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Title:
Family and Social Network : Roles, Norms and External Relationships in Ordinary Urban Families, 1930-1953

Subject Categories:
Family life and marriage - Social stratification and groupings
Gender roles - Social stratification and groupings

Depositor(s):
Bott, E., Tavistock Institute of Human Relations

Principal Investigator(s):
Wilson, A., Tavistock Institute of Human Relations
Bott, E., Tavistock Institute of Human Relations

Data Collector(s):
Wilson, A., Tavistock Institute of Human Relations
Bott, E., Tavistock Institute of Human Relations
Robb, J.H., Tavistock Institute of Human Relations

Sponsor(s):
Tavistock Institute of Human Relations
Nuffield Foundation

Abstract:
This research was among the first to attempt to study families, in their natural habitat - the home. It is concerned with two main areas of family organisation: relationships to kin, friends and neighbours; and the way in which husband and wife carry out their respective roles.

The twenty selected families were ‘ordinary’ in the sense that they were selected through formal and informal contacts, rather than from lists from agencies dealing with family ‘problems’. This was more typical for the time of the fieldwork. The families differed in socio-economic status but all had children under ten years of age, all were English and of mainly Protestant background, and they all lived in various districts of London.

The material collected here consists of a set of notes for each of 17 of the 20 families studied, drawn from a lengthy series of home interviews, observations and, in some cases, follow-up interviews outside the home.

Topics covered include;

couples general views on issues such as class, money, politics, society and religion


Main Topics:
Families; family life; family members; family roles; households; gender; marriage; marital history; life histories; employment history; domestic routine; child-care; household budgets; friends; neighbours; social interaction; social activities; social life; money; politics; society; social class; religion.

Coverage:
Time Period Covered: 1930-1953
Dates of Fieldwork: 1952-1953
Country: England
Geography: London
Spatial Units: No spatial unit
Observation Units: Individuals; Groups
Kind of Data: Textual data; Individual (micro) level; Interview notes; Participant observation field notes; Interview summaries

Universe Sampled:
Location of Units of Observation:Subnational
Population:English families with children under 10 years of age, living in London.

Methodology:
Time Dimensions: Cross-sectional (one-time) study
Sampling Procedures: Purposive selection/case studies
Number of Units: 17
Method of Data Collection: Face-to-face interview; Observation
Weighting: Not applicable

Language(s) of Written Materials:
Study Description: English
Study Documentation: English

Access:
Access Conditions: Host archive conditions apply
Availability: These data are available from a service other than ESDS, UK Data Archive - National Social Policy and Social Change Archive. Albert Sloman Library Special Collections, University of Essex. Contact ESDS Qualidata, UK Data Archive, in the first instance.
Contact: Help desk: qualidata@esds.ac.uk
Please Note: Quotation conditions: users may quote text up to a maximum of 200 words in any one single article or chapter; or 500 words in a book. Online documentation, prepared by ESDS Qualidata, is available via the link below.

Copyright:
Copyright University of Essex

 

Documentation:

Format	Name	Size in Kilobytes	Description
PDF	4852documentation.pdf	26	Study Documentation

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