Social Research
Youth Taskforce study of perceptions in Youth Crime Action Plan areas
In 2010, GfK NOP carried out a large quantitative and qualitative project on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families (now Department for Education). The study was designed to investigate the views of residents within Youth Crime Action Plan areas to understand more about perceptions regarding young people and crime, anti-social behaviour and alcohol use. A baseline survey was held amongst local residents with further innovative face-to-face and online qualitative work carried out with young people.
To access the full report, please click here.
Drivers and Challenges in Raising the Achievement of Pupils from Bangladeshi, Somali and Turkish Backgrounds
Attainment rates amongst Bangladeshi pupils have improved significantly over recent years while Turkish and Somali pupils continue to perform below the national average. This multi-stranded project for the then DCSF (now the Department for Education) explored the barriers to, and drivers of, academic attainment among pupils in England from Bangladeshi, Somali and Turkish/Kurdish backgrounds. It was led by GfK NOP Social Research, in consortium with NRDC (Institute of Education, University of London), ETHNOS Research and Consultancy and Dr Steve Strand of the University of Warwick.
This research has concluded that the under-attainment of Bangladeshi, Somali and Turkish pupils appears to be significantly explained by poverty and social deprivation. It highlights the importance of pupil and parental educational attitudes and aspirations on young people’s attainment. The potential for a lack of parental involvement in, or understanding of, the British education system to impact negatively on children’s educational attainment has also been indicated.
To access the full report click here.
Children, Young People and Alcohol
GfK NOP Social Research recently carried out a survey with parents and young people, on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families to understand more about young people and alcohol. Specifically, the research looked to understand parents’ and young people’s attitudes and behaviour towards alcohol and alcohol consumption, as well as investigating how children’s behaviour may be influenced by their parent’s attitudes and behaviour towards alcohol.
Please click here to access the full research report, published in February 2010.
National Audit Office: Helping Over-Indebted Consumers (Qualitative Research)
GfK NOP Social Research was commissioned to undertake qualitative research with over-indebted consumers in order to gain deeper insight about their experiences, perceptions and behaviours around indebtedness. The research findings were presented as a series of anonymous case studies that highlighted the emotional issues surrounding debt and the practical ways in which it was handled.
The full report can be accessed here.
HM Treasury: Research report on the motivations and barriers to becoming 'banked'
The Treasury's Financial Inclusion Taskforce has published GfK NOP's recent report on barriers and motivations to becoming banked. This was based on qualitative research amongst people with no access to a bank account, and also with those who have only recently opened an account.
Please click here for access to the full report.
Welsh Assembly Government, Department of Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills: Qualitative Research with Seldom Heard Groups
This project qualitatively investigated the barriers and triggers to participating in education, learning and training in Wales. The research focussed on the experiences and viewpoints of two distinct, seldom-heard groups in Wales: those with basic skills needs, and employees lacking qualifications.
The full report can be found here.
Competition Commission: Retail PPI Qualitative Research Findings
The Competition Commission has been conducting an ongoing investigation into the market for Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). The retail PPI market is a small part of the overall PPI market relating to protection taken out on repayments for shopping through home catalogues. In January 2009, the Competition Commission suggested that improvements were needed in the broad PPI market. This research examined a number of potential remedies and the potential impact of these upon consumers.
For the full report, please click here.
Food Standards Agency: Independent Review of the controls on Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula
GfK NOP was commissioned to undertake research into the effectiveness of controls around Infant and Follow-on Formula. Specifically, this part of the review examined consumer understanding of formula advertising and explored cases where follow-on formula was being given to children under 6 months and the reasons for this.
The results from this research were fed into the overall independent review which can be found here.
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ESRC and the Academy of Social Sciences: ‘Wellbeing’ publication
Nick Moon, Managing Director of GfK NOP Social Research, has been quoted in the 'foreword' of a new ESRC / AcSS publication around the topic of ‘wellbeing’. The publication is the first in a series of articles designed to showcase ‘social science in action’. You can access the article using the link below:
ESRC and AcSS: Wellbeing Article
MRS ‘Research 2010: The Annual Conference’
Amrita Sood and Josephine Hansom (standing in for Simon Pulman-Jones) presented at the MRS Research ’10 Conference in March. The paper described a fresh approach to delivering insights for government behaviour change campaigns through semiotic analysis.
To find out more click here.