Summary information

Study title

Exploratory Study of Attitudes and Behaviour of Workers in Small Firms, 1974-1976

Creator

Curran, J., Kingston Polytechnic, School of Sociology

Study number / PID

1300 (UKDA)

10.5255/UKDA-SN-1300-1 (DOI)

Data access

Restricted

Series

Not available

Abstract

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The main aims of the survey were to investigate the attitudes and behaviour of workers in small and large firms in the printing and electronics industries. Data were collected on three main issues:
(i) the process of becoming a small firm worker;
(ii) the meanings and social relations distinctively associated with working in the small manufacturing firm;
(iii) participation in non-work social relations and on the world views of workers.
On each issue, findings on small firm workers may be compared with those of large firms' workers employed in the same industries doing similar work. On non-work social relations, respondents were asked to complete a week-end leisure questionnaire. Responses on the latter are available for just over 75% of those interviewed.
Main Topics:

Topics covered include: information and attitudes to employment, employment history, workplace and social relations, education, trade unions, attitudes to political parties, voting behaviour and leisure time activities.

Labour and employment

Data collection period

01/09/1974 - 01/04/1976

Country

England

Time dimension

Cross-sectional (one-time) study

Analysis unit

Individuals

Institutions/organisations

Subnational

Employees

Firms

Universe

Small firm (employing less than 200) employees in four printing and four electronics firms in Northern Surrey, plus control samples of similar respondents in two large firms, one in each of the above industries

Sampling procedure

In six small firms all employees and, in two small firms one in two. In two large firms departments selected with workers doing similar work to small firm workers, and all workers asked to participate.

Kind of data

Not available

Data collection mode

Face-to-face interview

Diaries

Publisher

UK Data Service

Publication year

1979

Terms of data access

The Data Collection is available to UK Data Service registered users subject to the End User Licence Agreement.

Commercial use of the data requires approval from the data owner or their nominee. The UK Data Service will contact you.

Curran, J. and Stanworth, J. (1979) 'Worker involvement and social relations in the small firm', Sociological Review, 316-431
Curran, J. (1980) 'The political world of the small firm worker', Sociological Review, 75-103
Curran, J. (1979) 'Self-selection and the small firm worker: a critique and an alternative view', Sociology, 427 - 444