USING THE SYDNEY AREA TRANSPORTATION STUDY DATA FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH

Abstract  A large scale survey conducted for the 1971 Sydney Area Transportation Study (SATS) provides one of the richest sources of urban social data in Australia. This paper tests two characteristics of the sample—the residents' age distribution and the location of the workforce—against the population distribution of these characteristics obtained from the 1971 Census. It is concluded that, whilst the sample does differ significantly from the population, the difference is not so great as to negate the usefulness of this data for social research. Of the possible causes of the difference the most likely is the large nonresponse and noncontact rate encountered by the survey. Finally, given the dearth of basic income information in Australia, some limitations on the application of the SATS household income data for this purpose are discussed.