There are a growing number of organisations concerned with research methods. These include learned societies such as the Royal Statistical Society, professional bodies such as the Social Research Association and academic bodies such as the ESRC and the BPS. These, alongside the many specialist research centres based in university departments, can all be great sources of training, methods publications and further information across a range of methods.
If you would like to link to your research society or organisation on these pages, please contact us.
The Association for Qualitative Research – the UK’s principal authority on the qualitative research industry
The ESRC National Centre for Research Methods – a network of research groups conducting research and training in social science research methods
Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research – an interdisciplinary research centre based at the School of Social Sciences at the University of Manchester
American Educational Research Association (AERA) – international professional organization for anyone involved in educational research
British Educational Research Association (BERA) – Aims to sustain and promote a vital research culture in education
British Psychological Society (BPS) – the representative body for psychology and psychologists in the UK
National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) – an independent social research institute that designs, carries out and analyses research studies in the fields of social and public policy
International Center for Qualitative Inquiry – a multidisciplinary institute at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Qualiti (Qualitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences) – a part of the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods, based at Cardiff University in the Cardiff School of Social Sciences
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/socsi/qualiti
The Tavistock Institute – a not-for-profit organisation which undertakes consultancy, research and professional development. The Tavistock Institute published the scholarly journal Human Relations and host Evaluation – The International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice.
ESDS Qualidata – a specialist service of the ESDS led by the UK Data Archive (UKDA) at the University of Essex. Provides access and support for a range of social science qualitative datasets
http://www.esds.ac.uk/qualidata
Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute – a centre for research in methodology and applications of Statistics
Centre for Narrative Research in the Social Sciences – based in the School of Social Science, Media & Cultural Studies at the University of East London
American Evaluation Association – an international professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration of program evaluation, personnel evaluation, technology, and many other forms of evaluation
- Evaluation Jobs – promoted as “your one-stop shop for evaluation jobs: https://evaluationjobs.org/
Social Research Association – provides a forum for people working in a diverse range of settings and in different subject specialities, to form wider contacts, exchange views and information, and pursue issues of common concern.
American Association For Public Opinion Research – a non-profit association of public opinion and survey research professionals
Eurostat: Statistical Office Of The European Communities – provides the European Union with statistics at European level.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/
The International Statistical Institute (ISI) – an autonomous society, which seeks to develop and improve statistical methods and their application through the promotion of international activity and co-operation.
International Institute For Qualitative Methodology – an interdisciplinary institute that aims to facilitate the development of qualitative research methods across a wide variety of academic disciplines. Based at the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
British Sociological Association (BSA) – The professional association for sociologists in the UK.
The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) – an international membership organisation that aims to promote public understanding of statistics and provide professional support to users of statistics and statisticians.
http://www.rss.org.uk/site/cms/contentChapterView.asp?chapter=1
Research Committee on Logic and Methodology RC33 – part of the Internationals Sociological Association, RC33 aims to develop professional contacts between sociologists interested in logic and methodology in sociology
http://www.isa-sociology.org/rc33.htm
The Market Research Society (MRS) – an association serving all those with professional equity in provision or use of market, social and opinion research, and in business intelligence, market analysis, customer insight and consultancy
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) – The UK’s leading research funding and training agency addressing economic and social concerns. Aim to provide high quality research on issues of importance to business, the public sector and government.
Economic and Social Data Service – a national data service providing access and support for an extensive range of key economic and social data, both quantitative and qualitative, spanning many disciplines and themes
Merlien Institute – a membership organisation dedicated to providing timely and critical information to the qualitative research community. Merlien Institute hosts a number of highly focused and interactive meetings every year with the aim of creating valuable platforms for researchers to brainstorm new ideas, learn best practices and network with peers.
