In April 1958, Reverend Robert Richard (Bob) U'Ren was appointed Research Worker for the Brotherhood of St. Laurence's study of community life. With the assistance of numerous community leaders and officers of organisations, U'Ren developed a comprehensive and relevant questionnaire. The interviewing commenced in August 1958 and most of the work was completed in three and a half months, with the results eventually published in 1962.

During this period, Reverend U'Ren was involved in two other studies. In January 1959, he embarked on a research project offered by Geoffrey Sharpe in the Social Studies Department at the University of Melbourne. The topic - epilepsy and prevailing community attitudes to epilepsy - was not entirely popular and the findings were never formally published. And in 1960, the year U'Ren was appointed Minister of the Richmond Methodist Church, he conducted a study on church and people in Richmond with the Reverend Alan F. Reid of the Presbyterian church.