Mass Observation Project

WhatThe
WhatThe Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 6,357 Championing
in People power

Welcome to Mass Observation Project 1981-2019

Launched in 1981 by the University of Sussex as a rebirth of the original 1937 Mass Observation, its founders' aim was to document the social history of Britain by recruiting volunteers to write about their lives and opinions. Still growing, it is one of the most important sources available for qualitative social data in the UK. 

This collection consists of the directives (questionnaires) sent out by Mass Observation between 1980 and 2019 and the thousands of responses to them from the hundreds of Mass Observers. 

"If you're interested in the social, cultural and emotional pulse of Britain at the end of the twentieth century, Mass Observation Project is the obvious place to look. It is an extraordinary resource."

 Prof. Matt Cook
Birkbeck, University of London

(my mother was a Mass Observer until her death)

Comments

  • Rachel_Scope
    Rachel_Scope Posts: 5,112 Online Community Team

    Thank you so much for sharing this @WhatThe. I can't believe I had never heard of this, it's fascinating! I've bookmarked the page so I can have a look at the archive later, I'm very excited 😄

    How often did your mum write for them? Have you done it yourself?

    Here's a link for anyone else that is interested https://massobs.org.uk/the-archive-collections/

  • WhatThe
    WhatThe Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 6,357 Championing
    edited September 22

    Thank you @Rachel_Scope for that link 😀

    I don't know when my mother signed up for this. Maybe I will. Participants are sent directives every three years and people can still apply today!

  • Rosie_Scope
    Rosie_Scope Posts: 9,541 Online Community Team

    That sounds so interesting @WhatThe, do you remember the kind of things your mother would be asked about? I love this kind of social history.

  • Rachel_Scope
    Rachel_Scope Posts: 5,112 Online Community Team

    Go for it @WhatThe! I might apply too! I'm so excited to start reading through it.

  • Mary_Scope
    Mary_Scope Posts: 5,968 Scope Online Community Children and Family Specialists

    This is very cool @WhatThe. Do you know if other countries have a similar thing? Thank you for sharing😊

  • WhatThe
    WhatThe Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 6,357 Championing

    So many questions I don't know the answers to! I had forgotten about MOP until 70 Up came along. Questionnaires are sent out every three years with different themes to choose from.

    It just so happens that my daughter studied psychology at Sussex and likely knows how to access material in The Keep. My mum used only her initials but I would recognise her handwriting, interests and opinions. I'm not in any hurry to do this but maybe one day.

  • Emilee
    Emilee Community Member Posts: 159 Empowering

    Thank you so much for sharing this @WhatThe, I'd never heard of the Mass Observation Project before, but I really like the idea of it.

    There's something quite special about ordinary people recording what life is actually like, rather seeing the world and history through the big events and famous people. I think we probably underestimate how interesting our "ordinary" life experiences might be to people in the future. What seems completely mundane right now might be so different one day, I often wonder how people filled their days before all the tech and distractions we have today.

  • Rachel_Scope
    Rachel_Scope Posts: 5,112 Online Community Team

    I completely agree @Emilee. It's so important to hear about ordinary people's lives. It shouldn't just be about royalty or celebrities. I love hearing about people's lives, even just their daily routine! I wish I could go back in time to each decade and see how a family lived a normal life.

    Has anyone heard of 'sonder'? It's defined as the realisation and understanding that all other people have lives as complex as our own. Do you ever look at someone in the street and wonder what their life is like? Is it completely different to yours? What are their values? I find it fascinating and I think the MOP is a fantastic insight into this.

  • WhatThe
    WhatThe Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 6,357 Championing
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1150470#Comment_1150470

    Has anyone heard of 'sonder'? It's defined as the realisation and understanding that all other people have lives as complex as our own

    I hadn't until now. This does link to @ambiguous' observations on the Does Tech Interfere In Our Daily Life thread where an awareness of others is often absent in modern life.

  • Carl_Scope
    Carl_Scope Posts: 274 Online Community Team
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1150701#Comment_1150701

    I hadn't heard the term before @WhatThe.

    It reminds me of something I read recently:

    image.png

    It really resonated and reminded me that everyone we meet, even those who seem to have all the answers, are figuring things out like we are. They all have their own ideas and complexities too.

    I think you're right that especially in modern life, an awarenes of others is often absent.

  • Rachel_Scope
    Rachel_Scope Posts: 5,112 Online Community Team

    I really like that quote @Carl_Scope. We are all just muddling through life and hoping we get it right.

    I really like this community to learn about others and understand how our lives differ and where we have similarities.

    I had a proper look at the MOP website @WhatThe and was sad to see that you have to pay to see the archives 😔 There is a free trial though so I'm going to have a think about what I'd really like to read and then give it a go.

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