Archive of Market and Social Research

A unique view of modern British history through market and social research surveys, reports and papers

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IN-DEPTH ESSAYS FROM THE ARCHIVE

In addition to more than 70 stories from the Archive, we offer deeper dives to inspire you to look further. Click here to browse or search.

Stories from post-war to present-day

Fancy a holiday abroad?

Taking a holiday abroad at the moment carries risks that we couldn’t...

Are shy voters a pollster’s nightmare?

The recent election of Joseph Biden to the White House has raised...

How do we market in uncertain times?

Though the current recession looks like being the worst on record,...

Have attitudes to women in the workplace changed?

The Archive of Market and Social Research (AMSR) is collecting a...

TGI: how much has technology changed since the 1970s?

Televisions and telephones in the 1970s When TGI was first published...

How was Gallup International set up?

Those interested in the historical perspectives of the polling...

What is the right time to call time at the bar?

Because of Covid, pubs are now closing at 10pm, resulting in a...

Is vinyl cool again?

Vinyl is cool again. Long-playing records, or LPs, have become a...

Is sandwich culture on the rise?

To mark British Sandwich Week, 17-23 May, we have identified some...

Do sunshine breaks pile on the stress?

A recent (August 2023) survey for the Office of National Statistics...

Have we changed in the last 50 years?

There is a massive number of old survey results from the last 50+...

Is support for capital punishment growing?

Arguments against the death penalty had been advanced in the 1950s,...

Was The Good Life ahead of its time?

It’s not often that a TV sitcom changes the habits of millions. But...

Are upmarket consumers more likely to switch suppliers

The latest advice seems to be that, at present, it is unlikely to be...

What happened to Margaret Thatcher’s dream of a share-owning public?

The 1980s in Britain was the decade of big privatisations. The Prime...

What are the challenges of inequality?

While we live in an era dominated by post-Brexit politics and the...

How typical a wine drinker is Bridget Jones?

In the 2025 film Bridget Jones: Mad about the Boy the much-loved...

Platinum Jubilee – have we always loved the royals?

Newspapers regularly report the affection that the majority of the...

Is sexual harassment old news?

1992’s workforce knew very well what constituted sexual harassment. ...

Why invest in gold?

The World Gold Council’s Annual Review of 2017 asserts that there...

Have we witnessed the fall and rise of cinema?

As Warner Bros, one of the world’s leading film and entertainment...

What were we reading in 1956?

Geoff Wicken acquired a vintage readership survey report for AMSR....

Is binge drinking OK?

Most people disapprove of heavy drinking sessions, but there’s an...

US presidential elections: is the UK more interested in issues than personalities?

Recent US presidential elections have been extensively covered in...

Was sponsorship of the 1986 Football World Cup worthwhile?

At the1987 MRS Annual Conference, whose papers are stored in the...

Are we fit for the future?

As we hunker down, with most of us spending the majority of our time...

Has corporal punishment of children been banished?

By parents: Britain is practically alone in Europe in not having...

Were budget expectations worse than reality in October 2024?

The leading polling organisations have not so far published any poll...

Is the National Lottery retaining its popularity?

Kantar recently published TGI figures reporting that 65% of GB...

Have we always been unsure about Europe?

Teresa May’s tenure as UK Prime Minister was characterised by her...

What are the lessons for Labour Leadership?

With the 2020 Labour leadership contest reaching towards its climax...

How have perceptions of contraception changed?

A report in the Autumn 1988 issue of Survey Magazine*, now freely...

How far has vegetarianism come since 1990?

Vegetarianism has come a long way since the 1990s, as this...

Do we like to be told what to do?

Any relaxations in lockdown restrictions, however cautious, shift...

How different are Millennials and Boomers?

Young adults’ concerns about debt are nothing new. Since the General...

Were decimalisation and metrication bad for shoppers?

In the 1970s, price inflation was at least as big a political...

Was the Cinzano ad campaign a win for the entire category?

Sometimes a TV campaign can have a positive effect on an entire...

Is smoking in decline?

The decline in smoking in Britain has been happening for a long...

Have football fans become more representative of the population?

Almost 30 years on from the launch of the Premier League in English...

What have we learnt about preventing hypothermia and winter mortality in the old and poor?

As winter approaches, with fuel bills and inflationary pressures...

How have our eating habits changed?

These days, any main street has a plethora of restaurants and cafes...

Are Boomers the biggest boozers?

The ‘Boomer’ generation are often claimed to be the nation’s...

Is the ‘MAMIL’ a new phenomenon?

The MAMIL may be a recently-minted humorous acronym for a certain...

TGI: how did we move from packet tea to tea bags?

The victory of a new product format: Packet Tea and Tea Bags. When...

Have we become less reliant on experts?

“People in this country have had enough of experts”, Michael Gove...

Are generational differences the fault line in Britain?

Generational differences are sometimes considered one of the fault...

The NHS: How have attitudes and expectations changed?

With the nation applauding from their doorsteps, it is clear that...

Are cricket fans bowled over by new formats?

An Ashes series between England and Australia is for many cricket...

Have attitudes to the environment changed?

The continuous consumer study TGI has asked for respondents’...

Are consumers ready to splash out?

During lockdown, despite the loss of employment income for many,...

Are we any happier?

It’s not easy to move the happiness needle upwards. Thirty years of...

Have British attitudes to the environment changed?

An October 2020 poll by YouGov found that 67% of the British public...

Is our knowledge of Christianity in decline?

Survey research data makes it clear that our knowledge and practice of Christianity is in full decline.

Is the Census a good thing?

With the census in England & Wales recently completed and having...

Who won the washing powder wars?

Contained within the Archive is the story of the battle fought in...

What lessons can we learn from the last 50 years of General Elections?

With a general election likely to take place in 2024 it is worth...

what was healthy living in 2017?

The MRS held a Seminar in February 2017 looking at health, fitness...

Is hayfever on the rise?

Hayfever is far more prevalent than it used to be. Data held within...

What are the concerns around obesity?

An Autumn 1988 Survey Magazine article, now easily accessible in the...

What were we like in 1969-1972?

Among the most relevant uses of the material in the Archive of...

Is it really good to talk?

For many people the telephone has been a great source of support...

How does Chrstmas 1969 compare to now?

A look at two Christmas related research findings published 46 years...

How has Birds Eye continued to lead?

Much has changed in the convenience food sector. But by being alert...

Has financing the BBC always been contentious?

Alternative funding methods for the BBC have been discussed for...

Can research help us understand loneliness?

For many, Valentine’s Day is an occasion for declarations of love....

Did 9/11 rock the public’s economic confdence?

Written 20 years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade...

Can airlines exploit changing holiday patterns?

One of the headline stories in the sector this year has been the...

Is staying in our new reality?

Staying in is set to be our new reality, for however long it proves....

How have we changed since 1938?

Perhaps the earliest and most comprehensive measurement of British...

Does school choice matter to parents?

As our schools reassemble after the long summer break, we can look...

What does the MORI Misery Index tell us about the 1990s?

“In Britain and all across Europe there seems to be a rising tide of...

Has politics become an inevitable part of sport?

When Emmanuel Macron announced the snap election back in June, IOC...

How popular were the royals 50 years ago?

Recent reports have commented on how the monarchy’s popularity has...

How do you measure the mood of the nation?

Measuring the mood of the nation: with lives and livelihoods both...

Did market research save the Dulux sheep dog?

In the late fifties ICI was Britain’s only truly global conglomerate...

TGI: what did we eat in 1969?

Fishpaste, Rice Pudding, Yoghurt, Pasta Food usage reported by TGI...

Do we want government control of our lives?

As we endure the long months of Covid-19, it is clear from recent...

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Dr Ben Clements

Associate Professor of Politics, Leicester University

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Jane Frost CBE

CEO, Market Research Society

“The Archive of Market and Social Research is a brilliant and under-sung resource of social history. You can see the history of everyday life unfolding before your eyes… Sometimes hilarious, always illuminating, AMSR gives you a glimpse of history in a state of emergence.”

Ben Highmore

Professor of Cultural Studies, University of Sussex

“Thanks to the AMSR archives, I have been able to add new and original research to my thesis”

Alice Naylor

AHRC/Science Museum Collaborative Doctoral Partnership student in Design History, Portsmouth University

“I’m a historian of food and drink, and have been looking at the growth of wine drinking. The AMSR has some great surveys and reports which have been so interesting and useful!”

Dr Stella Moss

Lecturer in Modern British History, Royal Holloway, University of London

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Dr Marcus Collins

Reader in Contemporary History, Loughborough University

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