TÁRKI Social Research Institute Inc.TÁRKI Social Research Institute Inc. (www.tarki.hu) has 20 years tradition of empirical social science research in Hungary. Its profile includes research on a wide range of issues related to social stratification, labour markets, income distribution, consumption and lifestyle patterns and attitudes, increasingly focussing on market research applications. There are various types of research activities TÁRKI carries out for the clients. The most important part in the activity is social research. This type of work includes · consultancy and strategy papers for our clients (government agencies and private firms as well) · developing software and producing microsimulation databases (like on tax/benefit reforms or on modelling election results) · carrying out surveys and producing research and monitoring reports (on savings, inflation expectations, business forecasts, social trends reports, etc.) · carrying out political and general opinion polls on a wide variety of issues for a great number of different clients (the list of clients includes Hungarian and foreign central and local government agencies, corporations in various branches like banks, telecom companies and other trades, consultancy firms, international organisations, research and development funds, etc.) · providing business cycle research reports based on enterprise surveys. TÁRKI has been active and successful in building up household and enterprise panel studies during the nineties. Its own fieldwork department with its nation-wide interviewer network (700 regular interviewers) carries out some 60 different surveys a year, both on national and local levels. The methods used by TÁRKI include household and enterprise surveys through personal interviews and also telephone surveys. The TÁRKI Social Science Data Archive collects, stores and publishes a great number of surveys to the social science and business communities nationally and internationally. The number of the staff is over 30 now, including 14 researchers, but there are a number of further scientists working for TÁRKI on a contract basis. The so-called TÁRKI Group contains a for profit shareholding company (TÁRKI Social Research Centre), owned mostly by the staff, and a not for profit consortium, the members of which are recognised social science research departments from universities, academic and non-academic research centres. TÁRKI is a member of various international research networks and consortia, like IFDO, CESSDA, ICPSR, ISSP, ESS, LIS, ECPR and we have been contributing to a great number of international research efforts. Recently, TÁRKI, together with IVVM (former CVVM, Prague), CBOS (Warsaw) and PMCG (Brussels) founded the Central European Opinion Research Group (CEORG) for joint and harmonised monthly omnibus surveys in their respective countries. TÁRKI clients include various government agencies, research funds, international organisations and private companies in Hungary and internationally. Besides the products sold directly to clients, the research outcomes reach a wide general audience, via publications, conferences organised by the institute and the very intensive media coverage TÁRKI enjoys. TÁRKI regularly publishes research reports in the form of working papers and summary books: · The papers published in the series called Social Report, launched in 1990 and published every other year since then, analyse the most significant social and economic trends of Hungarian society. The 1990 and the 1998 editions of the series are also available in English. Most recent covers 2004 in Hungarian and in English. · The series entitled Changing Roles (Szerepváltozások) presents the social and economic status of Hungarian women and men since the end of the 1990's. This thematic publication, structured on the model of the Social Report, is also published every two years. The first volume came out in 1997. Most recent covers 2005. · TÁRKI's annual, cross-sectional survey called the Household Monitor has existed since 1998. The volumes of the series entitled TÁRKI Monitor Reports (TÁRKI Monitor Jelentések) appear every year. Selected list of relevant references by clients |