CQU Rockhampton is at the hub of a public opinion phone survey, contributing to a major snapshot of Queensland.

The 2005 Queensland Social Survey will be conducted from July 15 to August 12 by the Population Research Laboratory at CQU Rockhampton.

The 2005 Queensland Social Survey (QSS-2005) is the first in a series of annual cost-shared, omnibus surveys aimed at obtaining public opinion on a range of topics held by a representative sample of Queensland residents.

The cost-sharing participation feature of the survey gives individuals and agencies the opportunity to collect high quality data from a sizable state sample at a far lower cost than an independent survey.

The Queensland Social Survey serves the research needs of both university researchers and community organisations. Community groups and government agencies can utilise the Queensland Social Survey as a reliable, credible, and relatively low-cost data collection vehicle.

CQU’s Centre for Social Science Research established the Population Research Laboratory (PRL) in 1999 to serve the needs of both university and non-university groups for high-quality, cost-efficient, large-scale survey research.

The PRL is a fully integrated Computer-Assisted-Telephone-Interview (CATI) lab operating Ci3 software from Sawtooth Technologies.

Since its beginning, the PRL has completed more than 30 large-scale projects utilising the CATI system, including the Central Queensland Social Survey, which has been conducted on an annual basis since the inception of the PRL.

The 2005 Queensland Social Survey sample contains two sub-samples: South-East Queensland (Brisbane and Moreton Statistical Divisions) (n=800). The remainder of the State (Other Queensland, n= 400).

In the initial phase of a two-stage sampling procedure, households are randomly selected using sample management features of the CATI software program.

Within each selected household, quota sampling by gender is used to ensure an equal proportion of male and female respondents.

The use of ethical research protocols and trained interviewers ensures quality data and good response rates.

For details contact: Lindsay Greer (07) 4930-6335.