Study Number 5050 - English Longitudinal Study of Ageing: Wave 0 (1998, 1999 and 2001) and Waves 1-4 (2002-2009)
LEGAL AGREEMENT ON CONDITION OF USE
Acknowledgement:
The depositor has supplied the following text for users as an example of the acknowledgement that should be used in publications resulting from use of the ELSA study:
"The data were made available through the UK Data Archive. ELSA was developed by a team of researchers based at the National Centre for Social Research, University College London and the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The data were collected by the National Centre for Social Research. The funding is provided by the National Institute of Aging in the United States, and a consortium of UK government departments coordinated by the Office for National Statistics. The developers and funders of ELSA and the Archive do not bear any responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented here."
Details of the bibliographic citation to be used may be found in the file "UKDA_Study_5050_Information.htm" that accompanies the dataset.
NEW EDITION INFORMATION
The original release of ELSA (March 2005) contained data and documentation from Wave 1. For subsequent editions, the following additions and changes have been made:
- For the second edition (June 2005), Pension Wealth Derived Variables data and documentation were added
- For the third edition (September 2005), Wave 1 Financial Derived Variables data and documentation were added
- For the fourth edition (August 2006), data and documentation for Wave 2 were added.
- For the fifth edition (November 2006) the following additions and updates were included: data and documentation from Wave 0; an updated version of the Wave 2 Nurse data; and the Wave 2 mortgage derived data with accompanying documentation (including a new version of the Wave 2 interview questionnaire).
- For the sixth edition (January 2007) the ELSA Index file and accompanying documentation were added. This file contains details of all age-eligible individuals within households identified from HSEs 1998, 1999 and 2001 (over 21,000 people). It also includes all ineligible individuals living in the same households as eligible individuals (a further 6,074 people). The variables comprise respondent status and some mortality information, as well as analytical identifiers.
- For the seventh edition (April 2007), a file containing self-completion data relating to personal beliefs and wellbeing, otherwise known as the 'Ryff' scale, were added. Accompanying documentation for the Ryff data and in addition, the questionnaire from the Nurse Visit, were added to the Wave 2 documentation.
- For the eighth edition (August 2007), some new items and updates to older materials were deposited. The new material comprised Wave 2 Pension Grid data and accompanying documentation; the Wave 1 Technical Report; a guide to the geographical variables used in ELSA; and a guidance document on applications for ELSA genetic data. Updates included a new version of the Wave 1 Pension Wealth Derived Variables data file and accompanying user guide, a revised core questionnaire and core user guide for Wave 1, and a revised core user guide for Wave 2. In addition, many existing files in the ELSA dataset underwent name changes at the request of the depositor: see the 'Useful Notes' section for details.
- For the ninth edition (January 2008), data and documentation from Wave 3 were added to the dataset (Wave 3 Phase 1 deposit).
- For the 10th edition (June 2008): the Wave 3 Phase 1 data file was replaced with a new version (Phase 2 - see Wave 3 documentation for details of deposit phasing) and accompanying documentation; previously unavailable Wave 3 Pension Grid data (with documentation) and Mortage Grid data (currently no documentation) were deposited; updated data and documentation for Wave 1 and 2 Pension Grid data, and updated documentation for the existing Wave 1 Pension Wealth Derived Variables file were deposited. In addition, syntax was supplied to correct variables labels for the SC module in the Wave 1 Core data. This has been applied to the Wave 1 Core file available from UKDA, and users are advised to either download a new version or run the syntax (see 'Useful Notes' section below) themselves on their existing file.
- For the 11th edition (June 2009), the Wave 3 Life History data and documentation were deposited (see also notes below on edits to 'Idauniq' variable in the Life History data file). In addition, Wave 2 Technical Report and Quality of Care documents, and a table describing the documentation currently available for ELSA (see documentation table in catalogue record or download zip package) were also deposited. Three duplicate cases, 111562 (Wave 0 1999 and Common files, and Wave 1 data), and 114707 and 116492 (Wave 0 2001 and Common files) have been removed, and some edits to Core data for Waves 1 and 2 (variable labels) have been made at the depositor's request.
- For the 12th edition (September/October 2009), several additions and amendments were made to the study. Users who obtained the 12th edition before 5 October 2009 are advised to download a new version, as some extra materials were added on that date. The 12th edition updates are as follows: a new document, the Wave 3 Technical Report, was added; a new data file containing Wave 2 Derived Variables, was added, with an accompanying user guide; an updated version of the Wave 3 Core Data (Phase 2 v.2) was added, with its user guide documentation updated accordingly (amendments to the data are detailed under 'Useful Notes' below); an updated version of the Index File (v.3) was added, again with with its user guide documentation updated accordingly; and some amendments were made to the Wave 2 Core data file (detailed under 'Useful Notes' below).
- For the 13th edition (January 2010), the Wave 4 Phase 1 data and documentation were deposited. Users should note that variables wpnlksmu to wpnlkm86, wplchmph to wplchm86 and wpwynmoh to wpwynm86 are not currently included in the data file, but may still be referenced in the Wave 4 Phase 1 documentation. It is hoped they may be reinstated for the Wave 4 Phase 2 deposit. Also, some variables in the Wave 3 Core data, with erroneous 'CH' prefixes that should have been 'CF', have been renamed as follows: chwhmeye=cfwhmeye; chwhmhea=cfwhmhea; chwhmtir=cfwhmtir; chwhmill=cfwhmill; chwhmcon=cfwhmcon; chwhmner=cfwhmner; chwhmmen=cfwhmmen; chwhmdis=cfwhmup; chwhmnoi=cfwhmnoi; chwhmlap=cfwhmlap; chwhmeng=cfwhmeng; chwhmref=cfwhmref. Previous users may wish to download a new copy of the Wave 3 Core data file, or make the changes themselves. In addition, a Derived Variable Guide for the Life History Data was received during February 2010; this has been added to the existing Life History documentation.
- For the 14th edition (August 2010), the following changes were made: the Wave 4 Core data was replaced with an updated version (Phase 2), and the User Guide updated accordingly; and the Wave 4 Nurse data, and Wave 3 Financial Derived Variables were added, both with accompanying documentation.
DATA PROCESSING NOTES
Data Archive Processing Standards
The data were processed to the UK Data Archive's A standard. A rigorous and
comprehensive series of checks was carried out to ensure the quality of the data
and documentation.�Firstly, checks were made that the number of cases and
variables matched the depositor's records. Secondly, checks were made that all
variables had variable labels and all nominal (categorical) variables had value
labels. Where possible, either with reference to the documentation and/or in
communication with the depositor, absent labels were created. Thirdly, logical
checks were performed to ensure that nominal (categorical) variables had values
within the range defined (either by value labels or in the depositor's
documentation). Lastly, any data or documentation that breached confidentiality
rules were altered or suppressed to preserve anonymity.
All notable and/or outstanding problems discovered are detailed under the 'Data
and documentation problems' heading below.
Data and documentation problems
Wave 2 Financial Derived Variables:
Some errors have been discovered in the original Wave 2 Financial Derived Variables file, which principally affected the variables relating to housing wealth (ghwealth_bu and nhwealth_bu), making them smaller than they ought to be in some cases. Variables with the stem nitotinc, niassinc and
niothinc (which are indicators of the number of imputed components) were also affected. The depositor supplied a new version of the Wave 2 Financial Derived Variables data file and an updated user guide (which has been added to the main Wave 2 user guide) on 23rd August 2006. Any user who has the previous versions of these files should download new ones.
Value labels:
All variables in the data files are labelled, but some values are not. These labels can be obtained from the documentation.
Useful Notes
User queries:
Before contacting the ESDS HelpDesk, users are advised to check the list of previous ELSA data queries and their responses, which can be found on the ESDS Longitudinal
ELSA useful notes web page.
DhDead variable
Although the DhDead variable is covered in the documentation, it is not released for analysis with each wave of ELSA, as the interview covers living respondents. If mortality within the ELSA sample is to be analysed, users should consult the variables MORTFIN, YRDEATH, AGEDEAD2, MAINCOD and MORTWAVE, which are available on the ELSA Index File.
Amendments to RW Variable Labels in Life History Data (2009):
During November 2009, the depositor supplied some syntax to amend the variable labels for RW variables in the Life History data file. If analysis is likely to be affected, users should download a new version of the file. The amended labels are as follows:
RWsff1 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (1st loop)'
RWsff2 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (1st loop)'
RWsff3 'Situation after left last job: short term job (1st loop)'
RWsff4 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (1st loop)'
RWsff5 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (1st loop)'
RWsff6 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (1st loop)'
RWsff7 'Situation after left last job: retired (1st loop)'
RWsff8 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (1st loop)'
RWsff9 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (1st loop)'
RWsff95 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (1st loop)'
RWsff10 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (2nd loop)'
RWsff11 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (2nd loop)'
RWsff12 'Situation after left last job: short term job (2nd loop)'
RWsff13 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (2nd loop)'
RWsff14 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (2nd loop)'
RWsff15 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (2nd loop)'
RWsff16 'Situation after left last job: retired (2nd loop)'
RWsff17 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (2nd loop)'
RWsff18 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (2nd loop)'
RWsff96 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (2nd loop)'
RWsff19 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (3rd loop)'
RWsff20 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (3rd loop)'
RWsff21 'Situation after left last job: short term job (3rd loop)'
RWsff22 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (3rd loop)'
RWsff23 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (3rd loop)'
RWsff24 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (3rd loop)'
RWsff25 'Situation after left last job: retired (3rd loop)'
RWsff26 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (3rd loop)'
RWsff27 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (3rd loop)'
RWsff97 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (3rd loop)'
RWsff28 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (4th loop)'
RWsff29 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (4th loop)'
RWsff30 'Situation after left last job: short term job (4th loop)'
RWsff31 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (4th loop)'
RWsff32 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (4th loop)'
RWsff33 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (4th loop)'
RWsff34 'Situation after left last job: retired (4th loop)'
RWsff35 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (4th loop)'
RWsff36 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (4th loop)'
RWsff98 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (4th loop)'
RWsff37 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (5th loop)'
RWsff38 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (5th loop)'
RWsff39 'Situation after left last job: short term job (5th loop)'
RWsff40 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (5th loop)'
RWsff41 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (5th loop)'
RWsff42 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (5th loop)'
RWsff43 'Situation after left last job: retired (5th loop)'
RWsff44 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (5th loop)'
RWsff45 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (5th loop)'
RWsff99 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (5th loop)'
RWsff46 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (6th loop)'
RWsff47 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (6th loop)'
RWsff48 'Situation after left last job: short term job (6th loop)'
RWsff49 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (6th loop)'
RWsff50 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (6th loop)'
RWsff51 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (6th loop)'
RWsff52 'Situation after left last job: retired (6th loop)'
RWsff53 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (6th loop)'
RWsff54 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (6th loop)'
RWsff55 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (7th loop)'
RWsff56 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (7th loop)'
RWsff57 'Situation after left last job: short term job (7th loop)'
RWsff58 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (7th loop)'
RWsff59 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (7th loop)'
RWsff60 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (7th loop)'
RWsff61 'Situation after left last job: retired (7th loop)'
RWsff62 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (7th loop)'
RWsff63 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (7th loop)'
RWsff101 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (7th loop)'
RWsff64 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (8th loop)'
RWsff65 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (8th loop)'
RWsff66 'Situation after left last job: short term job (8th loop)'
RWsff67 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (8th loop)'
RWsff68 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (8th loop)'
RWsff69 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (8th loop)'
RWsff70 'Situation after left last job: retired (8th loop)'
RWsff71 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (8th loop)'
RWsff72 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (8th loop)'
RWsff102 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (8th loop)'
RWsff73 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (9th loop)'
RWsff74 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (9th loop)'
RWsff75 'Situation after left last job: short term job (9th loop)'
RWsff76 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (9th loop)'
RWsff77 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (9th loop)'
RWsff78 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (9th loop)'
RWsff79 'Situation after left last job: retired (9th loop)'
RWsff80 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (9th loop)'
RWsff81 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (9th loop)'
RWsff103 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (9th loop)'
RWsff82 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (10th loop)'
RWsff83 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (10th loop)'
RWsff84 'Situation after left last job: short term job (10th loop)'
RWsff85 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (10th loop)'
RWsff86 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (10th loop)'
RWsff87 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (10th loop)'
RWsff88 'Situation after left last job: retired (10th loop)'
RWsff89 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (10th loop)'
RWsff90 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (10th loop)'
RWsff104 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (10th loop)'
RWsff91 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (11th loop)'
RWsff92 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (11th loop)'
RWsff93 'Situation after left last job: short term job (11th loop)'
RWsff94 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (11th loop)'
RWsff105 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (11th loop)'
RWsff106 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (11th loop)'
RWsff107 'Situation after left last job: retired (11th loop)'
RWsff108 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (11th loop)'
RWsff109 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (11th loop)'
RWsff110 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (11th loop)'
RWsff111 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (12th loop)'
RWsff112 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (12th loop)'
RWsff113 'Situation after left last job: short term job (12th loop)'
RWsff114 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (12th loop)'
RWsff115 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (12th loop)'
RWsff116 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (12th loop)'
RWsff117 'Situation after left last job: retired (12th loop)'
RWsff118 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (12th loop)'
RWsff119 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (12th loop)'
RWsff120 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (12th loop)'
RWsff121 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (13th loop)'
RWsff122 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (13th loop)'
RWsff123 'Situation after left last job: short term job (13th loop)'
RWsff124 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (13th loop)'
RWsff125 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (13th loop)'
RWsff126 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (13th loop)'
RWsff127 'Situation after left last job: retired (13th loop)'
RWsff128 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (13th loop)'
RWsff129 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (13th loop)'
RWsff130 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (13th loop)'
RWsff131 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (14th loop)'
RWsff132 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (14th loop)'
RWsff133 'Situation after left last job: short term job (14th loop)'
RWsff134 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (14th loop)'
RWsff135 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (14th loop)'
RWsff136 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (14th loop)'
RWsff137 'Situation after left last job: retired (14th loop)'
RWsff138 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (14th loop)'
RWsff139 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (14th loop)'
RWsff140 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (14th loop)'
RWsff141 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (15th loop)'
RWsff142 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (15th loop)'
RWsff143 'Situation after left last job: short term job (15th loop)'
RWsff144 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (15th loop)'
RWsff145 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (15th loop)'
RWsff146 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (15th loop)'
RWsff147 'Situation after left last job: retired (15th loop)'
RWsff148 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (15th loop)'
RWsff149 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (15th loop)'
RWsff150 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (15th loop)'
RWsff151 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (16th loop)'
RWsff152 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (16th loop)'
RWsff153 'Situation after left last job: short term job (16th loop)'
RWsff154 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (16th loop)'
RWsff155 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (16th loop)'
RWsff156 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (16th loop)'
RWsff157 'Situation after left last job: retired (16th loop)'
RWsff158 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (16th loop)'
RWsff159 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (16th loop)'
RWsff160 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (16th loop)'
RWsff161 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (17th loop)'
RWsff162 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (17th loop)'
RWsff163 'Situation after left last job: short term job (17th loop)'
RWsff164 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (17th loop)'
RWsff165 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (17th loop)'
RWsff166 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (17th loop)'
RWsff167 'Situation after left last job: retired (17th loop)'
RWsff168 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (17th loop)'
RWsff169 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (17th loop)'
RWsff170 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (17th loop)'
RWsff171 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (18th loop)'
RWsff172 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (18th loop)'
RWsff173 'Situation after left last job: short term job (18th loop)'
RWsff174 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (18th loop)'
RWsff175 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (18th loop)'
RWsff176 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (18th loop)'
RWsff177 'Situation after left last job: retired (18th loop)'
RWsff178 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (18th loop)'
RWsff179 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (18th loop)'
RWsff180 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (18th loop)'
RWsff181 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (19th loop)'
RWsff182 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (19th loop)'
RWsff183 'Situation after left last job: short term job (19th loop)'
RWsff184 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (19th loop)'
RWsff185 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (19th loop)'
RWsff186 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (19th loop)'
RWsff187 'Situation after left last job: retired (19th loop)'
RWsff188 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (19th loop)'
RWsff189 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (19th loop)'
RWsff190 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (19th loop)'
RWsff191 'Situation after left last job: unemp & searching for job (20th loop)'
RWsff192 'Situation after left last job: unem not searching for job (20th loop)'
RWsff193 'Situation after left last job: short term job (20th loop)'
RWsff194 'Situation after left last job: sickdisabled (20th loop)'
RWsff195 'Situation after left last job: looking after homefamily (20th loop)'
RWsff196 'Situation after left last job:looking after sickdisabled relfriend (20th loop)'
RWsff197 'Situation after left last job: retired (20th loop)'
RWsff198 'Situation after left last job: educationtraining (20th loop)'
RWsff199 'Situation after left last job: voluntary work (20th loop)'
RWsff200 'Situation after left last job: other - specify (20th loop)'
rwst1o 'Situation before started next job: unemployed & searching for a job (15th loop)'
rwst2o 'Situation before started next job: unemployed not searching for job (15th loop)'
rwst3o 'Situation before started next job: short term job (15th loop)'
rwst4o 'Situation before started next job: sick or disabled (15th loop)'
rwst5o 'Situation before started next job: looking after home or family (15th loop)'
rwst6o 'Before started next job: looking after sickdisabled relativefriend (15th loop)'
rwst7o 'Situation before started next job: retired (15th loop)'
rwst8o 'Situation before started next job: educationtraining (15th loop)'
rwst9o 'Situation before started next job: voluntary work (15th loop)'
rwst95o 'Situation before started next job: other - specify (15th loop)'
Amendments to Wave 2 Core Data (2009):
The following amendments were made to the Wave 2 Core data file at the time of the 12th edition (September/October 2009):
- The variable CFLITSC has been removed, as a corrected version has been deposited with the Wave 2 Derived Variables;
- A small number of cases have had their ages amended. Some of these cases are unusual as the household and individual sections of their interviews were conducted on different days and they had a birthday in-between these interviews, meaning that their age in the current dataset is incorrect by a year. For the rest of these cases, there was a discrepancy in the date of interview as computed by the interviewer's laptop and the actual date. The cases amended are (idauniq) 103802, 103852, 104341, 106281, 106782, 107210, 112486, 112551, 112558, 117615 and 119870.
Amendments to Wave 3 Core Data (2009):
The following amendments were made to the Wave 3 Core data file for the 12th edition (September/October 2009):
- The variable HSEYR has been added, which gives the year of the respondent's original HSE interview, if applicable;
- The variable CFPROM has been added, which shows whether a respondent was able to do the prospective memory test;
- Some variables (about 120 in total) from the WP, IA and HO modules have had their variable labels corrected;
- A further 12 variables from the CF module have had their variable names corrected, as previously they started with 'CH';
- Five cases have had previously missing information about their ages added;
- All variables have had their names changed to lower case only;
- Some values of FINSTAT which previously had an erroneous "_unprod" suffix have been corrected;
- One case who was previously considered to be in a separate household to their partner (as they are in an institution) has had their information corrected;
- Corrections have been made to account for the duplicate households, sampled twice from HSE 2001 for Wave 1 and Wave 3.
Wave 3 Life History Data:
The Wave 3 Life History data file was first released as part of the eleventh edition, in June 2009 (see 'New Edition Information' above). After deposit, the ELSA team supplied syntax to amend the Idauniq variable for some cases, as part of some ongoing work on the ELSA data. This is not covered in the current version of the Life History documentation, but the following information from the ELSA team may help: "Users of the Life History data will notice that there are a small number of cases which have an Idauniq beginning with a '7'. Usually, this would indicate that the person was ineligible for an ELSA interview. However, we have discovered that a small number of cases from the Wave 3 Refreshment Sample were living in households that had already been sampled for (and responded to at least) Wave 1 of ELSA. Therefore, these cases have had their Idauniq's changed to those originally assigned to them when they were not eligible for interview in their own right. We will be clarifying this issue further with a new release of the ELSA Wave 3 Core Data and User Guide in the near future."
Joint ELSA/SHARE database:
Users may request access to the ELSA portion of the data from a project to harmonise ELSA wave 2 and SHARE wave 1 (both 2004) data undertaken by Valeria Bordon at the University of Mannheim. Please contact longitudinal@esds.ac.uk for further details. The SHARE portion of this joint database can be accessed via
CentERdata.
Syntax supplied by the depositor for the tenth edition (June 2008 - see 'New Edition Information' above) to run on Wave 1 Core data to correct value labels in the SC module:
This syntax was applied to the Wave 1 Core file available from UKDA in June 2008, and users are advised to either download a new version or run the syntax themselves on their existing file:
add value labels scghqa 1 'Better than usual' 2 'Same as usual' 3 'Less than usual' 4 'Much less than usual'.
add value labels scghqb 1 'Not at all' 2 'No more than usual' 3 'Rather more than usual' 4 'Much more than usual'.
add value labels scghqc 1 'More so than usual' 2 'Same as usual' 3 'Less useful than usual' 4 'Much less useful'.
add value labels scghqd 1 'More so than usual' 2 'Same as usual' 3 'Less so than usual' 4 'Much less capable'.
add value labels scghqe 1 'Not at all' 2 'No more than usual' 3 'Rather more than usual' 4 'Much more than usual'.
add value labels scghqf 1 'Not at all' 2 'No more than usual' 3 'Rather more than usual' 4 'Much more than usual'.
add value labels scghqg 1 'More so than usual' 2 'Same as usual' 3 'Less so than usual' 4 'Much less than usual'.
add value labels scghqh 1 'More so than usual' 2 'Same as usual' 3 'Less able than usual' 4 'Much less able'.
add value labels scghqi 1 'Not at all' 2 'No more than usual' 3 'Rather more than usual' 4 'Much more than usual'.
add value labels scghqj 1 'Not at all' 2 'No more than usual' 3 'Rather more than usual' 4 'Much more than usual'.
add value labels scghqk 1 'Not at all' 2 'No more than usual' 3 'Rather more than usual' 4 'Much more than usual'.
add value labels scghql 1 'More so than usual' 2 'About same as usual' 3 'Less so than usual' 4 'Much less than usual'.
Variable Lists
Variable lists and topline frequencies are not currently available via the UKDA catalogue record for ELSA, due to the large numbers of variables in the core data files for all waves.
Stata version:
Stata users should note that the core files contain over 2,047 variables, and so cannot be used with standard versions of Stata, only the Stata SE version of the software. Furthermore, the core file for Wave 2 contains over 6,000 variables, so Stata SE users will have to use the 'set maxvar' command to accommodate this before the file can be used in Stata SE. The smaller files in the dataset can be used in standard versions of Stata, but users who have difficulties with the larger versions, or do not have access to Stata SE, may find it easier to perform data manipulation in SPSS before doing subsequent analysis in Stata.
SAS filename changes
SAS users should note that three data file names (Waves 1, 2 and 3 Financial Derived Variables) had to be changed on conversion from SPSS, as they were unsuitable for SAS. The details of name changes may be found in the file 5050_file_information_for_SAS_users.rtf, contained in the SAS download package. SAS users should note that the documentation will reference the original filenames.
Data conversion information
From January 2003 onwards, almost all data conversions have been performed
using software developed by the UKDA. This enables standardisation of the
conversion methods and ensures optimal data quality. In addition to its own data
processing/conversion code, this software uses the SPSS and Stat/Transfer
command processors to perform certain format translations. Although data
conversion is automated, all data files are also subject to visual inspection by
a UKDA data processing officer.
With some format conversions data, and more especially internal metadata (i.e.
variable labels, value labels, missing value definitions, data type
information), will inevitably be lost or truncated owing to the differential
limits of the proprietary formats.�A UKDA Data Dictionary file (in rich text
format), corresponding to each data file, is usually provided for viewing and
searching the internal metadata as it existed in the originating format. These
files are called:
[data file name]_UKDA_Data_Dictionary.rtf
Important information about the data format supplied
The links below provide important information about the format in which you have
been supplied the data. Some of this information is specific to the
ingest
format of the data, that is the format in which the UKDA was supplied the
data in. The ingest format for this study was
SPSS
Please click below to find out information about the
format that you have
been supplied the data in.
SPSS (*.por)
SPSS portable (*.por files)
If SPSS portable was not the ingest format, this format will generally either
have been created via the SPSS command processor (e.g. if the ingest format is
SPSS .sav, SAS, Excel, or dBase), or if the ingest format was STATA, the SPSS
version will be created via the Stat/Transfer command processor. If the ingest
format was undelimited text, the data will have been read into SPSS using an
SPSS command file.
Issues: There is very seldom any loss of data or internal metadata when
importing data files into SPSS. Any problems will have been listed above in the
Data and Documentation Problems section of this file.
STATA (*.dta)
STATA (*.dta files)
If STATA was not the ingest format, all STATA files will have been created from
SPSS .sav format via the Stat/Transfer command processor. Importantly,
Stat/Transfer's optimisation routine is run so that variables with SPSS write
formats narrower than the data (e.g. numeric variables with 10 decimal places of
data formatted to FX.2) are not rounded upon conversion to STATA because they
are converted to 'doubles ' rather than floats. User missing values are copied
across into STATA (as opposed to being collapsed into a single system missing
code).
Issues: There are a number of data and metadata handling mismatches between SPSS
and STATA. Where any data or internal metadata has been lost or truncated, this
will have been automatically logged in this file:
5050_SPSS_to_STATA_conversion.rtf
Note that the complete internal metadata has been supplied�in the UKDA Data
Dictionary file(s): [data file name]_UKDA_Data_Dictionary.rtf
Tab-delimited text (*.tab)
If tab-delimited text was not the ingest format, tab-delimited files�will have
been�created from SPSS portable files via the SPSS command processor, and also
from Excel and MS Access files. When exporting from Access data tables to
tab-delimited text, the�potentially problematic�special characters (tabs,
carriage returns, line feeds, etc.) allowed by Access memo and text fields� are
stripped out by the UKDA.
Issues: Date formats in SPSS are always exported to mm/dd/yyyy in tab-delimited
text format - so�there be be a�mismatch with the documentation on such
variables. Variables that include both date and time such as dd-mm-yyyy hh:mm:ss
(e.g. 18-JUN-2001 13:28:00), will lose the time information and become
mm/dd/yyyy. If the time information is critical, a new variable will have been
created in the tab-delimited data file by the UKDA. All users of the data in
tab-delimited format should consult the UKDA Data Dictionary file(s): [data file name]_UKDA_Data_Dictionary.rtf
If the data was exported from MS Access, more limited 'data documenter'
information is suppied�in the file(s): [data table name]_variableinformation.rtf
These files may also contain SQL setup information.
MS Excel (*.xls files)
If MS Excel was not the ingest format, Excel files�will have�been�created via
the SPSS command processor. The date and time issues noted under tab-delimited
format�apply to SPSS to Excel conversion via the SPSS command processor.
SAS (supplied as *.dat and *.sas)
If SAS was not the ingest format, all SAS files will have been created from SPSS
.sav format via the Stat/Transfer command processor. The data files are provided
as a fixed-width text file (*.dat) and a SAS command file (*.sas), which when
run will create a SAS dataset. This enables the user to recreate the SAS dataset
and formats library in almost all versions of SAS and all operating systems.
Issues: The main loss of information when converting from SPSS to SAS is
user-missing value definitions. By editing the .sas file, the user can choose
whether to collapse all user-missing values into system missing or preserve
the�value and lose the user-missing definition. To achieve the latter�the
following section of the .sas file should be removed before running it:
/* User Missing Value Specifications */
Note that the complete internal metadata has been supplied�in the UKDA Data
Dictionary file(s): [data file name]_UKDA_Data_Dictionary.rtf
MS Access (*.mdb files)
Due to the substantial incompatibilities between versions of MS Access, the UKDA
only make data available in MS Access format if this is the ingest format and
the database contains important information in addition to the data tables
(coding information, forms, queries, etc.).
Conversion of documentation formats
Electronic and paper documentation supplied with this study is usually
incorporated into the UKDA User Guide (in PDF format). The conversion programmes
used are the latest versions of Adobe PDF Writer for electronic documentation
and Adobe Paper Capture (Acrobat 'plugin' version) for paper documentation.
Occasionally, some�of the electronic documentation cannot be usefully converted
to PDF (e.g. MS Excel files with wide worksheets) and this is supplied in�a more
appropriate format. All User Guides are fully bookmarked.