-Feb
An article said that research carried out under the aegis of the Home Office served the purposes of the government. It called for the development of a criminology that challenged the existing social order, and a boycott of all Home Office and corporate-funded research.
Source: Reece Walters, 'Boycott, resistance and the role of the deviant voice', Criminal Justice Matters, Number 62
Links: Article
Date: 2006-Feb
An article reported on a qualitative research project that investigated the work of the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain, and the news media's deconstruction of the Commission's report (published in 2000). It examined how the damaging political fall-out of extremely negative news media coverage affected research encounters. The openness with which many of the participants spoke about this traumatic experience suggested that the production of policy documents could constitute highly emotional labour for participants.
Source: Sarah Neal and Eugene McLaughlin, 'Researching up? Interviews, emotionality and policy-making elites', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 38 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jan
An article examined the reliability of the two main survey sources for key household labour market indicators – the Labour Force Survey and the Annual Population Survey – using standard errors to inform users on the accuracy of regular household analysis. It showed the level of detail that provided reliable analysis for different geographies.
Source: Jenny Johnson, 'Quality measures of household labour market indicators', Economic & Labour Market Review, October 2009, Office for National Statistics, Palgrave Macmillan (01256 329242)
Links: Article
Date: 2006-Jan
A paper examined proposals for the design and conduct of the research excellence framework, which would replace the research assessment exercise. It expressed concern about aspects of the system for measuring the social and economic impact of research work.
Source: Bahram Bekhradnia, Proposals for the Research Excellence Framework: A critique, Higher Education Policy Institute (01865 284450)
Links: Report | HEPI press release | UCU press release | Times Higher Education report
Date: 2006-Jan
An article considered what objective rationale might explain the wide differences in ratings between subjects in the 2001 research assessment exercise. A quantitative analysis found no such rationale - indeed some variations appeared perverse. This highlighted the need for greater consistency of judgements, perhaps steered by a super-panel .
Source: Stephen McKay, 'The consistency of RAE outcomes in the social sciences: a quantitative comparison of social policy and cognate subjects in the RAE 2001', Social Policy and Society, Volume 5 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jan