The United States National Jewish Population Study: A Note on Concept and Reality

Publication Date: January 1970

Publisher: Institute of Contemporary Jewry

Author(s): Fred Massarik

Research Area: Population and demographics

Keywords: Demography; Academic research; Jewish continuity

Type: Other

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

The 1970 National Jewish Population Study (NJPS) by no means succeeded in conforming either to a presumably - prescribed neat model of induction or deduction, nor did it follow completely some 1-2-3 textbook sequence of fully-programmed successive survey design events. While it would be tempting to report its findings as outcomes of an elegantly reconstructed design, it may be useful instead to contrast the study's early concepts and later real-life circumstance, with a view to establishing an appropriate context for assessment of the study's quantitative and qualitative findings.