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Biosocial Surveys
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New kids on the block! This volume spreads the word. Population- based sample surveys that combine demographic, social, and behavioral data with biological indicators have arrived in town. The subtitle of the precursor to this volume, Cells and Surveys, was the question “Should biological measures be included in social science research?” In practice, that question seems to be already answered: yes. Social surveys that include the collection of biological data have prolifer- ated since that volume’s publication in 2001. Are these new studies going to be our friends? Speculation gives way to assessment, as publications emerge from the dozen or more large-scale social surveys that have moved into col- lecting biological measurements and materials ranging from grip strength to DNA. Unlike biomedical surveys and clinical studies, always rich in biological indicators, these social surveys probe demographic character- istics, economic and health-related behaviors, resources, constraints, and life-course transitions in depth. Consequently, they hold out promise for shining a spotlight on interactions between biological factors and “environment” in its personalized complexity. They hold out promise for distinguishing causal pathways that turn out only statistically significant in experiments and trials from causal pathways that have real “oomph” in the squishy, messy, diverse, adapting world of whole populations.
Maxine Weinstein, James W. Vaupel, and Kenneth W. Wachte - Personal Name
0-309-10868-3
NONE
Social Science
English
2007
1-429
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