Main trends of research in the social and human ... - unesdoc - Unesco

Demography 397
b. It has drawn up a list of research institutes and individual researchers
working on the problems of human reproduction.
c. It has encouraged and co-ordinated biological research undertaken in most
parts of the world concerning human reproduction, more especially by provid-
ing financial aid for laboratory research or surveys. Funds have also been
used for the training of technicians.
The service contemplates increasing its activities in the foregoing sectors. It
proposes in particular to study the variations, associated with the environmental
conditions, to be found in phenomena such as puberty, the menopause, single
ovulation, multiple ovulation, anovular cycles, etc. It also proposes to under-
take longitudinal studies of genetic histories by trying to discover the effects,
on production, of the mother’s age, the number of children, the intervals between
births, miscarriages, the father’s age, the parents’ health, the children’s health,
etc.
139. These same problems are being tackled by demographers, but in this case
in relation to populations. Innumerable research projects are in progress; most
countries have researchers in this field. They are trying to bring to light the
demographic effects of the factors studied in the above-mentioned technical
reports of WHO, either through direct observation of present-day populations, or
by constructing models, or again through observation of populations of the
past, making use of historical documents hitherto unused. Mention may be
made of the works of Indian, American, French, Hungarian and British demog-
raphers, among others. The limits of such researches have been apparent for
some time. To enable them to progress, it is necessary that biology should
provide an answer to the questions they raise. The importance of the programme
launched by WHO is, therefore, obvious.
140. Another considerable amount of research centred on procreation in the
human species is constituted by study of the motivations which determine the
size of families.
Over the past ten years or so, sample surveys of couples have been conducted
in most parts of the world with the object of discovering the social, economic
and psychological reasons for such decisions.
About a hundred of these surveys have taken place, ranging from simple
opinion research of the kind carried out in France - this means quota sampling,
the conception, execution and analysis of which can be completed in a few
months, thus allowing for its repetition - to longitudinal surveys such as the
American ones. These involve long-term studies aimed at following a sample of
couples over a period of time with the object of recording any changes that
may take place in their opinions and attitudes.
These surveys have hitherto been organized without very much co-ordination
between them, which has made it difficult to compare the results. The Inter-
national Union for the Scientific Study of Population has set up a working
group to prepare a basic questionnaire for use in all such surveys.