Institute for Social and Economic Research

15/10/2025

Our Dr Cara Booker presents

Speaker: Cara Booker, ISER, University of Essex Abstract Reusing secondary data offers significant advantages, such as saving time, expanding research scope, and allowing researchers to analyse large, existing datasets for trends across different time points or geographical contexts. However, it com...

15/10/2025

Join us for this year's Regius Lecture - on Tuesday 21 October - explores the potential social, economic and political challenges arising from a future with lower fertility and ageing populations.

This year's prestigious lecture brings together experts to examine the potential social, economic and political challenges arising from a future with lower fertility and ageing populations

16/07/2025

MiSoC policy fellowships bring government and third sector researchers into work alongside MiSoC’s experts to investigate key evidence gaps to support better policy making.

Policy areas include obesity and nutrition, remote work, new skills and changing nature of jobs, immigration, ethnic minorities and access to family justice, wage inequality, benefits and taxes.

16/07/2025

New research published by Public Opinion Quarterly (Oxford Academic (Oxford University Press)) investigated objective health measures being collected as part of a longitudinal survey. Tarek Al Baghal, Jonathan Burton, Michaela Benzeval, Meena Kumari (Institute for Social and Economic Research 🇬🇧) with Thomas F Crossley (University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR) 🇺🇸) compared three alternative designs for collecting survey responses and biological data.

"Findings show that the web-first design is superior in obtaining survey response... Conversely, the web was the least effective design for obtaining biomeasures."

05/03/2025

This special issue aims to bring together articles testing, piloting or validating new ways of using surveys to generate high-quality data that allow for a better understanding of important — yet understudied — subjective drivers of economic decisions, including attitudes, beliefs, tastes, perceptions, preferences, intentions, and expectations.

Call for papers for this special issue of the Journal of Economic Psychology, edited by our Dr Laura Fumagalli https://www.sciencedirect.com/special-issue/319331/innovations-in-survey-design-and-data-collection

05/03/2025

Our new study finds that adapting our homes as soon as need is identified can mean that older people can live more active lives in their own homes for longer

Modifyng homes with adaptations as soon as need is identified could help older people to live more active lives for longer

05/03/2025

Five years ago, millions were told to work from home - now 40 per cent of us still do some of the time. Our new MiSoC Explainer tells the story of why this dramatic change on how we work has endured....

When COVID-19 hit, millions of workers suddenly switched to working from home. Now, five years on, even as life has returned to normal, around 40% of workers continue to work remotely at least part of the time. Why has this change endured?

19/02/2025

We have 4 new research posts here at ISER. Work with Professor Birgitta Rabe on children's health and human capital, with Professor Meena Kumari on biological ageing, with Professor Paul Clarke on machine learning methods in social science research and Professor Matteo Richiardi on computational modelling and socio-economic policies. It's a lovely place to work and a great community of researchers and professional service colleagues. Please share with anyone you think might be interested in these great opportunities! https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/jobs

13/01/2025

Professor Emilia Del Bono and UCL's Professor Gabriella Conti have this new project funded by the Nuffield Foundation

New Nuffield Foundation project with UCL looks at menopause care and impact on women from different socioeconomic backgrounds

06/01/2025

A fantastic opportunity for a fully-funded PhD, plus £19k a year, with Dr Silvia Avram and Dr Laura Fumagalli https://www.senss.ac.uk/collaborativeproject2 - please share!

Project title: Understanding the links between intrahousehold dynamics and individual and household debtPrimary supervisor: Dr Silvia Avram (University of Essex)Second supervisor: Dr Laura Fumagalli (University of Essex)University: University of Essex, Institute for Social and Economic ResearchSENSS...

24/10/2024

Professor Annette Jackle was on BBC Radio 4 yesterday - discussing how poor survey questions can distort responses. Listen again here (scroll to 11.14)

Plus: MP capital gains claims and grizzly bear berry habits.

24/10/2024

Worried about the sea of fake news? A glimmer of hope from Professor Peter Lynn

Right-thinking people may sometimes despair at the global tidal wave of fake news and disinformation that seems to be washing over society and leaving victims in its wake. But in the UK there are some glimmers of hope, some recent victories that should help the nation to tackle falsehoods in the fut...