"In general, the ESRC Survey Link Scheme is a useful venture which can give, at a reasonable cost in terms of time and effort, an introduction to the practicalities of survey research. Both the workshop and the day with-an-interviewer elements were useful to me. I think that they would be useful to any neophyte researcher. It would be desirable if we made participation in such a scheme, or our own version of it, a compulsory part of any research training."
"Almost every research student who has not yet had such a comprehensive technical training could benefit from attending a similar course, and many staff members would gain from attendance as well."
"It was a valuable workshop, even for an experienced researcher, and I think that it would be even more valuable for an inexperienced one, especially if attendance was encouraged or required at stage in their research at which their design and approach had not yet been fixed. I learned a lot, and would expect other people to do so as well."
See the full report from Professor Laurie Moseley on his SLS experience.
Other Comments:
”I thought today’s workshop was excellent, superbly organised and pitched at just the right level of active participation, informality and useful information"……..Academic Researcher
"I will take into account the biases when I conduct interviews and be more careful about data quality"….
Ph.D student
"Held my interest throughout- good variety and balance of talk and hands on"… Ph.D student
"Professional and knowledgeable" Associate Lecturer
"Affect (my research in future) by questionnaire design and sampling size"…Ph.D student
"Good combination of different types of material"…Academic Researcher
"Survey Link Scheme – Thanks
I am writing to ask you to convey my thanks and appreciation to the Office for National Statistics for the day I spent shadowing their Yorkshire & Humber Labour Force Survey field data collection team."
Both interviewers made me feel very welcome and were generous in giving of their time and knowledge in explaining the realities of data collection for official surveys, with all the attendant difficulties and challenges that accompany such a large-scale and complex operation. The interviewers and I took a trip to Hull where we contacted sampled addresses in order to gain an interview. We were unfortunately only successful in obtaining one interview, but I got a good understanding of the vagaries of contacting the public and how what was I guess a fairly typical day might pan out.
I have to say I was very impressed indeed by the professionalism, courtesy and dedication which the interviewers exhibited; from my perspective this gave me a great deal of confidence that ONS data collectors are achieving high-quality data with good response rates and that their way of working is pretty much what one wants to see, as a social scientist. I hope that the new National Statistician will be encouraged to spend a similar day in the field!
I would be most grateful if you could convey my sentiments to the Office for National Statistics.
Yours sincerely"
PhD student