Global Social Comparisons: A Review of International Survey Resources and Research

过去20年带来了可以说是史无前例的规模和范围的变化，使世界面临一系列新的“重大社会挑战”。与此同时，支撑社会调查的基础设施也通过电信和计算能力的提高而发生了革命性的变化。导致社会转型的力量同时也为其分析提供了工具。在调查研究方面，这当然是正确的，在过去的30年里，高质量的跨国研究的数量有所增加。社会研究市场的合并和收购导致具有全球影响力的参与者数量减少。在这些更长期的发展前景中，英国脱欧公投给英国在世界上的位置以及英国在英国退欧后应该如何定位的问题带来了新的刺激。它会继续与欧洲大陆保持密切联系，继续将其视为社会和公共政策的参照点吗？或者，它会把脸转向西方，面向美洲，还是向东，面对新兴国家和新大胆的亚洲资本主义？在这一背景和这一前景的背景下，该项目旨在探索创建一项全球社会调查(GLOSOC)的可行性，以便为全球变化的研究以及联合王国在这一进程中的作用提供信息。如果真的需要这样一个基础设施，它应该采取什么形式，以及如何(由谁)创建它？拟议的工作如下：作为初步工作，它将对国际调查格局进行快速审查，以评估已取得的成果，以及是否仍存在大量实质性或地理上的数据沙漠。其中包括国际社会调查方案、世界价值观调查、世代与性别方案、盖洛普世界民意调查和皮尤的全球态度调查。此外，还将对英国参与和利用此类国际调查的结果进行平行评估。在绘制景观图的基础上，将联系潜在的利益攸关方讨论该项目，并聘请一些人担任咨询小组的专家成员。咨询过程将包括面谈、专家组和制定沟通计划。下一阶段的工作将确定GLOSOC的战略目标，并与这些目标一起确定发展GLOSOC的基本参数：其规模、地理覆盖范围、规模和内容范围、频率以及任何新调查的中心问题--衡量什么、为了谁、为了什么目的？一旦确定了战略目标，下一阶段的工作将有三个方面：第一，技术咨询小组将完善调查的战略远景，以便为指导参数提供更可靠的数字，甚至在这个初步阶段，确定在潜在候选国进行测试的项目。该小组关注的另一个关键问题将是“互操作性”问题，这实质上是确保新的调查基础设施在其主题、地理组成和方法原则方面与现有的跨国资源在一定程度上协调一致。同时，它将探讨由于需要管理和保存安全的未来受访者数据而带来的法律和业务问题；还将制定确保公平代表和使用并发展科学能力的治理和运营结构蓝图。工作的最后阶段将产生一项“选项分析”，其中将提出和评估全球全球LOSOC的一系列模型。在收到关于临时版本的反馈后，该项目将编制其最后立场文件，并提出行动建议。

The last twenty years have ushered in changes of arguably unprecedented scale and scope, confronting the world with a new set of 'Grand Societal Challenges'. At the same time the infrastructure underpinning social inquiry has also been revolutionised through improvements in telecommunications and computing capacity. The same forces that are leading to social transformation are at the same time providing tools for its analysis. This is certainly true in terms of survey research where the amount of high quality cross-national research has increased in the last thirty years. Mergers and acquisitions in the social research market have resulted in a smaller number of influential players with global reach. In the foreground of these longer-term developments, the UK's vote to leave the European Union has given new stimulus to the question of Britain's 'place in the world', and how its should be positioning itself after Brexit. Will it remain closely tethered to the continent of Europe, continuing to see it as a point of reference for social and public policy? Or will it turn its face away, westwards towards the Americas, or eastwards to face the emerging nations and the newly emboldened Asian capitalism? In the context of both this background and this foreground, the project aims to explore the feasibility of creating a global social survey (GLOSOC) that could inform the study of global change, and the role of the UK within that process. Should there indeed be a case for such a piece of infrastructure, what form is it to take and how (and by whom) is it to be created?The proposed work proceeds as follows: by way of preliminaries it will undertake a rapid review of the international survey landscape, in order to assess what has been achieved, and whether there remain significant data deserts in either substantive or geographical terms. These will include the International Social Survey Programme, the World Values Survey, the Generations and Gender Programme, the Gallup World Poll and Pew's Global Attitudes Survey. It will be complemented by a parallel evaluation of the UK's participation in, and exploitation of results from, such international surveys. On the basis of the landscape mapping, potential stakeholders will be contacted to discuss the project and some recruited as expert members of advisory panels. The consultation process will include interviews, expert groups and the development of a communications plan.The next stage of work will establish the strategic aims for a GLOSOC and with them the basis parameters within which it will be developed: its scale, its geographical coverage, its size and range of content, its frequency, and the central questions for any new survey - measuring what, for whom, and to what end? Once the strategic purpose is defined, the next phase of work will have three strands: firstly the strategic vision for the survey will be refined by a Technical Advisory Panel, in order to put firmer numbers to the guiding parameters, and even at this preliminary stage, identify items for testing in potential candidate countries. Another key concern for the panel will be the question of 'interoperability', essentially ensuring that the new piece of survey infrastructure will be harmonised to a degree with pre-existing cross-national resources, in terms of its subject matter, its geographical composition, and its methodological principles. At the same time it will explore the legal and operational issues presented by the need to manage and keep secure future respondent data; there will also be a blueprint for governance and operations structures that ensure fair representation and use and develop scientific capability.The final phase of the work will produce an 'options analysis', in which a spectrum of models for a GLOSOC will be presented and evaluated. After receiving feedback on an interim version, the project will produce its final position paper, with recommendations for action.