National Survey for Wales - Frequently Asked Questions
Questions:
Which years of the NSW are available?
Currently, only the 2009-2010 Pilot Study for the NSW is available to download but more data sets will become available annually. The NSW replaces the Living in Wales (LIW) survey series 2004 -2008, which itself replaced the former Welsh House Condition Survey (WHCS) which was last carried out in 1997 and 1998.
What format is the data available in?
The NSW is available in SPSS, STATA and ASCII format
Where can I obtain statistics and tables from the NSW?
Statistics and tables from the NSW will be published on the NSW pages of the Welsh Government. Statistics from the Living in Wales Surveys 2004-2008 can be downloaded from the Living in Wales survey results web page.
Does the NSW include information at the person level?
NSW data is at the level of the individual but can also be analysed at household/family level.
What data files are available on downloading the NSW?
The NSW deposited data includes 4 datasets with prefixes that describe the level at which the data is available, the prefixes are; ‘nswsample, ‘household’, ‘individual and ‘self-completion’. These files cover the geographical and socio-demographic variables (nswsample), and the results of each of the household, individual and self-completion questionnaires.
What is the most detailed geography I can analyse the data at?
NSW data are available for Unitary Authorities; Police Regions; Fire Brigade Regions; Assembly Economic Fora Areas; Parliamentary and Welsh Government Constituencies. The geographical and socio-demographic information is held in the ‘nswsample’ file. In order to add this geographical information to the ‘household’, ‘individual’ and the ‘self-completion’ files you will need to match the nswsample file to the other files. The matching variable is ‘addno’.
Before I order, how do I find out what questions/variables are included?
Variable lists and PDF user guides (including questionnaires) are freely available from the NSW web pages.
Are the same questions asked each year?
The NSW includes many of the same questions each year. Some modules are only included periodically, and it is expected that the topics included will vary to allow scope to collect new information of direct policy relevance.
Does analysis of the NSW require the use of weights?
The analysis of the NSW requires the use of weights which serve to gross estimates up to observed counts of population/households/addresses and account for disproportionate sampling. The three weights are: an all-Wales level household weight based on selection probabilities; an all-Wales level individual weight, adjusted for the number of people in a household; and an all-Wales level self-completion weight, similarly adjusted for the number of people in a household. These three different weights are called ‘Wales_Weight_Grossed’ in each data set but their content varies and analyses of each data set should use the weight contained in that data set.
What population is covered by the NSW?
The NSW covers the private household population in Wales. The survey involves an interview with the head of household and a randomly selected adult (who may also be the head of household). There is also a short self-completion questionnaire for every adult in the household.
Is there a more general FAQ?
There is a generic ESDS Government FAQ for all surveys available.
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