Attitude Measurement (SAGE Benchmarks in Social Research Methods) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1412928400 ISBN 13: 9781412928403

Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2008

Synopsis

The field of attitude research has long been recognized as one of the most important and influential within social psychology. But the ever-increasing popularity of survey research as a source of what the public thinks and feels about a wide range of issues has brought the subject into the popular arena, heightening the relevance of the theory and practice of attitude measurement.

Caroline Roberts and Roger Jowell, acknowledged specialists in this area of research, have combed the literature to bring together the most comprehensive collection available. The four volumes cover key advances since serious study of the subject began, where the selection of articles and papers present the key figures, major steps forward in theory or practice and some of the most creative and ingenious methodological work in the social sciences. This set will provide a rich reference source that should appeal to academics and practitioners alike.

Volume 1 – Basic concepts and historical foundations
Volume 2 – Designing direct measures
Volume 3 – Obstacles to direct measurement
Volume 4 – Expanding the measurement horizons

About this title

About the Authors

I am an applied environmental scientist with specific interests in sustainable water resource management. Iam also the Director of the Technology Strategy Board-funded ‘Environmental Sustainability Knowledge Transfer Network’ (ESKTN), based at the University of Oxford. * The ESKTN is accelerating the UK’s transition to a low carbon, resource and energy efficient economy by connecting businesses, universities and Government agencies, and catalysing innovation across a wide range of environmental technologies. I have also been a frequent expert witness in Public Inquiries and Crown Court. Most recently I was the Technical Adviser to Gloucestershire County Council following the severe flooding in summer 2007, and I continue to advise local authorities on flooding. The Gloucestershire event was the largest civil emergency in the UK, ever; and this project explore this theme further. I was previously Associate Dean of the Faculty of Education, Humanities and Sciences at the University of Gloucestershire and Director of the Centre for Active Learning.

We were very sorry to hear that Sir Roger Jowell passed away over Christmas. Roger was the Founder and Director of the National Centre for Social Research, Britain’s largest social research institute until 2001, and in 2008 was knighted for his services to the social sciences. We were very privileged to have worked with Roger as an author and friend for many years, most notably on one of his legacy works, the British Social Attitudes report series. In 1983 when it first launched, it was already a significant undertaking, surveying 1700 people in its first year. In an era where surveys were ad hoc and sporadic, work like this made it clear how important tracking opinion and trends over time would be. Writing in that first edition, Roger wrote: “The term ‘public opinion’ is in itself misleading. Our data demonstrate that on nearly all social issues there are actually several publics and many opinions.” Published by SAGE since 2000 it is now in its 28th volume and continues to be just as challenging, and as important. Roger was also co-founder and Director of the European Social Survey (ESS), a 34-nation comparative study of changing social values throughout Europe. We published the initial book of methods and findings: Measuring Attitudes Cross-Nationally: Lessons from the European Social Survey in 2007. A key figure for the social sciences he was also, simply, an extremely nice man and a pleasure to work with. He will be greatly missed.

Edition details

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1412928400
• ISBN 13: 9781412928403
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1618
• Editor: Roberts Caroline, Jowell Roger