Using Freedom of Information in Research

Date and place: 10 May 2012, Southampton

Course leader: Dr Cathy Murray, University of Southampton

This one day event will explore the use of Freedom of Information requests as an innovative way of conducting research, either as a stand-alone approach or in combination with other research methods. Examples of empirical studies conducted on Children in Care in the UK and on the British government's role in the Rwandan genocide will be presented. These studies will illustrate how researchers have successfully utilised the UK Freedom of Information Act (which came into effect in 2005) to conduct their research, by making Freedom of Information requests to elicit data. Importantly, there will be a session on the background and context of the legislation and on the role of the Information Commissioner in enabling researchers to access the data they require for their studies. Finally, you will have an opportunity, in a facilitated workshop, to consider how to use Freedom of Information requests in your own research.

Fees: £30 for UK registered postgraduate students; £60 for staff at UK academic institutions, ESRC funded researchers and registered charity organisations; £220 for all other participants. All fees include event materials, lunch, morning and afternoon tea.

To book your place in this course please go to the course details on NCRM website http://www.ncrm.ac.uk/training/show.php?article=3354

New NCRM paper: How many qualitative interviews is enough?

Students conducting a piece of qualitative research frequently ask ‘how many interviews is enough?’ Early career researchers and established academics also consider this question when designing research projects.

In this National Centre for Research Methods, Methods Review paper Rosalind Edwards (NCRM, Univ. Southampton) and Sarah Elsie Baker (Middlesex Univ.) gather and review responses to the question of ‘how many’ from 14 renowned social scientists and 5 early career researchers. Download the paper.

ONS Consultation on International Migration Outpus

The Office for National Statistics is beginning a review into the methods used to produce the migration assumptions which feed into the production of the national population projections. The current methodology was introduced for the 1991-based national population projections with some later modifications made for the 1996-based NPPs. However patterns of migration and data availability have changed since then which is why ONS are taking forward this review.

 A project board has been set up and consists of the NPP Committee, the Head of ONS's Migration Statistics Unit and a representative from ONS's Methodology Directorate. The review work itself will be carried out by Jakub Bijak of the University of Southampton over the summer of 2012

It is important to that the new methods are not only statistically robust but that they meet user needs and therefore ONS are consulting with key stakeholders through a User Forum. They are also interested in hearing from any other users of the population projections who would like to feed in their views on the content and timing of any of the following statistical outputs:

* Migration flows
* Population stocks
* Local Area Migration Indicators
* Migration Reporting
* Data Explorer Tool

For details on the consultation and how to respond please see the ONS website:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/consultations/open-consultations/international-migration/index.html or contact Suzie Dunsmith at natpopproj@ons.gsi.gov.ukor or by phoning 01329 444023.

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Family Resources Survey User Meeting

Friday 22 June 2012
Royal Statistical Society, London

This meeting will provide a forum for the exchange of information and views between users and producers of the Family Resources Survey. It is aimed primarily at users and potential users of survey microdata.

The meeting is free to attend and lunch is provided. To view the programme and book a place please go to  http://www.ccsr.ac.uk/esds/events/2012-06-22/

Conference of the Migration Statistics User Forum

18 September 2012 10:30 - 16:00 Registration from 09.30
Home Office HQ, 2 Marsham Street, London SWIP 4DF

The 2012 annual conference is organised by the Migration Statistics User Forum in partnership with the Home Office Statistics.  This day event has been designed to appeal to a wide range of users of migration statistics and relates to the Migration Statistics User Forum’s aims to provide a forum for discussion on migration statistics and to enable users to discuss their needs and use of data and for producers to consult on presentation and changes.

Spaces are limited so early booking is recommended. There is no booking fee but to request a place you need to email MigrationStatsEnquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk, giving your full name, address, day-time contact number, email address (if not the email used) and affiliation. Please also provide any special dietary requirements. Buffet lunch and refreshments will be provided. Joining instructions will be provided closer to the date.

Draft Programme

Welcome

DAVID BLUNT (Chief Statistician – Home Office)
Developments in Home Office Statistics on Migration Control
CHRIS KERSHAW & DAVID MATZ (Home Office Statistics)
Plans for building on the Migration Statistics Improvement Programme
PAUL VICKERS (Office for National Statistics)
The Migration Advisory Committee and evidence based policy decisions
VANNA ALDIN & MARK FRANKS (Migration Advisory Committee)
The internationalisation of Migration Statistics
JOHN SALT (University College London & Correspondent for the OECD) and CAROLYNE TAH (Home Office Migration and Border Analysis and European Migration Network)
Recent work to update the migrant journey analysis and other research
JON SIMMONS & CHRIS ATTWOOD (Home Office Migration and Border Analysis)
Migration data in the House of Commons
OLIVER HAWKINS (House of Commons Library)
Developments in ONS reporting of International Migration figures
SARAH CROFTS (Office for National Statistics)
Panel Discussion with questions from users of government statistics on Migration
ALL SPEAKERS – there will also be an opportunity for questions after each presentation

There will also be a short meeting at the end of the event for any attendees who would like to be involved in considering the programme for the next event in 2013.

Further details will be posted to the Migration Statistics User Forum JISCMAIL list (to join visit https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=MIGRATION-STATS). Please feel free to forward to others who would potentially have an interest.

National Child Development Study and 1970 British Cohort Study: Introductory workshop

Institute of Education, University of London
Thursday 10 May 2012

This one-day workshop which will introduce the 1958 National Child Development Study (NCDS) and the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70), focusing on the newly available data from the surveys carried out in 2008 when the study members were aged 50 and 38 years respectively.

For further details and to book a place, please visit: http://www.esds.ac.uk/news/eventdetail.asp?id=3170

Millennium Cohort Study: Introductory Workshop

Institute of Education, University of London
Tuesday 8 May 2012

This one-day workshop will introduce the Millennium Cohort Study, focusing on the newly available data from the survey carried out when the study children were aged seven years.

For further details and to book a place: http://www.esds.ac.uk/news/eventdetail.asp?id=3169

RSS Meeting: The International Crime Drop

15th May 2012 at 5pm with tea/coffee from 4.30pm.
Royal Statistical Society,12 Errol Street, London, EC1Y 8LX, London

The presentations will focus on important findings from a forthcoming edited book on the crime drop and will draw on data from the International Crime Victims Survey (ICVS) and other international data sources include the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on homicide rates and the European Sourcebook on police recorded rates. Observed and estimated crime rate trends will be presented and their implications discussed. Dramatic changes in routine activities in society that opened up crime opportunities and reduced risks explained the crime increases since the Second World War. The same perspective can also be applied to help explain the recent crime drops as well as the variations in trend and their timing across different crime types.

Speakers are:

Nick Tilley, University College London

Andromachi Tseloni, Nottingham Trent University

Jan Van Dijk, Tilburg University, Netherlands

The session will be chaired by Chris Kershaw from the Home Office who will also discuss some specific findings from England and Wales due to be published in the book that may help to explain the divergence between crime trends and some public attitudes. Allan  Brimicombe from East London University, who is also chair of the Crime and Justice Statistics Network, will act as the discussant.

Attendance is free and open to all, but pre-registration is recommended. You can register by email meetings@rss.org.uk or by phone (020) 7638 8998.  For further information about the meeting contact Chris Kershaw (chris.kershaw@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk). For directions see www.rss.org.uk/findus.