Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | I | International Journal of Market Research

Methodological developments in the academic sector.

Article Excerpt
This paper describes the Research Methods programme of the Economic and Social Research Council and discusses some of the methodological developments in the academic sector that can have relevance to the non-academic market research community.

Introduction

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has made a number of strategic investments to promote methodological advancement and improve the standards of research methods across the UK social science community. Firstly, the Research Methods Programme, which began in October 2002 and runs for five years.

The Programme's key aims are to:

* support substantive research that poses interesting or novel methodological issues;

* foster and promote work that improves and advances quantitative and qualitative methods;

* encourage and support the dissemination of good practice, including training programmes and training materials.

Secondly, the ESRC has just commissioned a National Research Methods Centre at the University of Southampton that will complement the work of the Research Methods Programme. The ESRC describes the Centre's role thus:

The overall mission of the Centre will be to provide a strategic focal point for the identification, development and delivery of an integrated national research and training programme aimed at promoting a step change in the quality and range of methodological skills and techniques used by the UK social science community. ESRC website, April 2003...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!