A paper said that apparently minor variations in the design of survey questions about personal satisfaction caused a very large change in the pattern of answers, particularly for women.
Source: Gabriella Conti and Stephen Pudney, If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands! Survey design and the analysis of satisfaction, Working Paper 2008-39, Institute for Social and Economic Research/University of Essex (01206 873087)
Links: Working paper
Date: 2008-Dec
A paper examined the use of incentives in longitudinal surveys. It summarized what was known about the effects that incentives had on co-operation and on non-response bias for such surveys.
Source: Heather Laurie and Peter Lynn, The Use of Respondent Incentives on Longitudinal Surveys, Working Paper 2008-42, Institute for Social and Economic Research/University of Essex (01206 873087)
Links: Working paper
Date: 2008-Dec
A paper highlighted the potential uses of survey data on siblings. Such data could be used to control for family-level unobserved heterogeneity that might confound the relationship of interest, and to study correlations in sibling outcomes. The paper also discussed potential problems associated with the sibling data being derived from retrospective fertility histories of mothers.
Source: Sonia Bhalotra, Sibling-linked data in the demographic and health surveys, Working Paper 08/203, Centre for Market and Public Organisation/University of Bristol (0117 954 6943)
Links: Working paper
Date: 2008-Oct
An article examined the usefulness of the life-history method of doing social policy research, using data drawn from a set of recently collected life-work histories. These histories documented the experiences of individuals who had crossed over between the public sector and the 'third sector' during their careers.
Source: David Lewis, 'Using life histories in social policy research: the case of third sector/public sector boundary crossing', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 37 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Oct
A report examined the extent to which socially diverse populations had been, or might be, reflected in research. It focused on health promotion and public health research with children and young people. Although diversity should always be considered in the research design, the extent to which socially diverse samples were included in research would be shaped by the questions addressed in particular studies. There were considerable discrepancies between the framework for good practice suggested by the methodological literature and what went on in research practice.
Source: Theo Lorenc, Angela Harden, Ginny Brunton and Ann Oakley, Including Diverse Groups of Children and Young People in Health Promotion and Public Health Research: A review of methodology and practice, Report 1609, EPPI-Centre/Social Science Research Unit/Institute of Education/University of London (020 7612 6050)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Sep
An article reported a systematic synthesis of the research methods and quality of peer-reviewed empirical research relating to adult social care services (1990-2001). The range of research questions, research designs, and methodological quality varied within and across four service-user groups. Factors associated with variation in methodological quality included the type of research question, strategies and designs adopted, service user group, number of authors, unit of analysis, and year of publication. The findings demonstrated a dearth of rigorous social care evaluations.
Source: Siobhan Reilly, Chengqiu Xie, Sally Jacobs and David Challis,, 'Examining the state of adult social care research 1990-2001: a systematic synthesis of research methods and quality', Evidence & Policy, Volume 4 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Sep
An article reported research on the implementation of the largest randomized social policy experiment yet undertaken in the United Kingdom – the Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) evaluation. It highlighted some of the tensions between operational realities and research ambitions in such experiments, and suggested ways that researchers could attempt to resolve these tensions in the context of real-world programmes and institutions.
Source: Robert Walker, Lesley Hoggart and Gayle Hamilton, 'Observing the implementation of a social experiment', Evidence & Policy, Volume 4 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Sep
An article examined emerging tensions between external review processes (such as the Research Assessment Exercise) and increasing interest in participatory/emancipatory research in fields such as nursing and social work. Pressure from such demands risked undermining efforts to develop more equal research relationships that could address power imbalances with people who used services.
Source: Karen Postle, Peter Beresford and Sally Hardy, 'Assessing research and involving people using health and social care services: addressing the tensions', Evidence & Policy, Volume 4 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Sep
A report said that social science (and humanities) disciplines were not 'punching their weight' in contributing to public policy-making. It made 20 recommendations designed to improve dialogue, innovation, and knowledge transfer between leading academics and policy-makers in Westminster, Whitehall, the devolved administrations, and town halls and other public bodies. They included reducing the high proportion of government research budgets allocated, contrary to the government's own guidelines, to short-term projects; strengthening government departments' peer review mechanisms to ensure they commissioned the highest quality research; and improving training for PhD students to meet the future needs of policy-makers and other user communities. The report also recommended that universities take more account of public policy engagement in their criteria for academic promotion; and that government departments set and publish targets to increase two-way secondments with universities and research organizations. A linked report said that there was a need for a 'culture of public intellectual life' which would allow greater recognition of the benefits of studying social science and humanities. The social sciences made big contributions to the economy, government, and public life: but these were undervalued or even ignored.
Source: Alan Wilson, Punching Our Weight: The humanities and social sciences in public policy making, British Academy (020 7969 5200) | LSE Public Policy Group, Maximizing the Social, Policy and Economic Impacts of Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences, British Academy
Links: BA report | LSE report | British Academy press release | LSE press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Sep
A paper examined the effectiveness of statistical approaches for replicating the results from a randomized trial, using administrative data from the Department for Work and Pensions. Applying a variety of statistical approaches produced a wide range of estimates for the impact of excusing jobseekers from signing on for the first 13 weeks of their claim: but specification testing eliminated many of the worst approaches, and the remaining approaches performed 'surprisingly well'. This suggested that administrative datasets, which included only limited characteristic information, could be used to estimate the impact of programmes for jobseekers.
Source: Andrew Thomas, Evaluating the Econometric Evaluations of Active Labour Market Programmes Using Administrative Data: Evidence from the jobseeker's allowance pilots, Working Paper 50, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Working paper
Date: 2008-Sep
A report examined the key results from the British Household Panel Survey during the 18 years of its life, 1991-2008.
Source: Richard Berthoud and Jonathan Burton (eds.), In Praise of Panel Surveys, Institute for Social and Economic Research/University of Essex (01206 873087)
Links: Report | ISER press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Sep
The government published a guide designed to help commissioners and service providers select and monitor evidence-based services for vulnerable people.
Source: Think Research: Using research evidence to inform service development for vulnerable groups, Social Exclusion Task Force/Cabinet Office (020 7276 1234)
Links: Guide
Date: 2008-Jul
An article highlighted conflicts and dilemmas within the evaluation of the Sure Start programme. It illustrated the difficulties placed on local evaluators by the lack of clear structures within which to work.
Source: Jill Clark and Elaine Hall, 'Will the lessons be learned? Reflections on local authority evaluations and the use of research evidence', Evidence & Policy, Volume 4 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Jun
An article examined what had happened to put into effect the commitment to more evidence-based policy and practice, by identifying the opportunities this had offered to the research community and reflecting on the ways in which researchers had responded. It identified a number of issues that remained unresolved, and offered an agenda for those who were committed to advancing the application of evidence to policy and practice.
Source: Annette Boaz, Lesley Grayson, Ruth Levitt and William Solesbury, 'Does evidence-based policy work? Learning from the UK experience', Evidence & Policy, Volume 4 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Jun
An article examined the use of evidence by actors involved in the policy debate on sex offender community notification in the summer of 2000. It examined what was considered as evidence, how it was used and by which actors. It highlighted the wide and fluid nature of evidence and the rapidity with which it could infuse policy debates. The relationship between evidence and policy that emerged was a far cry from the 'two communities' view of evidence-providers and evidence-users.
Source: Tobias Jung and Sandra Nutley, 'Evidence and policy networks: the UK debate about sex offender community notification', Evidence & Policy, Volume 4 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Jun
A paper examined the development and implementation of a behaviour-coding scheme adopted to explore interview dynamics in the framework of dependent interviewing. It considered how the dynamic between interviewer and respondent could be a source of survey error resulting in a lessening of data quality.
Source: Emanuela Sala, S.C. Noah Uhrig and Peter Lynn, The Development and Implementation of a Coding Scheme to Analyse Interview Dynamics in the British Household Panel Survey, Working Paper 2008-19, Institute for Social and Economic Research/University of Essex (01206 873087)
Links: Working paper
Date: 2008-May
The government announced the creation of a new School for Social Care Research (based in the National Institute for Health Research). It said that the School would focus on social care practice; that it would include research by social care professionals as well as academics, and encourage active collaboration with service users and their carers; and that it would draw on a wide range of academic disciplines and methods.
Source: Press release 30 May 2008, Department of Health (020 7210 4850)
Links: DH press release
Date: 2008-May
Researchers evaluated a programme designed to promote better use of data, research, and evidence in neighbourhood renewal. Despite major improvements nationally in the availability of neighbourhood level data, practitioners could still find difficulty locating appropriate data for activities such as target setting or tracking neighbourhood change.
Source: Derrick Johnstone et al., Supporting Evidence for Local Delivery, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Date: 2008-Mar
A report said that the Home Office was deliberately ignoring evidence-based research on crime and punishment that conflicted with government policy.
Source: Tim Hope and Reece Walters, Critical Thinking About the Uses of Research, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies/King's College London (020 7848 1688)
Links: Report | CCJS press release | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Mar
An article said that the system of pre-emptive ethical regulation developed in the biomedical sciences had became a major threat to research in the humanities and the social sciences. Although there was growing criticism of its effects, most commentators had tended to accept the principle of regulation. Ethical regulation was fundamentally wrong, because the damage that it inflicted on a democratic society far exceeded any harm that social science research was capable of causing to individuals.
Source: Robert Dingwall, 'The ethical case against ethical regulation in humanities and social science research', Twenty-first Century Society, Volume 3 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Feb
An article examined the potential of participatory research for empowering disadvantaged communities and providing a route for overcoming social exclusion. It concluded that participatory research merited close attention as long as its difficulties were acknowledged.
Source: Mike Titterton and Helen Smart, 'Can participatory research be a route to empowerment? A case study of a disadvantaged Scottish community', Community Development Journal, Volume 43 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Jan