Understanding Society survey helps Vietnam tackle climate change

Researchers in Vietnam looking to better understand the impacts of climate change on individuals and households are hoping to set up a longitudinal panel survey based on ISER’s Understanding Society survey and the British Household Panel Survey.

Dr Noah Uhrig, who leads a team of experts behind the design and management of the Understanding Society questionnaire, travelled to Vietnam recently to discuss the idea with a team from Vietnam National University who are hoping to develop and run a household panel survey modelled on Understanding Society.

He met with a team of sociologists, economists and geographers plus a management team from the university’s faculty of business and economics who will run the household panel.

Explaining the background to the meeting, Dr Uhrig said:

“Vietnam is currently experiencing significant effects from climate change and they see a household panel as the best way to both monitor it, understand its effects on households and families, and to understand how families can be encouraged to engage in more sustainable lifestyles.”

After presenting and explaining the overall design of Understanding Society, including its motivation and measurement aims, weighting and sampling strategies, Dr Uhrig discussed how the survey was organised by the research team behind it at the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex in terms of data work flow and governance of scientific objectives.

The meeting followed a two-week visit earlier in the year to ISER by the Dean of the Faculty of International Business and Economics at the Vietnam National University, Dr Vu Anh Dung who carried out a study of the BHPS and Understanding Society whilst he was there.

Dr Uhrig added:

“It was a real privilege to have the opportunity to discuss Understanding Society with so many eminent researchers in Vietnam and I hope we can continue to support their efforts to design and manage a panel study that will hopefully help them better understand and respond to one of the biggest social and economic problems facing society today.”

Dr Uhrig will stay in contact with the team in Vietnam and believes there may be further opportunities to provide researchers with training in panel survey methods in order to understand better how to analyse the complex data set that they are creating. It’s also expected the relationship may lead to further links between Vietnam National University and the University of Essex, which was instrumental in setting up the link with ISER.

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