Social Research
Social research can
help summarise a group of people, what their attitudes might be,
or how issues or developments might affect them.
Social research concentrates on demographic measures of a population
or target group, this could be measures such as age, education, occupation
or salary levels. Social research can also be an analysis of impacts,
issues or attitudes within a population or target group.
GRIS has undertaken a broad range of social research projects for
different clients:
- Social impact of infrastructure developments
- Social and community service assessments
- Employment and Industry surveys
- Demographic analysis of target business areas
- Community awareness and attitude research
- Perceived Self Image of local communities
- Community consultation reports
Case Study
'Linking Gippsland Electronically (1999)' is an example of a social research project with practical implications.
This study provides a current picture of the awareness of, and usage patterns being made of, electronic commerce application, computers and the Internet, both in the home and at the workplace and is benchmarked against the previous study conducted 12 months earlier. GRIS conducted the survey of Gippsland business and the community to establish a greater understanding of electronic capabilities in the region. Our research revealed that Gippsland businesses continue to embrace electronic commerce and the Internet enthusiastically and compare favourably with the rest of Australia in the level of use. Gippsland households are also enthusiastically embracing all things electronic with a higher uptake of accessing the Internet in the past 12 months than for Australia as a whole.
The community survey was undertaken by telephone of over 600 households across the region, asking a series of questions on access to mobile phones, answering machines, facsimiles, computers, the Internet and telecommunications.
The business survey was posted out to over 400 businesses across the region - a method considered more appropriate for the business person.
The results of this research have proved a useful tool for local and national government in identifying the best measures to assist the uptake of electronic communication and commerce within Gippsland (and other rural areas).