SRA Events 2007

The Social Research Association
24-32 Stephenson Way
London, NW1 2HX
Tel: 020 7388 2391

admin@the-sra.org.uk

This document outlines forthcoming SRA events throughout 2007.

Key forthcoming event:

SRA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2007 Tuesday 4th December 2007 “Learning from others: Innovations in Social Research”

Brunei Gallery, SOAS, University of London Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, This year, through key note speakers, a series of workshop sessions and a panel debate, the SRA conference aims to inform the research community and promote discussion on innovative and exciting developments in the design, planning, implementation, analysis and dissemination of social research. In the morning we have a line up of excellent plenary speakers. Ian Pearson (Minster for Science and Innovation) will outline the social and economic impact of social research and provide a government perspective on the current and future role of social research in policy development. Karen Dunnell (National Statistician) will be providing a perspective on the role of social science based social research and the issues it faces if it is to make a key and continued contribution to policy and practice. She will also discuss implications for social statistics users of recent changes in the organisation of British statistics as well as providing some insight into the innovations the Office for National Statistics is making to its production and dissemination of statistics. Professor Peter Halfpenny (Executive Director, ESRC National Centre for e-Social Science) will be discussing, in a milestone address, developments in Information and communication technology (ICT) and the role they will play in advancing social research processes. In the afternoon, a series of 12 workshops delivered by research experts from academia, government and the private sector will examine and discuss upcoming developments on the following themes: · Innovations in the development of research design and strategy · New methods and techniques for undertaking research, and exploring or interpreting data · Connecting research to policy development · New methods of disseminating research to reach wider audiences Finally a panel discussion including Peter Halfpenny, and policy and researcher actors from the Central Office of Information (invited) and the Future Foundation (invited) will discuss “Looking ahead: Innovations and issues for the next ten years”. Tickets are £150 for SRA members Non members: F/T workers: membership at £60 a year and a place at £150 (total fee £210 per delegate) P/T workers or Retired: membership at £45 a year and a place at £150 (total fee £195 per delegate) F/T time Student or Unwaged: membership at £22 a year and a place at £150 (total fee £172 per delegate). General attendance (without membership) £200 The conference fee includes all day access to the event, conference pack, lunch and tea/coffee and drinks reception. Fees do not include travel costs or accommodation. Registration starts at 9.30am SRA General Meeting (SRA members only) at 10.00am SRA Annual Conference opening at 10.30am A booking from can be found on the SRA website or you can request one from the administrative office. A variety of advertising and sponsorship options are still available. Please contact the administrative office for more details.

Other events:

DATE	EVENT TITLE AND DETAILS
Tuesday 23th October	CONSULTATION EVENT: The UK Household Longitudinal Study This is a joint meeting organised by the SRA and the Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex. It forms part of the wider consultation process on the content for the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS). The aim of the meeting is to provide information on progress and plans for the UKHLS and allow discussion and seek views on content for the study. An overview of the UKHLS design will be provided by Heather Laurie (ISER) whilist Lucinda Platt (ISER) will talk about the ethnic minority boost sample elements of the study. There will also be time for a general discussion. The meeting takes place at the SRA offices and starts at 2.30.
Monday 29th October	What’s happening to British Statistics? This event organised by SRA, RSS and ACSS will provide an opportunity to find out more about important changes to the social research sector as a consequence of the Statistics and Registration Service Act coming into effect from 1st April 2008. This event will highlight changes to ONS’s formal status as well as examine the introduction of the new Statistics Board. This meeting takes place at the British Library and will start at 3.30.
Thursday 8th November	SRA CYMRU EVENING SEMINAR Presenting Data SRA Cymru are pleased to announce the first in a new series of seminars for researchers based in Wales. The first seminar in this new series will focus on presenting data. The challenge of presenting data faces us all at some point or another – whether writing a research report or as part of an analysis of a problem or service. By the end of the seminar, participants will: · Have an understanding of the principles behind presenting data; · Be familiar with the difficulties of presenting numerical data; and · Have an insight into some of the challenges associated with the effective presentation of data. The seminar will be led by Ed Swires-Hennessy from the Local Government Data Unit. He is a member of the Government Statistical Service and has worked on different areas of official statistics for over 35 years. The majority of this time has been spent on Welsh statistics with the Welsh Assembly Government and its predecessor, the Welsh Office. His main areas of interest are in surveys (he has been responsible for the majority of major housing surveys in Wales since 1978) and the dissemination of statistics (having been the General Editor of Welsh statistical publications for over 20 years). This meeting takes place in Cardiff at the Local Government Data Unit and starts at 5pm. To book a place at this event, please contact Naomi Copestake (02920 825595/ naomi.copestake@wales.gsi.gov.uk) There is a small charge of £10 to attend this event.
Wednesday 14th November	SRA EVENING SEMINAR: Counting disabled children and their households Clare Black burn and Janet Read (Associate Professors, School of Health and Social Studies, University of Warwick) will be speaking about their ESRC funded research into “Can We Count Them? Disabled Children and their Households”. It is widely recognised that quantitative data on disabled children and their households in the UK has its limitations. This research set out to scope and evaluate existing data sources in order to inform the development of more robust data on this important population of children and their circumstances. Clare and Janet’s presentation will highlight some of the project's key findings (including those from secondary analysis work using FRS and FACS) and their policy implications. This meeting takes place at the Nuffield Foundation and starts at 4.30. There is a small charge of £10 to attend this event.
Tuesday 20th November	CATHIE MARSH MEMORIAL LECTURE: Using SAR’s to research the experience of ethnic minorities This year the joint SRA and RSS memorial lecture aims to illustrate the use of SARs’ as a Resource for Researchers and will also give key examples of their use to examine the experience of ethnic minorities within the labour market. Professor Ed Fieldhouse (University of Manchester) will give an overview of the use of SARS. Ken Clark (Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Manchester and Research Fellow, IZA, Bonn) will examine the dynamics and diversity of ethnic minority labour market outcomes using evidence from the use of SARs’ Lisa Buckner (Senior Research Fellow, University of Leeds) will highlight the use of SARs’ to explore the situation of ethnic minority women within local labour markets. Rachel Leeser (Greater London Authority) will act as a discussant at this event. This meeting takes place at RSS and starts at 4.30. It is followed by a drinks reception.
Thursday 22nd November	SRA EVENING SEMINAR: The UK Study of Abuse and Neglect of Older People The abuse and neglect of older people is increasingly acknowledged as a social problem, particularly in the context of increasing longevity and the concomitant growth in the numbers of people with disabilities, mobility and cognitive problems. A series of studies commissioned by Comic Relief with co-funding from the Department of Health and conducted by NatCen and King’s College London, has begun to address what had been a lack of research into this area. This SRA seminar bring together key researchers on the projects to discuss findings from these various studies. Bob Erens (NatCen) will present findings from the national survey, looking at the overall estimated numbers of older people experiencing abuse and neglect in the community and, within this, the characteristics of abuse and neglect for different types of older people. Josie Dixon, Alice Mowlam and Rosalind Tennant (NatCen) will present findings from the in-depth interviews with some survey respondents. These findings highlight some issues relating to how abuse and neglect of older people is defined and explore the nature and impacts of abuse and neglect, factors that influence older people’s ability to cope and recover from abuse or neglect and the barriers to reporting abuse or neglect. Professor Simon Biggs (King’s College London) will reflect on the relevance of these findings for wider research and policy in this area. This meeting takes place at the Nuffield Foundation and starts at 4.30. There is a small charge of £10 to attend this event.

Please email admin@the-sra.org.uk to book to attend any event or find out more details (including any cost of attending). Details can also be found at www.the-sra.org.uk

Events are open to both SRA members and non-members.

If you are interested in supporting the SRA events committee in any way, please contact:

Oliver Hayllar, Chair SRA Events Committee o.hayllar@natcen.ac.uk

We are always keen to have new committee members, contacts or ideas for events.