Research themes
We work across disciplines, developing and applying statistical and demographic methodology for the social sciences. We also carry out extensive research in demography and other related disciplines.
We have four main themes:
Demography, Health and Wellbeing
Researchers in this area work with colleagues across social sciences and the University, using cutting-edge quantitative and qualitative methods to aid interdisciplinary analysis. We have particularly close links with fellow academics and researchers in Geography and in the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute (S3RI).
There are five main areas of research: demographic estimation and statistical modelling the family, life course and ageing; historical demography; HIV/AIDS; reproductive and child health in the developing world; and research on poverty and living standards in both rich and poor countries.
Find out more: Centre for Population Change (CPC), Centre for Global Health, Population, Poverty and Policy (CGHPP), Centre for Research on Ageing (CRA), Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute (S3RI).
Sample Survey Theory and Methods
We are at the forefront of international research on methodology for the design and analysis of sample surveys.
Our major research contract with the Methodology group of the Office for National Statistics has resulted in a wide variety of projects. Researchers have also engaged in collaborative projects with European partners, including the national statistical institutes in the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Denmark.
We also have strong international links with Statistics Canada, the US Bureau of the Census, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Israel Bureau of Statistics and IBGE, Brazil.
Much of our research is carried out with the University research centre S3RI, which develops statistical methods for population surveys, including sampling and estimation, measurement methods and imputation of missing data.
Statistical Modelling
Academics in this area have interests in various aspects of modelling, including generalised linear models, multilevel modelling, survival analysis, contingency tables and graphical models. We work with S3RI to develop statistical methods for the analysis of social science studies.
Find out more: Centre for Population Change (CPC)
Policy and Evaluation
Research focuses on a wide range of substantive applications arising from important themes in society and often involving statistical modelling of large and complex survey datasets. We work closely with S3RI, using statistical methods to evaluate national and international policies or programmes and to analyse quantitative data relevant to policy. Find out more...