Social Capital Question Bank

What is the Social Capital Question Bank?
Construction of the Social Capital Question Bank
Acknowledgements

What is the Social Capital Question Bank?

There are many ways of measuring social capital. The Social Capital Question Bank is based on the ONS survey matrix (117 Kb Adobe Acrobat pdf format) developed in 2001, and contains related questions from 15 major government and non-government surveys. It uses the same themes as the original matrix and allows users to see the actual wording of questions. The matrix is divided into accessible, interactive blocks linked together through the matrix grid.

The Social Capital Question Bank is intended as a reference tool for people interested in examining or using social capital questions. Users wanting further information are strongly advised to consult the original survey documentation in order to see the context in which the questions were asked. The Social Capital Question Bank shows the questions in isolation and there may be occasions when the meaning of the question is partially lost.

To help users easily identify the relevant part of the original questionnaire, the variable names for each question are included at the bottom of each 'pop up' window (see navigation instructions). Links to the source questionnaires are given, where they exist, in the printable version.

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Construction of the Social Capital Question Bank

The allocation of questions to themes and sub-themes is, to a certain extent, subjective. A few questions could belong in their entirety to more than one sub-theme. There are also several multiple response questions where the answers are relevant to more than one sub-theme. Where this is the case, the question is duplicated under both sub-themes. If appropriate, the most relevant response category is then in bold.

However, in similar situations in the printable version the question is listed once, in full, under one sub-theme, and a cross-reference to this question is included under any other relevant themes.

The wording for the majority of questions has been copied directly from the original survey questionnaires. In some instances, the formatting and presentation of questions has had to be altered. This is generally the case for complicated questions or sequence of questions eg those that use showcards or shuffle card methods.

Some other questions only make sense when considered in tandem with the preceding question in the survey from which they are drawn. Where the preceding question is also listed in the Social Capital Question Bank, a link directly to that question is included.

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Acknowledgements

The following people were involved in the development of the Social Capital Interactive Question Bank: Lola Akinrodoye, Kirsty Burns, Rosalyn Harper, Nigel King, Dave Ruston. Thanks also to colleagues in the NS Website team for their expert contribution and to other colleagues who undertook testing.

This page last revised: Monday, 2 September 2002