Please join us for the first in a new NCAER seminar series on Data Collection Methodology organised by the NCAER National Data Innovation Centre. 

Professor Presser will argue that data collection is a misleading metaphor because data are constructed not collected. Hence, methodology and substance are inseparable. The implication is to upend the distinction between “results” and their “interpretation”.  He will illustrate the argument by two examples of social change in the United States, one involving volunteering activities and the other, attendance at religious services.

Professor Presser is interested in the interface between social psychology and survey measurement. His research focuses on questionnaire design and testing, the accuracy of survey responses, non-response, and ethical issues stemming from the use of human subjects. His journey as a social science researcher exemplifies the title of his talk: how methodology and substance are inextricably interwoven. His books on the subject, as co-author and Chief Editor, include Questions and Answers in Attitude Surveys (with Howard Schuman), Survey Questions (with Jean Converse), and Methods for Testing and Evaluating Survey Questionnaires (as Chief Editor).

Rukmini S. is one of India’s few data journalists and was the first Data Editor of an Indian publication while at The Hindu. She was most recently Editor—Data and Innovation at HuffPost India. 

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