************************************************************** *** an announcement from The Association for Survey Computing. *** Apologies for any cross-postings ************************************************************** INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SURVEY RESEARCH METHODS THE CHALLENGE OF THE INTERNET organised by ASC, ONS, MRS, SRA Latimer Conference Centre, 11-12 May 2001 FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR CONTRIBUTED PAPERS This conference will follow the pattern of the Chilworth conference held in August 1998 (see www.asc.org.uk/events/c98/summary.htm). These conferences on Survey Research Methods aim to have more depth and be more focussed than ASC 1-day meetings or the larger international conferences. They are residential, giving much greater opportunity for interaction and discussion between participants and presenters. The conference will consist of four half-day sessions, each with a specific theme, an invited keynote speaker and three contributed papers (no parallel sessions). The proceedings will be prepared in advance and distributed to participants at the conference. The conference is residential and will be held at the Latimer Conference Centre, in the Chiltern Hills, just outside London. The conference fee is inclusive of meals and 2 nights accommodation (10th and 11th May), and the event begins with a reception and dinner on the Thursday evening, 10th May. CONTRIBUTED PAPERS Proposals are requested for contributed papers for the conference. A proposal should contain enough information about the structure and conclusions of the paper for the programme committee to judge its value to the whole programme. Complete papers may be submitted where these are available. Normally a proposal should indicate which session it is proposed for and what topic(s) it addresses. Proposals for other, related, topics will be considered on their merits, but preference will be given to those topics closest to the overall objectives of the conference. Proposals should be sent to [log in to unmask], to arrive by the end of Friday 12th January 2001. It would be helpful to send an advance message to this address indicating your intention to submit a proposal (with a title). Please note that selected contributors will be required to register for the conference (at the early booking rate) at the same time as they submit full papers for review (by 2nd March 2001). SESSION AND TOPICS I. Designing on-line studies to maximum advantage Organised by: Market Research Society Keynote Speaker: Pete Comley, Virtual Surveys Ltd o What are the benefits? In what circumstances can they be realised? o What evidence do we have of the benefits and drawbacks? o How can the internet be used in a mixed mode data collection programme? o What lessons can be learnt from experience to date about questionnaire design? o What are the different ways of setting up internet surveys? II. Sampling and instrumentation issues Organised by: Social Research Association Keynote Speaker: Mick Couper, Survey Research Centre, University of Michigan o What populations can be surveyed? o What problems of generalisability will there be?' o Is the Internet good for cross sectional surveys or panel surveys or both (or neither ?)? o Coverage on the Internet is like the early days of the telephone - is there a solution? o Can Internet samples improve on quota samples? o Are panels the answer, with calibration to population figures? o What are the implications of mixed mode data collection, with members of a classical sample given the option to respond via the Internet? o What are the mode differentials for level and quality of response? o What is the nature of human/machine survey interaction on the Internet? o How can recruitment be maximised? o What weighting strategies can be used? III. Dissemination of Survey and other Statistical information Organised by: Office for National Statistics Keynote Speaker: Len Cook, ONS o Production: do we need new tools to speed up analysis and reporting? o Software and Functionality: what do end users need for browsing and in-depth analysis? o Discovery: how do users find out what exists and what it means? IV. Integration through Software and Metadata Organised by: Association for Survey Computing Keynote Speaker: Chris Nelson, Dimension EDI o Does current software meet all the needs for survey research and analysis on the Internet? o Will statistical analysis packages and data warehouse systems converge? o Do commercial data warehouse and OLAP systems provide useful facilities for statistical manipulation and dissemination? o Do we need more than data dictionaries to support analysis and dissemination? o Is convergence in sight for standards for statistical metadata? CONFERENCE REGISTRATION The cost of the conference will be £550 (no VAT), including all meals and two nights accommodation (10th and 11th May). A reduced fee of £400 will be available to those who have completed booking (including payment) by 2nd March. An academic rate of £450 will also be available. A booking form will be available on the ASC web site (www.asc.org.uk) shortly. Participant numbers will be limited to a maximum of about 150 (we had nearly 100 at Chilworth). There will be an exhibition of software and services associated with the conference, and potential exhibitors should contact the ASC Administrator ([log in to unmask]). LOCATION The Latimer Conference Centre is situated in the Chiltern Hills, near to Chesham, and just outside the M25 motorway. There are excellent modern accommodation and conference facilities. The conference dinners will be held in the old house, where there are also lounge and bar facilities. CRITICAL DATES Event - Deadline Proposals for contributions - 12th Jan 2001 Notification of selected papers - 19th Jan Paper for review - 2nd March (early registration deadline) Comments to authors - 23rd March Final version of paper for publication - 12th April Conference - 11th - 12th May (reception and dinner on evening of 10th May) PROGRAMME COMMITTEE MRS Malcolm Rigg, BMRB SRA Wendy Sykes ONS Tricia Dodd ASC Andrew Westlake (Chair), John Francis, Randy Banks ----------------------------------------------------------- Please reply to: Diana Elder, Administrator ([log in to unmask]) ASC, PO Box 60, Chesham, Bucks, UK HP5 3QH tel/fax: +44 (0)1494 793033 http://www.asc.org.uk This message has been sent on behalf the ASC by: Randy Banks ([log in to unmask]) Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) University of Essex, Colchester, UK CO4 3SQ -----------------------------------------------------------