The NatCen Blog

Here we’ll be talking about our research in the context of the latest news, opinion and
analysis through comments from our team of experts. We’d love to hear from you, so post comments or get in touch with us.

To keep up-to-date with our latest blog posts and reports, subscribe to our monthly newsletter. 

• Posted on 21 October 2021 by Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow

  Has the Pandemic Changed People’s Attitudes? – An Update

  

  Just before the end of last year, we reported the results of the first phase of a study of the impact of the pandemic on people’s social and political attitudes.

  Read the rest of this entry

  Tags: BSA, British Social Attitudes, COVID-19, NatCen Opinion Panel, income and welfare, inequality, social and political attitudes

• Posted on 04 October 2021 by Nathan Hudson, Research Director

  How can funders better support UK LGBTQ+ communities?

  The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and Consortium have carried out a research project for The National Lottery Community Fund exploring how all funders can better support LGBTQ+ organisations.

  Read the rest of this entry

  Tags: COVID-19, LGBT, charities, equality and diversity, gender, sexuality

• Posted on 06 September 2021 by Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow

  How do the public think social care should be funded?

  

  This week the UK government is finally expected to announce its plans for the future funding of social care in England. But how do the public think that social care should be funded? This is one of the issues that was covered by two surveys we have conducted via NatCen’s mixed mode random probability panel since the onset of the pandemic. 

  Read the rest of this entry

  Tags: COVID-19, government, social care

• Posted on 21 July 2021 by Guy Goodwin, Chief Executive

  What next for health surveys? Lessons learnt from the pandemic

  

  It’s a great time to be involved with health studies at a time of significant public health challenges: an ageing population, health inequalities and multiple disadvantage, the challenges of obesity, of poor mental health and so on.

  Read the rest of this entry

  Tags: COVID-19, COVID-19 Infection Study, Mental Health of Children and Young People, conference, fieldwork, health, mental health

• Posted on 15 January 2021 by Natasha Phillips, Researcher

  Conducting remote cognitive interviews: telephone or video conferencing?

  NatCen’s Methodology & Innovation Hub includes a team of experts who specialise in developing and testing survey questions to ensure measures elicit high quality data. Our day-to-day work often involves conducting interviews with members of the public to assess whether they understand survey questions as intended and can provide valid and reliable answers.

  Read the rest of this entry

  Tags: COVID-19, cognitive interviewing, fieldwork, methodology, telephone interviews, video interviews

• Posted on 16 December 2020 by Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow

  Has COVID-19 shifted public attitudes?

  

  Now that the prospect of an end to the pandemic is in sight, the question of what post-pandemic Britain should look like will soon become a pressing one. Should everyday life and public policy return to ‘normal’ – or does COVID-19 represent an opportunity to reshape the country’s social and economic life and the role that government plays in facilitating it?

  Read the rest of this entry

  Tags: British Social Attitudes, COVID-19, income and welfare, social and political attitudes

• Posted on 20 November 2020 by Franziska Marcheselli, Senior Researcher

  Life during the COVID-19 pandemic for children and young people

  

  In October, NHS Digital – in collaboration with NatCen, the Office for National Statistics, University of Cambridge and University of Exeter – published the latest survey in a series which provides England’s Official Statistics on trends in child mental health.

  Read the rest of this entry

  Tags: COVID-19, anxiety, children, loneliness, mental health, public health, young people