8th ESRA Conference - Highlighting the contribution of survey research in the changing data environment

ESRA's 8th Conference will be held in Zagreb, Croatia, from 15th to 19th July 2019. The conference will be hosted by the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Zagreb.

The event is sponsored by SSHOC partner ESS, the European Social Survey and collaborating organisation GESIS, the Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, while a consistent number of other partners will be involved throughout all the conference.

We will present our Social Sciences and Humanities Open Cloud and the opportunities it will offer for SSH researchers and research institutions in the context of the EOSC at a SSHOC dedicated table, where participants will have the possibility to engage with us.

Early bird registration ends on the 15th of June, you can register here.

Highlighting the contribution of survey research in the changing data environment

Over the past decade, survey researchers have had to confront a number of challenges to the methods at the heart of their practice.  During the same period, rapid advances in web and mobile-web technology have created a wealth of new opportunities for data gathering. These developments have resulted in a sea change in how surveys are being conducted, and a host of new opportunities for methodological research aimed at identifying best practice principles for practitioners and providing recommendations to analysts who work with the data.

These recent advances in survey science have been taking place in the context of a fast-evolving data environment, in which alternative forms and sources of data are increasingly available on a vast scale, offering exciting new ways to address research objectives that in the past were met by survey methods, as well as ones for which survey methods alone would be unsuitable. The potential offered by big data sources and the growth of data science methods and tools necessary to handle them, are both redefining the role that surveys play in social research, as well as bringing to light the continued importance and value of the survey method as a tool for understanding society. ESRA has already initiated its contribution to this movement, collaborating in the organisation of the BigSurv18 conference, and plans to continue the conversation in Zagreb next July.

As survey and data science advances, it is important to remember the corresponding need to address public trust in statistical research and improve data skills and literacy across all stakeholders. The conference in Zagreb will also provide an opportunity to consider how, as an organisation, ESRA can contribute to meeting this demand.

Read more about the ESRA conference on its website: https://www.europeansurveyresearch.org/conferences/overview