Occupation and industry are essential measures in many social surveys. Traditionally, occupation data are collected through open‑ended questions on job title and duties, which are later coded to standard codeframes by expert coders. Measuring occupation is inherently challenging, as respondents may describe the same job in different ways or provide insufficient detail for accurate coding. These difficulties are often magnified in online self‑completion surveys, where participants complete questions without interviewer support, increasing the likelihood of vague or incomplete responses.
As survey research increasingly moves towards online and mixed‑mode designs, identifying approaches that enable accurate, consistent and efficient occupation and industry coding has become essential. This workshop, part of Survey Futures’ Research Strand 5 (‘Complex Measurements’), will explore a wide range of current and emerging methods designed to address the challenge of collecting and coding occupation data in web surveys. It will cover in‑survey coding techniques such as look‑up tools and closed‑list questions, the growing use of large language models both during and after data collection and qualitative research focused on respondent understanding of occupation and industry questions.
The workshop is aimed at survey methodologists, researchers, practitioners, and data users with an interest in improving the collection and classification of occupation and industry information.
This is an in-person event and lunch will be provided.
- Full programme to be confirmed soon
When registering please let us know if you have any dietary requirements.