Municipal Census – Household Survey

2006 Method: Quantitative Information was gathered about 650,000 respondents through 152,000 household interviews. 200 interviewers worked in the field. The interviews were conducted by handheld computers and all verifications were realized electronically. A household database was prepared and transferred to the Urban Information System database.

Envrionmentally Responsible Politics

2005 Method: Qualitative Research on environmental politics and organization in Turkey. Respondents were asked to comment on pressing environmental issues in the country, individual actions and efforts to overcome major problems.

Assessment of the SHÇEK (Social Services and Child Protection Agency) Child Protection System

2005 Method: Qualitative and quantitative
  • The research was conducted under the auspices of the Social Risk Mitigating Project (SRMP) financed by the World Bank so as to develop SHÇEK’s capabilities in policy research, monitoring and assessment. 
  • The goal was to gather reliable data for preparing an action plan towards establishing a satisfactory child protection system in Turkey.
  • The study also aimed to contribute to the formation of a “social services master plan.”

Social Impact Study upon State Hospitals’ Building Reinforcement Projects

2005 Method: Qualitative
  • The study was conducted within the framework of the ISMEP (Istanbul Seismic Risk Mitigation and Emergency Preparedness) project financed by the World Bank. The goal was to discern the social impact of building reinforcement projects to be carried out in 25 state hospitals in Istanbul in line with guidance from an engineering firm.
  • Each of the 25 hospitals was visited to determine present conditions. Activities’ and infrastructure inventories were prepared for all 25 and some hospital staff was interviewed. Also, in-depth interviews were conducted with other parties expected to be impacted by the project; such as patients’ and patient relatives’ foundations, neighborhood headmen and the Local Health Authority of Istanbul.

Prejudices against Eastern Block Women in Turkey

2005 Method: Qualitative The research was conducted within the framework of the Counter Trafficking Project of IOM (International Organization for Migration). The goal was to provide data for the awareness campaign run by the project. The research aimed to understand respondents’ attitudes towards human trafficking and prejudice against women coming to Turkey from the Eastern Block

Comparative Socio-Economic Analysis of Istanbul Municipalities

2005 Method: Desk research The study was carried out within the framework of the ISMEP (Istanbul Seismic Risk Mitigation and Emergency Preparedness) project endorsed by the World Bank. Statistical information about 32 districts of Istanbul was gathered from TURKSTAT (Turkish Statistical Institute) and the Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul. A literature review was prepared by taking into consideration research conducted at universities about the socio-economic structure of Istanbul’s districts. Factor and cluster analyses were employed to arrive at a categorization of Istanbul’s 32 districts on social, demographic and economic bases.

MEER - Consultancy Services for Preliminary Assessment of Willingness to Participate in the Bakırkoy Retrofitting Project

2004 Method: Qualitative A preliminary assessment study was carried out in Bakırköy in order to understand homeowners’ intentions and means to participate in the building reinforcement project in the district. The research was conducted under the auspices of the MEER (The Marmara Earthquake Emergency Reconstruction Project) project of the World Bank and its goal was to provide data for the ISMEP (Istanbul Seismic Risk Mitigation and Emergency Preparedness) project.

Social Risk Mitigating Project – Opinion Polling for SYDTF (The Social Solidarity and Assistance Fund) and SHÇEK (Social Services and Child Protection Agency)

2003 Method: Qualitative and quantitative
  • Opinion polling in July 2003 for SYDTF, SYDVs (Foundations for Social Solidarity and Assistance) and SHÇEK within the framework of SRMP (Social Risk Mitigating Project) financed by the World Bank. 
  • The study aimed to generate baseline information and key indications for a subsequent public information and communications campaign.

Marmara Earthquake Emergency Reconstruction (MEER) Project –

2003 Method: Qualitative and quantitative

The Turkish state issued land expropriation after the Marmara Earthquake in order for the World Bank to build permanent housing units for victims. SAM conducted in-depth interviews and focus group meetings with landowners whose lands were confiscated in Adapazarı-Camili, Izmit-Gündoğdu and Gölcük-Şirinköy. 

The second part of the research included a full census through face-to-face interviews with 2701 shareholders and users of 957 parcels of confiscated land.

Reshaping Civil Society: Islam, Democracy and Diversity in Istanbul

2002-2003 Method: Qualitative and quantitative The fieldwork for the project was conducted during the summers of 2002 and 2003. The study included face-to-face interviews with a representative sample in Istanbul (in 4000 households), focus group meetings and in-depth interviews with NGO representatives.
Major topics covered were:

  • Socio-economic and cultural profile of the population
  • Participation in civil society
  • Membership in NGOs
  • Participation in neighborhood life and urban life in general
  • Democratic values, respecting difference and pluralism
  • Trust in: Neighbors, institutions, surroundings, the state, strangers
  • Relations with and expectations from local and central administration
  • Political values and tendencies
  • Social groups’ differences in perception, ways of social association and extent of participation in urban life

Armenian-Turkish citizens: Mutual Perceptions Project

2002 Method: Quantitative The study was conducted within the framework of the “Developing Civil Society in the Caucuses” project of the American University in Washington. The goal was to reach an understanding of mutual perception between the societies of Turkey and Armenia. The Armenia leg of the research was carried out by HASA (Sociological and Marketing Research Center).

Immigration and the Participation of Women in Urban Life

2001 Method: Qualitative Research with migrant women in Istanbul on daily life and participation in urban life.

Konya after a decade with the Welfare (Virtue) Party – Political and Cultural Tendencies

1999 Method: Qualitative and quantitative Political values of the electoral body in metropolitan Konya and respondents’ views regarding the WP-run municipality.

Research on Islam and Urban Integration in Istanbul

1999 Method: Qualitative and quantitative The research constituted the basis for a PhD dissertation defended in the geography department of the University of Colorado in 2000.

Turkish Youth 98 – The Silent Majority Highlighted

1998 Method: Qualitative and quantitative

Face-to-face interviews with a socio-economically and culturally representative sample of the young urban population (aged 15-27). In stratifying the sample by socio-economic and cultural development, IMV-SAM employed the variables of: GNP per capita, growth rate, population growth rate, HDI (UNDP - Human Development Index), rate of school enrollment and college graduation levels.

The research report was published in English and Turkish and used as supplementary reading material in a university.

Social Events and Values Research

1997 Method: Desk research, observation and focus group meetings
  • Holidays and social events throughout Turkey and the Çukurova Region (Adana, Mersin) in particular
  • Traditions, culture, life styles and societal perceptions of holidays
  • Societal/cultural roots of holidays and celebrations
  • Components of culture (legends, songs, ceremonies, etc)
  • Values in social gathering, traditions
  • Societal, political, cultural and religious symbols

TUR/94/P01 Project – Safe Motherhood Project, Developing a Health Service Model Relying on the Society - Evaluation Research

1995 and 1996 (Two research studies) Method: Quantitative TAP Foundation (Turkish Family Health and Planning) and the Ministry of Health ran a “Safe Motherhood Project” supported by the UNFPA. It aimed at developing a social volunteering program to be implicated in squatter-settlements in large cities. The study started out (February 1995) with research towards determining the current state of affairs. Further evaluation research took place in May 1996.

Best Schools in Turkish Universities

1996 Method: Desk research and quantitative

A first product in the efforts to build a detailed university guide in Turkey. The goal was to determine the best schools of administration and engineering in Turkish universities. The study covered schools of administration and engineering in which were placed students who ranked in the first 5000 for each score type. Certain departments were selected and face-to-face interviews were carried out with university juniors, seniors and department chairs.

The findings were published as a supplement to the Aktüel magazine.

Study on Private and Anatolian (public) High Schools

1995 Method: Desk research and quantitative

The research aimed to determine how private and Anatolian high schools positioned within the entire middle/high-school education system and the schools’ various characteristics.

The research findings were published in the Yeni Yüzyıl newspaper.

Turkey’s Sex Report

1995 Method: Qualitative and quantitative

Face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of respondents aged 18 and above in both the squatter areas of Istanbul and its other parts. Also, IMV-SAM held focus group meetings with men and women separately, grouped together on the basis of their varied socio-economic stati.

The research findings were published in the Yeni Yüzyıl newspaper.

The Youth of the 90s

1995 Method: Qualitative and quantitative

Researching the youth culture through interviews and focus group meetings with university/high school students and the working youth in Istanbul.

The research findings were published as a part of the “Yeni Yüzyıl Book Series on Turkey’s Problems.”