Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

This is a mixed methods collection.

This study is available via the UK Data Service QualiBank, an online tool for browsing, searching and citing the content of selected qualitative data collections held at the UK Data Service.

The collection includes original material from three related studies: Isle of Sheppey Survey, 1981 (SS81); The Social and Political Implications of Household Work Strategies, 1982 (HWS) and 1983 (HWS83); as well as the small pilot study of 1978 (HWS PIL). These projects examined the way in which households in a selected local labour market deployed their collective time, energies and resources to get work done. Work may be done in the formal economy as employment, in the house as domestic work, and, more informally, as a favour or for cash. The effect of opportunities for full or part-time work on the relative balance between these different kinds of work was explored. The 1982 and 1983 studies used a sub-sample of the much larger 1981 survey of householders.

The collection comprises: 951 questionnaire extracts; 20 other questionnaires; 64 audio-cassette tapes; 34 transcripts; and 29 thematically organised transcripts. At the moment only 7 interviews are available for download. The remainder are available in paper from National Social Policy and Social Change Archive. Albert Sloman Library Special Collections, University of Essex. Users should contact the UK Data Service in the first instance.

Main Topics:

Household work strategies; household; family life; community life; labour and employment; unemployment; home-based work; casual employment; employment opportunities; subsidiary employment; neighbours; political behaviour; political allegiance; kinship; income.