Government Social Research
Welcome to the latest GSR bulletin after the Summer break.
Please use the links below to navigate to sections of interest to you.
GSR people: Liz Rayner to conquer the North Pole Liz Rayner, a Principal Research Officer in the DWP Strategic Research Unit, first appeared in GSR news in June having just completed the Marathon des Sables, a 150 mile run across the Sahara Desert . Liz's latest challenge is to conquer the North Pole as part of the 'Ice-warrior' team of complete novices, led by experienced polar explorer Jim McNeill.
GSRU news: GSRU brings a smile, a sing-along... and some cakes to Age Concern's Sherborne Day Centre in Pimlico, London on 27 September, as part of the Cabinet Office Volunteering initiative.
We're still on the up. Here are some key usage statistics for September 2005 (figures in brackets for September 2004):
Visit the Latest News page for more items
--- Sue Duncan on GSR skills - interview with the Chief Government Social Researcher and head of the Government Social Research Unit , on the GSR skills required to navigate a complex and fast-moving policy environment, in the September issue of Research magazine. GSR are described as being at 'the cutting edge of social policy - supporting the development, implementation and evaluation of government policy and the way it is delivered'.
> Register free online to view the full article [Research website]
--- GSR Conference 2005 - the major developmental event of the year for Government Social Researchers, took place in London from the 3-5 October at the Tower Thistle Hotel. The theme was 'Professional Skills for Government: competencies to deliver high quality social science research'. Some initial coverage of Michael Feuer's presentation can be found on the Research Live website. Watch this space for full reports.
--- GSRU Professional Development course timetable 2005-2006 - now published with a New online booking facility. Beginning in November 2005, several new courses are included and all provide students with an understanding of the major quantitative and qualitative research skills relevant to designing, analysing and evaluating government policy.
--- The Government Social Research Unit has prepared, in consultation with other government departments and other funders, ethical guidance for the commissioning, management and conduct of all social research. The guidance formalises existing good practice across government, while leaving individual departments to set up their own governance procedures.
All government research should now follow the principles in the guidance, even where that research is not commissioned by GSR members.
The guidance:
--- Market Research Society publish new Code of Conduct [MRS website] The new Market Research Society (MRS) Code of Conduct has been completed and is available on the MRS website.
--- Methods News - The fourth issue of the NCRM newsletter Methods News is now available [NCRM website]. Contents include news from the NCRM, NCeSS,RDI, spotlight on CAQDAS.
--- MOLS 2006: Methodology of Longitudinal Surveys - Call for papers [ISER website] Closing date for abstracts: 30 November 2005
--- The Analysis for Policy Project - update on the project which is due to publish a report later this year on how policy makers use evidence in policy and delivery decisions.
--- DWP publish Research into multiple disadvantaged groups in European Social Fund [ESF] Objective 3 in England (Research report 286) [DWP website] - looks at ESF provision within the context of support for multiple disadvantaged groups more generally and seeks to identify more precisely who the 'multiple disadvantaged' are; how ESF adds value to the levels and types of support they might normally receive; and what sort of approaches adopted by current ESF projects might constitute 'best practice' in dealing with such groups.
--- Scottish Executive publish Social Inclusion Research Bulletin [Scottish Executive website] (Social Inclusion no 14/2005) - bi-annual report on a range of social research projects carried out in-house or commissioned by the Executive and Communities Scotland relating to Social Inclusion and Equalities strategies. It provides an update of ongoing projects, information about recent and forthcoming publications and details of new research likely to be commissioned over the coming months.
--- DWP publish research on Jobcentre Plus customer satisfaction and experience (pdf) [DWP website] - provides national representative data on customer experience and levels of satisfaction with Jobcentre Plus services. The research was carried out by the Policy Research Institute, Leeds Metropolitan University though telephone surveys.
--- ONS publishes Population Trends 121 - Autumn 2005 (pdf) [National Statistics website] The social class of parents is a strong influence on the social class of their children in later life, according to a study published today by the Office for National Statistics.
--- Publication by DWP of Factors affecting the labour market participation of older workers: qualitative research (pdf) [DWP website] Presents the findings from in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with a range of people aged between 50 and 69. These were conducted to increase understanding about older workers' decisions to leave, remain in or return to the labour market and their attitudes to work, training, retirement planning and saving.
--- Call for papers for the Sixth LSRC International Research Conference [LSRC website] to be held at Queen's University, Belfast, on the 20th and 21st April 2006. The conference is for leading researchers, policy makers, professionals and commentators in the legal aid field from around the world. Those who wish to submit a paper proposal for the conference should do so by 31st October 2005.
--- Publication of update from Mathematica [Mathematica website] Contents include:
--- Department for Work and Pensions publish The use and development of alternative service delivery channels in Jobcentre Plus: a review of recent evidence (Research Report No 280) (pdf) [DWP website] Jobcentre Plus commissioned three research projects to inform future policy and investment decisions on the use of alternative channels as a means of delivering services to its clients.
--- Office for National Statistics publish the results of a survey on public confidence in official statistics (pdf) [National Statistics website] Results show that people are more likely than not to believe official figures are accurate. This is no significant change from a survey in 2004.
--- Publication of update from Mathematica [Mathematica website] Contents include:
--- Publication of Social Sciences, Issue 61 [ESRC Society Today website]. Topics include: towards evidence-based policymaking; alleviating poverty; putting people at the centre of rural change; and more. Social Sciences is the regular newsletter from ESRC which provides up-to-date information about ESRC policies, new research and findings from completed research. It is published three times a year in February, June and September.
--- Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy Innovation - Call for papers by the University of St. Gallen, Institute for Economy and the Environment. The deadline for submissions is 1 November 2005.
--- Global social justice and environmental sustainability - Call for session proposals - The Urban Geography Research Group (UGRG) of the RGS-IBG seeks proposals for sponsored sessions at next year's RGS-IBG Annual International Conference, to be held 30th August - 1st September 2006 at the RGS-IBG, London. Deadline for submissions is 9 October 2005.
--- NCRM Launch and Summer School [NCRM website] Papers and presentations from the NCRM launch and the first NCRM summer school on Data Generation, Complexity & Synthesis, can now be found on the NCRM website .
--- Department for Transport have commissioned NatCen to undertake qualitative research into the possible impacts of an ageing popution on transport demand and wider social policy implications [DfT website]. Issues include the aspirations of different older age groups and the likely implications for transport as well as the impact of increasing retirement age.
--- Research Methods Programme - the next call for RMP Training Bursaries [CCSR website] will go out in November 2005 and applications are welcomed from HEFC-funded staff in the UK engaged in teaching methods or supervising research to update their skills, as well as from contract researchers working in HEIs.
The RURU database from the Research Unit for Research Utilisation, University of St Andrews , is a fully searchable library of references on research utilisation and the implementation of evidence-based policy and practice (EBPP). It draws on papers from four key sectors: health care, education, criminal justice and social care.
The database contains almost 400 papers and is still expanding. The database holds references to journal articles, books, reports, conference proceedings and seminar papers. It has a three-tier structure, comprising:
Literature sources include key electronic databases, the internet, reference lists, citation indices and web sites, as well as 'grey', or unpublished, literature. References are to English language papers dating back to 1985.
The on-line Help pages provide details of search options.
Visit the Bulletin Archive to view the contents of previous Bulletins.
The next bulletin will be published in November 2005.
Be sure to visit the Vacancies pages for all current job ads.