For
previous editions of our members newsletter SRA News see here.
News
LATEST GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL STATISTICIAN
For latest guidance from the National
Statistician for statisticians and other officials in implementing
the principles of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics
click here.
SRA STRATEGY FOR CONSULTATION JANUARY 2010
This strategic plan is the first ever produced by the
Social Research Association. Its purpose is to provide
a framework for the SRA Board to decide its priorities
and allocate resources over the next five years. It will
help our members and a wider interested community understand
our direction and actions.
The full document can be
downloaded here (doc 178k)
SRA e-BULLETIN
If you would like to view the SRA e-bulletin for March 2010, it is available
for download here (pdf)
Past editions are available here February
2010 - January
2010
SOCIAL RESEARCH SKILLS AND COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK
The SRA established a working party in
to develop a competency framework to identify the varying levels
research skills and competency required for different levels
of responsibility within social research and related organisations.
The working party has now produced a framework (doc
60k). There is also an short
report (doc 52k) to introduce and explain the rationale for
the framework.
Both are now open for comments and feed back on how you would like to see this
further developed, which should be sent to nigel.goldie@the-sra.org.uk by
28 February 2010.
THE BRITISH SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2010
CALL FOR PAPERS
Wednesday 7th – Friday 9th April
2010, Glasgow Caledonian University
The British Sociological Association invites submissions to its
2010 Annual Conference. The 2010 Annual Conference follows the
successful new format introduced in 2009. Participants can present
on topics they wish within broad streams (and open streams) that
reflect the core research areas of the membership.
Download full details here (pdf
89k)
LARGE DEMOGRAPHIC DATASETS NOW AVAILABLE FREE OF CHARGE TO NOT-FOR-PROFIT
ORGANISATIONS
The Individual SARs and SAM are now available free of charge to
not-for-profit organisations, including Local Authorities, Health
Authorities, Central Government and charities. More information
can be found at http://sars.census.ac.uk
FREE
30 DAY TRIAL TO EBSCO JOURNAL DATABASE
The SRA is please to announce a free 30 day trial to the
EBSCO Journal database. Please copy the following link into your
web
browser. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=uid USerID:
research Password: trial09 If you cannot
get access first time please be patient and try again as there
is a limited number of
users that can access the trial at any one time.
SRA RESPONSE TO ESRC CONSULTATION DOCUMENT 27-02-2009
Many thanks to all those who responded
to our call for comment on the
proposed REF consultation. The full consultation is now available
to
view
here. (doc
118k)
Statistics Authority publishes the Code of Practice for Official
Statistics
The UK Statistics Authority today publishes the new
Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The Authority has statutory
responsibility under the Statistics and Registration Service Act
2007 to prepare and publish this Code after due consultation. Download here (pdf 45k)
Latest NCRM Publication
Assessment of the training needs in reseach
methods of the professional social research community - download here (pdf 427k)
SRA Commissioning Initiative - DWP Presentation
on framework agreements
Download Presentation here (ppt
183k) or here (pdf 30k)
Since this presentation the framework extension has been completed
and DWP is now embarking on a procurement for a new framework
SRA Becomes Registered Charity
The SRA is pleased to be able to announce that
as of the first of May 2008 it has become a registered charity
(number 1123940). This
follows on from becoming a private limited liability company in
November of last year and reflects important changes to its overall
governance arrangements. Click here for
its Memorandum and Articles - its new governing instruments.
Are You Interested In
MAGIC? (Maintaining Access to Government Information Collaboratively) If
so, please read on...
Education for Change is leading the MAGIC
study, commissioned by the London School of Economics Library,
the University of Oxford
Social Sciences Library and the British Library, of the feasibility
of a central repository and “virtual reference desk” offering
long-term electronic access to a comprehensive collection of British
government and official publications via the Internet.
The service would cover electronic UK (Westminster) government
documents and those issued by the devolved administrations in Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland. The potential for a shared service
of this kind has been proposed in response to a general concern
within the research community about loss of information when Government
web sites are updated or closed due to structural reform of the
machinery of government, policy changes, change of party in power,
etc.
As well as information on the web pages themselves, they contain
links to important documents which would previously have been published
in print and preserved in libraries for the use of researchers
and members of the public, but which are now often issued only
in electronic form on government web sites, where their presence
is transitory.
We have designed a short survey for researchers from the academic,
government and other sectors in order to gather information from
research communities about the potential market for such a service,
including current practice by individual researchers in identifying,
finding and using official publications (both print and electronic).
If you are a researcher with an interest in using current and
historic official publications from the United Kingdom, we would
be grateful if you could take the time to complete our survey at
this web address
http://www.efc.co.uk/projects/magic/researchers_survey.jsp .
Thank you for your assistance in this research
SRA Ethics Forum
The SRA will be launching an "Ethics Forum" on 29th
January 2008 designed to support members confronting ethical dilemmas
in their research work. Ethical scrutiny of research has grown
rapidly in all areas of enquiry – academic, government, and
health. There has been less emphasis on ethical practice and there
is continuing and growing need to maintain awareness of the ethical
implications of social research. The SRA is responding to a need
for ongoing mentoring support.
Full details available here (doc
31k)
The Journal of Voluntary Sector Research:
Call for Papers
You are invited to submit an article to be considered for publication
in The Journal of
Voluntary Sector Research (ISSN 1755-3083) – a new quarterly
journal, commencing in
2008, aimed at practitioners and academics with an interest in
voluntary sector research.
Editorial Policy
- We aim to publish the best research carried out by or for
the voluntary sector in a way
that is accessible and credible.
- The Journal will disseminate key research findings as widely
as possible to those
seeking to learn from or to better understand the voluntary
sector.
- The Journal will help meet the need for research evidence
to inform and underpin good
practice and performance improvement.
- Publication decisions will be based solely upon the quality and
interest of the
submission and close relevance to the work of the voluntary
sector.
Key Journal Audiences
- Universities
- Voluntary sector organisations
- Statutory agencies
- Further education colleges
- Consultants
Submissions
Articles should be between 3,000 and 6,000 words with a short
summary of 100-200
words. Authors should submit three printed
copies of their manuscript together with
one
copy in electronic form to:
Dr Gary Kitchen,
Editor,
Journal of Voluntary Sector Research,
Get Heard Consultancy,
37b New Cavendish Street,
London W1G 8JR,
Email: gkitchen@getheard.org.uk,
Web: www.getheard.org.uk/journal.php
The Journal will consider only work that
has not been previously published in journal
or
book form. Submissions must not be under
consideration anywhere else. Please contact
the Editor for more detailed
Guidelines
for Authors.
Editorial Board
The Journal aims at high standards both
of academic excellence and accessibility
underpinned by an established Editorial
Board
of relevant practitioners and scholars.
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