New publication by team that includes UWSC researchers describes how they adapted to the challenges of COVID-19 to recruit hard-to-reach population

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced challenges for conducting research, particularly for studies that use community-based sample generation strategies to recruit hard-to-reach populations. In a recently published “In-Brief Note” in the AAPOR online journal Survey Practice, UWSC staff members Graduate Assistant Jacob Boelter and Senior Project Director Ken Croes teamed up with University of Wisconsin–Madison Institute for Research on Poverty Research Scientist Lisa Klein Vogel and University of Wisconsin–Madison Sociology Doctoral Candidate Alexis M. Dennis to describe how they adapted their studies’ recruitment strategies to accommodate the manifold effects of social distancing of COVID-19.

Longitudinal Study of Generations (LSOG)

The Longitudinal Study of Generations is contacting previous participants and inviting the fifth generation of participating families into the study. For over 50 years the Longitudinal Study of Generations has been exploring how families transmit culture, values, and beliefs across multiple generations. Researchers are interested in how interfamily relationships affect values, beliefs, health, and well-being over time. The University of Wisconsin Survey Center is honored to administer this important study.

Wisconsin Early Care Caregiver Study

The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families is working with researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison to gather information about Wisconsin families’ experiences with early childhood programs such as home visitation programs, child care, and early education programs.  The information collected from this multi-mode survey of families with young children will to help understand how early childhood programs can be improved to better serve families across Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Parents Study

The Wisconsin Parents Study is a study of about 1,200 divorced families with children throughout the state of Wisconsin and is funded by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Researchers are interested in learning about the daily lives of divorced parents. The main purpose of this study is to gather information that will help us better understand the living arrangements, needs, and circumstances of divorced families.

The Wisconsin Moms Study (WiscMoms)

The Wisconsin Moms Study (WiscMoms) is a study of about 250 mothers of young children in the Milwaukee area. Researchers are interested in a number of topics, among them the household make-up of families in which siblings might have different fathers, the security and availability of food and other necessary resources, and the ways in which young mothers make use of their social network.

The Wisconsin Families Study (WiscFams)

The Wisconsin Families Study is an evaluation of Project GAIN, a program in Milwaukee County funded by the Wisconsin Children’s Trust Fund to assist families in accessing economic resources, reducing financial stressors, and increasing income stability for the children and adults in the home.

Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS)

The WLS is a unique, large-scale longitudinal study of adults and their families that covers more than half a century of life. It is a valuable resource for research on aging, life course, inter-generational transfers, relationships, family functioning, long term effects of education and cognitive ability, occupational careers, physical and mental well-being, and morbidity and mortality.