Tracking the welfare of Australia's indigenous children
Footprints In Time was designed to provide integral information to assist with the Australian Government’s strategy to improve the health and wellbeing of indigenous children in Australia.
A major Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children, it was another example of a challenging, large-scale project that requires specialised expertise, significant experience and considerable resources. As with the HILDA Living in Australia study and the Ten to Men male health study, Roy Morgan Research has been entrusted with this important survey.
Roy Morgan Research was contracted in 2007 by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs to manage the data collection for the first four waves of the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children running from 2008 to 2011.
This was an innovative study with aims to improve the understanding of, and policy response to, the diverse circumstances faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, their families and communities.
The study was conducted face to face using Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) in the areas around 11 main interviewing sites across Australia and required Roy Morgan Research’s expertise in managing fieldwork across multiple and diverse localities.
Roy Morgan’s role in this ground breaking project included providing and maintaining the data collection software, training interviewers on the use of reliable data collection and overseeing fieldwork and sample allocation. Roy Morgan Research was also responsible for providing regular field reports as well as technical and end of wave reporting.
The success of the first four waves of the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children can be attributed to the vast experience Roy Morgan Research has in conducting research with remote population groups as well as the close collaboration with the client.