Data files developed by the government are frequently very large consisting, in some cases, of many millions of logical records. The needs of those who would do secondary analysis of these data have not necessarily been a factor in determining either the content of the data collected or the physical form in which the data are made available. As a result, much of this potentially useful data tends to be incomplete for many research purposes and inadequately documented for others. These are not problems unique to data generated by the government. However, the size and the complexity of many government-produced files makes solutions more difficult and more expensive. This paper uses the 1970 United States Census of Population and Housing as a means of illustrating both the benefits and the difficulties of utilizing government data bases for secondary analysis.
This paper looks at the way in which survey research has helped at different stages in the life of the Open University in Great Britain. The Open University, set up in 1969 to provide a second chance for adults to obtain a university decree, is based on the idea of adults in work studying at home, with printed course materials and correspondence assignments supplemented by TV and radio broadcasts. It is been in the sense that students are not required to have obtained formal educational qualifications.
This paper describes how a set of simulation programmes, grouped under the acronym WANDA, can be used to increase the contribution of sample survey data to forward planning. The problem taken as an example is the construction of a model of voting behaviour and how this could be used by a political party to plan an effective electoral strategy. The WANDA programmes are particularly applicable in the area of persuasion; in the development and testing of 'best' persuasion strategies.
The concern with Quality of Life and the large numbers of social indicators that are being identified as relevant to quality of life, raises political and ethical questions in respect of choices that must be made from among them. The necessity to choose may be superseded by the judicious use of indices which combine large numbers of indicators. The paper briefly describes a general theory of index construction and a method for the same which maintains the integrity of the theory. A theory of anomie is then outlined and the theory and method of index construction are illustrated with the construction of an index of anomie.
The inventors of the two-step-hypothesis, the Columbia researchers, touched upon a major problem in mass communication: The differentiation of the target groups in terms of individual receptiveness. But they did not answer any of our important questions. On the contrary. Biased by their research tradition they worked themselves into a blind allev. This fallacy influenced the development of the mass communication theory in a negative way. I have therefore described the main causes of that misadventure in an appendix to this paper.
This paper tries to offer methodological help to the planning of the technological development of the instruments, tools of labour (machines),from the aspect of market research. It starts from the evaluation of the rather widespread static methods of investigating technical standards and points out the sources of error and the deficiencies of certain such methods. The author then proposes to suggest consideration of the market value judgements affecting technological standards, and even for their quantification, a dynamic method instead of the mostly static systems previously used. She illustrates her method with a concrete example taken from the vehicle building industry.
This paper tries to offer methodological help to the planning of the technological development of the instruments, tools of labour (machines),from the aspect of market research. It starts from the evaluation of the rather widespread static methods of investigating technical standards and points out the sources of error and the deficiencies of certain such methods. The author then proposes to suggest consideration of the market value judgements affecting technological standards, and even for their quantification, a dynamic method instead of the mostly static systems previously used. She illustrates her method with a concrete example taken from the vehicle building industry.
After considering some problems in more traditional ways of teaching research methods, this paper discusses how archived data may be used in teaching graduate level courses in this subject in political science and sociology. The discussion is based on my experience, over the last four years, in teaching a graduate course in research methods in political science through secondary analysis.
Since 1965, there has been rapidly expanding utilisation of surveys of the general public for knowledge about crime, law enforcement and criminal justice in the United States. This paper presents some results of an inventory completed in 1972 covering 400 separate surveys which asked one or more questions involving these topics. Of the surveys inventoried, 218 were conducted by one of another major public opinion polling organisation as part of periodic surveys; the remainder were special studies.
This paper presents the most significant available data concerning Japanese attitudes toward and opinions about crime, criminal law and criminal justice, selected from the results of reliably conducted public opinion surveys. The selected data focus on the death penalty, the nature and treatment of the criminal, sense of guilt and the amount of fines, the purpose of criminal punishment, and euthanasia.