Social Audit... Introduction and Methodology

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The electoral ward of Treorchy is situated at the northern end of Rhondda Fawr approximately 10 miles from Pontypridd at the foot of the Rhondda Valleys. The ward is in fact comprised of the three distinct communities of Cwmparc, Treorchy and Ynyswen. 

The Cwmparc, Treorchy and Ynyswen Regeneration group commissioned the University Of Glamorgan’s Programme for Community Regeneration (PCR) to conduct a social audit of the Cwmparc, Treorchy and Ynyswen area on its behalf. The PCR has developed a breadth of experience in conducting social audits having conducted seven during the last five years for local authorities, voluntary groups and partnerships.  

During this time a triangulated research methodology which employs a combination of quantitative and qualitative research instruments has been developed. The particular combination of approaches that have been used for this study are: 

• Questionnaire Survey. Questionnaires were completed through a combination of interviewer led door-to-door surveys and street interviewing in key locations (e.g. Treorchy High Street and local primary schools at opening and closing times). Where it was not possible to interview respondents at that time (e.g. if they were out or busy) questionnaires were posted through letter boxes with instructions to return them to any one of six collection boxes positioned in various widely used locations throughout the community. Additionally, blank questionnaires were also left in some of these locations. A total of 285 completed questionnaires were returned to the collection boxes.

• Secondary data analysis: The availability of a number of extensive and relevant secondary datasets constituted an advantage to this research which has not been present in other social audits conducted by the PCR. The first of these are the results from two major questionnaire surveys conducted in various parts of RCT (including the study area) by the PCR and its predecessor the Regional Research Programme. The first of these surveys was conducted in 1995 (Adamson & Jones 1996) and the second in 2001 (Jones & Adamson 2001). Not only did these surveys explore many of the same issues that are explored in this study, they also used many of the same questions thereby enabling exact comparisons. Additionally, at the time of writing this report Small Area Statistics from the 2001 census are being made available at ward level.

• Focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Complementing the quantitative data derived from the questionnaire survey a series of semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with pre-existing groups in the area (eg mother and toddler groups, pensioner groups and youth groups) and with particular individuals who are likely to play a key role in the area’s regeneration.

• Community visioning events. Ordinarily a social audit would only schedule one community visioning event but because as is described below the study area is comprised of three identifiably distinct areas a decision was taken to stage three separate events over a period of two days. Overall the events achieved a response from between 60-70 individuals but the response rate differed significantly across the three areas ranging from a relatively disappointing response of around 15 individuals in Treorchy and Ynyswen, to between 30 and 40 individuals in Cwmparc.

• Facilities audit. A professional surveyor was instructed to examine key community buildings within the area with a particular emphasis being placed on such things as usage patterns, suitability of the buildings for these uses and the overall quality of the buildings.   Owing to the size of the area covered it was not possible to include every community building in the area within the facilities audit. Instead four key buildings were selected with the inclusion of one building from each of the three areas. The results from the facilities audit are peppered throughout this report and the full audit can be seen in Appendix 1.  

Triangulating the research methodology in this way brings a number of advantages. First, it means that the various data sources can be used to complement one another. For example, whilst data from the questionnaire survey can be drawn upon to quantify a particular phenomenon, qualitative data collected through the focus groups, interviews and community visioning events can provide more detailed and finely nuanced insights.  

Second, each of the different approaches has their own distinctive characteristics in terms of the types of information that they capture and the individuals or social groups that they tend to reach. For example, the community visioning events may well attract individuals who have not participated in the questionnaire survey. Similarly focus groups can be used to target specific social groups such as young people who, for a number of reasons, are often underrepresented in questionnaire surveys, or to follow up on particular issues that have emerged from the survey. 

Finally, the ‘triangulation’ of data sources permits an internal validation of data in which each component helps to verify the quality of the data derived from other components of the methodology. Ultimately, therefore the triangulation of research instruments and data sources aims to ensure that the portrayal of community viewpoints presented in this report is as full and as valid as possible.

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