“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”

It’s a sentiment that’s been repeated over the years by Burke, Churchill and others; and now the Archive of Market and Social Research (AMSR) has its own take on the matter. At a recent virtual event to celebrate its first five years of existence, speakers from within the industry and beyond discussed ways in which the archive was being used by market researchers, research academics and, increasingly, modern historians.

Chairman of the Archive, Professor Patrick Barwise, reminded the audience that what began as an effort to stop the destruction of historic material was now demonstrating its usefulness to researchers and historians.

Another speaker, Ben Page of Ipsos MORI, issued a warning to “commentators who think that two data points make a trend” and illustrated his point with numerous pertinent examples.

And Sue Robson introduced AMSR’s new e-book, Post-War Developments in Market Research, which will be available for download free of charge at the Archive’s website (https://www.amsr.org.uk/) from 17th March, to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the MRS.

Read an account of the event for Research Live by Paul Edwards here.