Mass Observation Online Now Complete

Publication of final section marks the culmination of this landmark digital project.

[Marlborough, November 14th 2014] Adam Matthew today announced the launch of the latest and final section of Mass Observation Online, marking the completion of this landmark digital project.

Publication of this section makes the entire Mass-Observation Archive available to students and researchers. In addition, the entire Mass Observation Online interface has undergone a complete redesign, with new content and additional functionality.

This complete collection offers access to one of the most unique archives available for the study of Social History in the 20th century from the pioneering social research project, Mass Observation. From the end of the 'Hungry Thirties' to the onset of the Second World War, the Blitz and the post-war world of consumerism and television, Mass Observation Online offers up a myriad of cross-departmental research and teaching possibilities.

Example topics covered include: crime, shopping, dance, popular music, sport, reading, ethnic minorities, family planning, health, cinema and the decline of Empire. It is highly recommended for use by historians, literary scholars, sociologists, anthropologists and political scientists.

Mass Observation Online is comprised of:

• Diaries of men and women, 1939-1967 – detailed records of the day-to-day lives of respondents during and after World War II
• The ‘Worktown Collection’ – the first study of ‘working class’ Britain includes a wide selection of photographs by Humphrey Spender
• Directives, 1939-1955 – responses to questions on race, class, religion, politics, and more
• Day Surveys, 1937-1938 – diaries recording the events of single days throughout the period
• File Reports, 1937-1951 – summaries of the findings of Mass Observation studies on subjects from cinema-going, fashion, radio, music, marriage, and more
• Topic Collections, 1937-1965 – the raw materials behind Mass Observation’s published studies, include questionnaires, interviews and observations as well as ephemera
• Mass Observation publications 1937-1965 – many now out of print