Achieving representativity in opportunity sampling: the ‘Bradford effect’ in the multilingual families Covid-19 survey

Abstract

Typically, families from ethnic minority backgrounds and socioeconomic disadvantage are underrepresented in research. Using secondary data from a survey of the language practices of multilingual families during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, we sought to ascertain whether the unexpectedly large proportion of Bradford-based respondents affected the representativeness of the sample and/or the patterns of responses. Respondents were objectively categorised into five latent profiles, based on the demographics of the household and families’ engagement with the Heritage Language (HL). The three of the household profiles considered ‘engaged’ with their HL reported more positive attitudes towards multilingualism. Their language practices also more markedly changed during the lockdown compared to families who were less engaged with their HL. One of the five profiles was deemed to represent those usually considered ‘hard-to-reach’ in research (i.e. ethnic minority, low socio-economic status). The Hard-to-reach and Unengaged profiles were mainly represented by Bradford families. We argue that the exceptional engagement of Bradford communities in research resulted in better representativity of family profiles in this national survey.