"My substantive research harnesses the power of representative sampling and careful questionnaire design to address important societal questions relating to how populations and groups think, feel, and behave." - Professor Patrick Sturgis shares what is at the core of his research as part of our 30th Anniversary celebrations. Read the full close-up with Methodology faculty.
Patrick Sturgis is Professor of Quantitative Social Science at the Department of Methodology, LSE.
Patrick’s research focuses on survey and statistical methods and their application to understanding social and political behaviour. He was Director of the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) 2009 to 2019 and President of the European Survey Research Association (ESRA) from 2011 to 2015. He chaired the Methodological Advisory Committee of the UK Household Longitudinal Survey (2012-2016), and is Chair of the Methodological Advisory Committee of the European Social Survey. He chaired the British Polling Council/Market Research Society Inquiry into the failure of the 2015 UK election polls and served as Specialist Advisor to the House of Lords Select Committee on Political Polling and Digital Media. He is an editorial board member of Public Opinion Quarterly, Survey Research Methods, and International Journal of Social Research Methods.
Patrick received his PhD in social psychology at the LSE. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, and an Honorary Life Fellow of the Market Research Society
His substantive research interests include public opinion dynamics, political behaviour, how neighbourhood contexts influence individual attitudes and group norms, intergenerational social mobility and how this relates to geographical location, and public attitudes to science and technology. Methodologically, his research focuses on all aspects of survey methodology and political polling but with a particular emphasis on the psychology of measurement and how measurement error is related to non-observational error and on cross-national and longitudinal surveys.
Expertise
Research design, Survey methodology, Questionnaire design, Nonresponse bias, Statistical methods, Structural equation models, Longitudinal data analysis, Opinion polling.
Sturgis, P. and Luff, R. (2016) Social Impact Assessment Framework: Guide to Performance in Use, Future Cities Catapult, London.
Sturgis, P. Baker, N. Callegaro, M. Fisher, S. Green, J. Jennings, W. Kuha, J. Lauderdale, B. and Smith, P. (2016) Report of the Inquiry into the 2015 British general election opinion polls, London: Market Research Society and British Polling Council.
Luff, R., Wiles, R. and Sturgis, P. (2015) Consultation on Methodological Research Needs in UK Social Science. Report. National Centre for Research Methods.
Smith, P., Nicolaas, G. and Sturgis, P. (2014) Options for Carrying Out Large-Scale Surveys in Wales. Report for the Welsh Government.
Sturgis, P. and Brunton-Smith, I. (2014) Examining potential bias in the sampling methodology for the Green Deal Assessment Survey, Report for the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Moley, S., Wiles, R. and Sturgis, P. (2013) Advanced Research Methods Training in the UK: Current Provision and Future Strategies. Report. National Centre for Research Methods.
Sturgis, Patrick and Brunton-Smith, Ian (2012) An assessment of the potential utility of interviewer observation variables for reducing non-response error in the National Survey for Wales. Cardiff, GB, Welsh Assembly Government, 48pp.
Sturgis, Patrick (2010) An investigation into potential bias in the Young Person’s Monitor Data. London,GB, Wellcome Trust.
Blanden, Jo, Buscha, Franz, Sturgis, Patrick and Urwin, Peter (2009) The effect of lifelong learning on intra-generational social mobility: evidence from longitudinal data in the United Kingdom. London, GB, Department for Innovation Universities and Skills.
Crow, G, and Sturgis, P. (2009) Overview and Evaluation of ESRC Funded Research in Sociology 2006-9. ESRC, Swindon.
Berrington, Ann, Smith, Peter W.F. and Sturgis, Patrick (2006) An overview of methods for the analysis of panel data. Southampton, UK, National Centre for Research Methods, School of Social Sciences,Universit y of Southampton, 57pp. (NCRM Methods Review Papers, (NCRM/007).
Sturgis, Patrick and Allum, Nick (2006) A literature review of research conducted on public interest, knowledge and attitudes to biomedical science: a report published by the Wellcome Trust. London, GB, The Wellcome Trust, 185pp.
Sturgis, P. Smith, P. & Hughes, G. (2006) A Study of Suitable Methods for Raising Response Rates in School Surveys. London: the Department for Education and Skills.
Holford, John, Patulny, Roger, Sturgis, Patrick (2006). Composite Indicators on Education and Training for Active Citizenship. Report prepared for the Joint Research Centre, European Commission.
Sturgis, Patrick, Thomas, Roger, Purdon, Susan, Bridgwood, Anne and Dodd, Tricia (2001) Comparative review and assessment of key health state measures of the general population. London, GB, Department of Health, 126pp.
Campanelli, P., Sturgis, P. and Purdon, S. The Survey Methods Centre at SCPR (1997) Can you hear me knocking? An investigation into the impact of interviewers on survey response rates. London, GB, National Centre for Social Research., 212pp.
