Lab: How to Use Survey Data to Investigate Social Needs and Public Opinion

The lab sets out to provide the necessary tools for the mindful use of surveys in public administration and the continual improvement of policy planning and service quality.
The first part of the lab will focus on theoretical and methodological aspects connected to the use of survey data in public administration. It will deal with three fields: 1) policy target knowledge; 2) "good" governance and public trust; 3) service quality. Furthermore, it will present the main national and international databases of sample surveys used in comparative and/or longitudinal studies on citizens' opinions, attitudes and behaviour concerning various topics (ISTAT, ESS- European Social Survey, European Values Study, EB-Eurobarometer, ). The second part of the lab includes practical sessions on questionnaire planning and secondary analysis of survey data, as well as a classroom presentation and discussion of the group work.

At the end of the lab, participants will have the tools to: 1) plan a questionnaire aimed at citizens/users; 2) identify indicators of interest already available in the online archives of the main national and international surveys; 3) make a statistical analysis of the data of interest; 4) process and publicly discuss the results obtained.