The travelling social survey: Social research and its subjects in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, 1930s-1970s

This article explores the connected history of the social survey in Britain, Australia and New Zealand in the twentieth century. I describe the movements and international influence of social scientists, ideas and research subjects, which fit with James Vernon’s call for a global history of modern Britain and other nations. I argue that the participation of local populations in social surveys helped to shape twentieth-century conceptions of citizenship, social knowledge, and the significance of everyday life around the globe. Further comparison of raw social scientific data will enable a discussion of cultural divergence in the British world due to the local politics of social class and race.