After completing nearly 30 local Jewish community studies, CMJS has developed an expansive bank of survey questions that cover a wide variety of topics. Over the past months, the research team reviewed the entire set of standard questions to choose the best versions of similar questions and to fill in some gaps in the survey areas. We are now ready to incorporate the new and revised questions in the studies we are launching this coming year, including those in St. Louis, Milwaukee, and Miami/Dade County.
Having a large set of standard questions allows comparisons between cities and over time. Simultaneously, our commitment to turning “research into action” means we work closely with community representatives to customize survey instruments that reflect a community’s unique priorities and interests. As part of these discussions, we are sometimes asked to develop questions about topics that have not been included in the past. That was the case in our recent study of Portland, Oregon.
The study committee had a sense that many people in their community expressed their Jewish identities artistically via their tattoos. The research team and the committee were conscious that “Jewish tattoos” might include involuntary tattoos, such as the ones imposed on prisoners by the Nazis. To assess the best language to ask the question sensitively and appropriately, Matthew Boxer, the lead researcher for the Portland study, solicited advice from individuals in the art field who were familiar with Jewish-themed body art. One advisor suggested a series of TikTok and Instagram videos for examples of Jewish imagery in tattoos and related discussions about tattoos as cultural and social representations of their Jewish selves. Based on this research, the team composed a question about “visible body art with a Jewish theme, such as a star of David or Hebrew word.” The study found that:
Seventeen percent of Jewish adults in Greater Portland usually wear a Jewish symbol in public, such as Jewish-themed jewelry or a kippah, and 10% have visible body art with a Jewish theme, such as a Star of David or a Hebrew word.
Other communities sometimes want a “deeper dive” into topics that we normally include in less detail. For example, Greater MetroWest NJ had a strong interest and investment in camping and wanted to collect information about current or future participation in day and overnight camps (both Jewish and nonsectarian). Because there are many camp options available to families in Greater MetroWest, the survey asked respondents to write in the names of any camps that their children attended. That list was shared with a Federation staff member who classified each camp into affiliation (e.g., synagogue, JCC, national, town), and type (specialty, general). This detailed analysis of the camping landscape, which was not included in the main report, enabled Greater MetroWest agencies to expand the reach of their camping initiative.
