British Election Panel Study (BEPS)

Department of Government, University of Essex

The BEPS series is designed to analyse political change - to discover when and why voters change their political allegiances during an electoral cycle, and in response to what events. The series examines voting or abstentions in local government and European elections as well as fluctuations in party support during the lead-up to general elections. Wave 1 of each series contains the respondents to the main cross-sectional British Election Study (of which BEPS is a part) for that general election.

• political preferences and values
• economic perceptions
• social attitudes
• dispositions to engage in different forms of political activity
• individual and household socio-demographic characteristics

Panel studies have been carried out for each parliament since 1964, with the exception of 1979-1983.

Online documentation can be accessed via the Doc column at British Election Studies - Datasets.

The British Election Study at the University of Essex

British Election Studies - Datasets

DSS/PSI Programme of Research into Low Income Families (PRILIF)

Department of Social Security, Marsh, A., Policy Studies Institute

A forerunner of the Families and Children Study, the PRILIF study series began in 1991 with a nationally representative survey of low-income families undertaken, primarily, to study the effects of Family Credit on their labour market opportunities. Subsequently work concentrated on five main policy questions highlighted by the 1991 survey:

• How can lone parents improve their incomes, combining paid work, benefits and maintenance payments?
• What is the effectiveness of child support?
• Why do some families fail to claim their benefit entitlement?
• Why do some families, especially the lowest paid couples, find it persistently difficult to maintain themselves in paid jobs?
• What are the wider effects of the use of income-tested in-work benefits on incentives to work?

In content, the main focus of the research bears on families on the margins of work and concerns the influence of different sources of income - benefits, maintenance and earnings - on their labour market participation and on their family welfare.

• household composition
• family history
• maintenance
• health
• children's health and caring
• education and training
• housing
• work and attitudes to work
• wages
• child care
• savings
• income support
• expenditure
• family credit
• job search
• family history
• emotional states and self-esteem
• skills
• Social Security benefits

1991-1995; 1996, 1998 and 2001

Online documentation

DSS/PSI Programme of Research into Low Income Families - Datasets

Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime : Waves One to Four, 1997-2001 (ESYTC)

Smith, D.J., University of Edinburgh. School of Law

The Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime (ESYTC) aims to further our understanding of young people's involvement in criminal behaviour, and explore the striking differences in offending rates and anti-social behaviour between males and females. It is a longitudinal study involving an entire year group of children, namely those eligible to start first year of secondary school in the City of Edinburgh in 1998. The cohort comprises approximately 4,300 young people who were aged between 11.5 and 12.5 years at the start of the study. Annual sweeps of data collection are conducted, with the intention of tracking the cohort through their teenage years and into early adulthood. The UK Data Archive currently holds data from Waves One to Four.

While the study focuses entirely on criminal offending among a generation of young people within the City of Edinburgh, the findings are likely to be of wider national and international relevance and importance. National comparisons will be made with other related studies in Scotland and the rest of the UK (such as crime surveys, health and drug studies, etc.). The international dimension will be developed through direct comparisons with cohort studies in Denver, Pittsburgh and Rochester, and links with other studies in Chicago, Philadelphia, Dunedin and Stockholm.

• victimisation
• activities
• family/friends
• smoking/drinking/drugs
• neighbourhood
• worries
• criminal activity

1997-2001

Online documentation

ESYTC home page (University of Edinburgh)

SN 4800 -Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime : Waves One to Four, 1997-2001

E-Living : Life in a Digital Europe : Waves 1-2, 2001-2002

University of Essex. Chimera Institute for Socio-Technical Innovation and Research

The research study is part of a larger project of research funded under the EU Information Society Technologies (IST) programme, and entitled e-Living: Life in a Digital Europe.

The dataset contains survey data on the uptake and use of information and communication technologies in six European countries (Norway, UK, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria and Israel) in 2001 and 2002, collected via Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), as a two-wave household panel study.

The survey collected data on mobile telephony, personal computer (pc) and internet uptake and use as well as a wide range of indicators of social capital, social networks, quality of life, working conditions, employment and educational experiences, and standard socio-demographics.

2001-2002

Online documentation

E-Living web site

SN 4728 -E-Living : Life in a Digital Europe : Waves 1-2, 2001-2002

Health and Lifestyle Survey (HALS)

Cox, B.D., School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge
Social and Community Planning Research (now the National Centre for Social Research, NatCen)

The aim of the Health and Lifestyle Survey (HALS) was to examine the changes over seven years in the distribution of, and the relationship between, physical and mental health, health-related behaviour (diet, exercise, smoking and alcohol consumption), and beliefs and attitudes, in survivors of the 1984-1985 HALS population of England, Wales and Scotland.

Since the end of the main survey in 1991-1992, the original 9,003 respondents in the 1984-1985 HALS have been traced and, using the NHS Central Register at ONS, been flagged. This allows analysis of final outcome - death - to be correlated against previously reported medical history, physiological status and lifestyle behaviour. To date 97.8 per cent of the sample has been flagged, of which 2,008 have died.

In addition to the deaths data, cancer morbidity and mortality information have also been added to the data for the flagged sample.

• demographic, working and social circumstances
• self-reported health
• physiological measures (anthropometry, blood pressure, respiratory function, environmental and exhaled carbon monoxide)
• tests of cognitive functioning (reaction time, memory and reasoning)
• personality and psychiatric status
• dietary habits
• exercise, work and leisure
• alcohol consumption
• smoking
• beliefs about disease and health, and health-related attitudes

Two waves of survey data (1984-1985 and 1991-1992) have been supplemented by cancer and death information that continues to be added to the database on an annual basis.

Online documentation for the 1984-1985 HALS1
Online documentation for the for the 1991-1992 follow-up HALS2
Online documentation for the deaths and cancer data

Health and Lifestyle Survey - Datasets

Home OnLine, 1998-2001

University of Essex. Chimera Institute for Socio-Technical Innovation and Research

The data derive from a household panel survey conducted over three annual waves. The main focus of the research was to gather household and individual information and examine information and communications technology (ICT) access and behaviour.

Most of the non-ICT questions were derived from the British Household Panel Study (BHPS), and covered topics such as housing, social life, leisure time activities, computer use, employment, telephone use, internet use and demographic characteristics. Respondents also completed a time-budget diary covering one week.

• ICTs
• computer ownership
• internet access
• email
• online behaviour
• downloads
• ICT use by children

1998-2001

Online documentation

SN 4607 -Home OnLine, 1998-2001

Labour Force Survey (LFS) Two-Quarter and Five-Quarter Longitudinal Datasets

Life Opportunities Survey

Longitudinal Three-Nation Study on Relations between Ethnic Minorities and Host Societies among School Students, 2004-2005

Brown, R., University of Sussex. Department of Psychology
Leyens, J., Universite Catholique de Louvain
Mummendey, A., Friedrich Schiller Universitaet Jena. Institut fuer Psychologie
Kessler, T., Friedrich Schiller Universitaet Jena. Institut fuer Psychologie

The project looked at the views of adolescent school students in three European countries; England, Germany and Belgium. Using the same questionnaire in three languages, members of ethnic minority groups and members of the host societies were targeted. Based on social psychological research on intergroup relations, acculturation, prejudice and relative deprivation the study was designed to investigate perceptions of and attitudes between both groups.

Data collection took place in waves of measurement with an average time interval of six months in between. Some individuals completed the survey in both waves providing a longitudinal element.

Background variables include ethnicity, native language, years of residence in the country, parental occupation and education. Variables capturing intergroup perceptions include in-group identification, relative deprivation, acculturation preferences and goals, group permeability, economic competition and others. Intergroup attitudes were assessed both explicitly (liking, desire for social distance, emotions toward the other group) and implicitly (infrahumanisation).

2004-2005

Online documentation

SN 5676 -Longitudinal Three-Nation Study on Relations between Ethnic Minorities and Host Societies among School Students, 2004-2005

National Evaluation of the New Deal for Communities Programme: Household Survey Data

Ipsos MORI. Social Research Institute

The New Deal for Communities (NDC) was a key programme in the Government's strategy to improve local urban areas. Partnerships were formed in 39 deprived neighbourhoods in England to tackle five key issues: employment, education, crime, health and housing and the physical environment. Each partnership involved a range of individuals and organisations, including local people, community and voluntary groups, public services, local authorities and business.

The National Evaluation of the NDC Programme household surveys began in 2002. The first phase of the programme took the form of a large-scale project comprising base-line household surveys in each of the 39 NDC areas in England in 2002, and follow-up interviews in 2004. The follow-up survey had a longitudinal element, combined with a new cross-sectional survey, and was designed to track changes over time (including direct changes), by following up residents who were interviewed in 2002, and also those who had moved out of NDC areas. Follow-up surveys were also completed in 2006 and 2008.

The survey questionnaires were designed to cover each of the theme areas of the NDC programme, and thus included questions on housing (satisfaction with housing and future plans), quality of life and views on living in the area, involvement in the local community, experience of crime, household demographics, work status and employment details of household members aged 16 years and over, educational qualifications and satisfaction with education services, bringing up children in the area and involvement with children's education, personal health and views on health services, financial circumstances, and refugee status.

2002-2008. Collected biannually.

Online documentation

Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR), NDC web pages

SN 5299 -National Evaluation of the New Deal for Communities Programme: Household Survey Data

Offending, Crime and Justice Survey (OCJS)

Home Office; National Centre for Social Research; British Market Research Bureau

The Offending, Crime and Justice Survey (OCJS) is the first national longitudinal, self-report offending survey for England and Wales. The main aim of the survey is to examine the extent of offending, antisocial behaviour, drug use, attitudes to and contact with the criminal justice system (CJS), and experiences of victimisation.

The survey covers offences against households, individuals and businesses. In addition to 'mainstream' offences such as burglary, shoplifting and assault, it also covers fraud and technology offences. The survey was first conducted in 2003 and was repeated annually until 2006. The longitudinal analysis of the OCJS aimed to describe the levels of change in offending behaviour, antisocial behaviour (ASB) and drug use within individuals. It also covered the timing of transitions into and out of offending, ASB and drug use.

The longitudinal analysis data available includes a four-year panel dataset with respondents who participated in all four waves of the OCJS between 2003 and 2006, and a paired transitions dataset which contains data for use in the analysis of 12-month transitions between two consecutive OCJS interviews.

Four-year Panel dataset: includes the derived offending data, antisocial behaviour and drug use variables, derived risk factor variables and the original survey variables used in the derivation of the risk factors. The dataset also includes five cluster variables derived as a result of latent class analysis.

Paired Transitions dataset: each row in the data file represents a respondent who was interviewed at two consecutive waves of OCJS. Hence, respondents who had taken part in all waves appear three times in the dataset; with a separate record for each of the periods covered by waves one to two, waves two to three and waves three to four. Respondents did not need to have been involved in all waves to be included in the transitions data file, although they did need to have taken part in at least two consecutive interviews.

2003-2006

Online documentation

SN 6345 -Offending, Crime and Justice Survey, 2003-2006: Longitudinal Analysis Data

Scottish School-leavers Survey (SSLS)

Scottish Centre for Social Research

The SSLS series obtains information on the educational and employment activities of young people after they leave school; their views and experiences of school itself; and key decisions made about whether to stay on at school or not. In addition, background characteristics are ascertained, such as parents' level of education and social class, family circumstances and housing tenure. One of the main aims of the survey is to try and predict demand for higher education. The survey involves a random sample of all pupils in the relevant school year group. The only exception is that pupils at special schools (but not those in mainstream schools registered as having special educational needs) are excluded from the survey. The sample consists of all pupils born on any one of certain predetermined days of the month.

• educational/employment activities of young people, post-school
• respondents' views and experiences of school itself
• key decisions made as to whether to stay on at school or leave

1992-2006

Online documentation

Scottish School-leavers Survey - Datasets

Scottish Young People's Survey (SYPS)

University of Edinburgh. Centre for Educational Sociology

The Scottish Young People's Survey (SYPS), a cohort series, began in 1984, subsuming the Scottish Qualified School Leavers Surveys. It is a postal survey in which questionnaires are initially sent to young people approximately nine months after they have left school or have completed their fourth year in secondary school.

Each survey cycle comprises two studies; a longitudinal survey of a school-year-group cohort and a cross-sectional survey of school leavers. The sample and design of the two studies overlap.

The cohort constituent of each cycle, chosen every two years, takes in a sample of students in their 4th year at school who then receive questionnaires the following Spring as part of the Spring Survey. Each cohort is then surveyed after an interval of two years six months.

The School Leavers constituent of each cycle is a cross-sectional survey of school-leavers. It takes place in the Spring at two-yearly intervals, and has been conducted since 1977 in its present form, though a study of qualified school-leavers started back in 1962 (see GN: 33237).

The following topics were covered in the series:

• education
• post-school destinations
• entry to labour market
• employment and unemployment
• training and YTS/employment schemes
• further and higher education
• attainment and aspirations of young people
• attitudes to training/education
• attitudes to school and after
• social background

For topics pertaining to particular studies please see description for each individual study.

1983-1984 through 1989-1990. Collected biannually.

Online documentation

Scottish Young People's Survey - Datasets

Southampton Ageing Project, 1977-1998

Coleman, P.G., University of Southampton. Department of Geriatric Medicine
Briggs, R.S.J., University of Southampton. Department of Geriatric Medicine

The Southampton Ageing Project is a longitudinal and multidisciplinary study of ageing that began in 1977. The study has been carried out in two distinct phases. The first phase was a three year study, from 1977-1980, and was concerned with the investigation of the health and well-being of a sample of people, over the age of 65 years. Participants completed a medical and psychometric assessment in addition to a psycho-social questionnaire. The second phase of the study involved the follow-up of survivors in 1988, 1990, 1993, 1995 and 1998 with a particular focus on self-esteem and identity.

The dataset contains 14 assessments of medical, social and psychometric variables at various time points, including depression scales, self-esteem scales, life satisfaction questions, clinical and self-reported health measurements and psychometric items such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale items e.g. vocabulary and comprehension tests.

Phase one 1977-1980; follow-ups in 1988, 1990, 1993, 1995 and 1998.

Online documentation

SN 4118 -Southampton Ageing Project, 1977-1998

Survey of New Refugees (SNR)

Home Office. UK Border Agency. Analysis, Research and Knowledge Management

The Analysis, Research and Knowledge Management section (ARK) within the UK Border Agency commissioned the Survey of New Refugees to provide a longitudinal study of refugee integration in the UK. The overall aim of the survey was two-fold: (i) to collect information on the characteristics of new refugees at the time of their asylum decision; and (ii) to provide data on the integration of new refugees in the UK over time.

A postal baseline questionnaire was sent to all new refugees who were granted a positive decision of asylum, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave to remain between 1 December 2005 and 25 March 2007. Three follow-up questionnaires were issued 8, 15 and 21 months later. The baseline questionnaire collected information on the characteristics of refugees at the time of their asylum decision. Three follow-up questionnaires were used to collect information on how these refugees integrated in the UK over 21 months. Integration was considered in terms of the English language skills, employment and housing of new refugees, and how these changed over time. Over 900 refugees provided information at all four sweeps.

The data file contains information from all four sweeps of the survey: baseline, 8 months, 15 months and 21 months. Details include the characteristics of refugees at the time of the asylum decision (baseline), such as their age, country of origin, English language ability, education and employment history, health and support needs. Data from the follow-up sweeps provide detailed information on the experience of new refugees in the UK, including their housing, employment and changes in English language ability. The dataset includes cross-sectional and longitudinal weights which should be applied during analysis (details provided in the accompanying technical notes).

2005-2009

Baseline (Sweep 1): December 2005 – March 2007, questionnaire issued 1 week after processing of asylum decision; Sweep 2: 8 months after the asylum decision; Sweep 3: 15 months after the asylum decision; Sweep 4: 21 months after the asylum decision.

Online documentation

NatCen Refugee Integration: Analysis of the Survey of New Refugees web pages

SN 6556 -Survey of New Refugees, 2005-2009

Workplace Employee (Industrial) Relations Panel Surveys (WIRS/WERS)

Department of Trade and Industry
Social and Community Planning Research (now the National Centre for Social Research)

The Workplace Employee Relations Survey (WERS) series began in 1980. It was previously known as the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey, or WIRS - the name was changed in 1998 to better reflect the present content of the survey. The primary aim of the survey series is to provide statistically reliable, nationally representative data on the current state of workplace relations and employment practices in Britain.

The panel element of WERS 2004 includes the Screening Questionnaire and the Survey of Managers (comprising the Basic Workforce Data Sheet and the Management Interview). The panel element for 2004 forms Wave 2 of the 1998-2004 panel survey. Wave 1 comprised the cross-sectional managers survey conducted for WERS 98, and is held separately under SN 3955.

Three earlier panel surveys in the WIRS/WERS series, covering 1980-1984 and 1984-1990, 1990-98 are held under SNs 2204, 2938 and 4026.

• management of the personnel function
• trade union representation
• pay determination
• pay levels and payment systems
• consultation and communication
• dispute and grievance procedures
• industrial action
• economic and organisational context

1980-1984; 1984-1990; 1990-1998; 1998-2004

Online documentation

WERS 2004 Information and Advice Service
Department for Business Innovation and Skills, WERS web page

Workplace Employee Relations Survey - Datasets

Young Lives: an International Study of Childhood Poverty

Youth Cohort Study (YCS)

Department for Children, Schools and Families

The Youth Cohort Study (YCS) is a major programme of longitudinal research designed to monitor the behaviour and decisions of representative samples of young people aged sixteen upwards as they make the transition from compulsory education to further or higher education, or to the labour market. It tries to identify and explain the factors which influence post-16 transitions, for example, educational attainment, training opportunities, experiences at school. To date the YCS covers thirteen cohorts and over thirty surveys. The first survey was carried out in 1985 and the most recent in 2007.

The questionnaires have been designed, over the years, to be broadly comparable, but external changes and shifts in policy interest, have brought about changes - some minor, some fundamental. For Cohorts 1 to 6 cohort members were contacted by post three times, at yearly intervals, when they were 16-17, 17-18 and 18-19. For Cohorts 7 and 8 the sweeps were carried out at biannual intervals instead of annual. Thus Cohort 7 Sweep 2 took place when the respondents were aged 18-19 whereas previous second sweeps have taken place at age 17-18. Cohort 9 surveys were carried out annually for Sweeps 1 and 2 in 1998 and 1999 respectively, and Sweeps 3 and 4 were both conducted in the same year, 2000. Cohort 10 Sweeps 1 and 2 were also both conducted in 2000, and Sweep 3 in 2002. The sweeps for Cohorts 11, 12 and 13 were conducted annually.

• qualifications
• participation in education
• work experience
• truancy
• routes through education, training and labour market
• work expectations and prospects

Since 1983

Online documentation can be accessed via the Doc column at Youth Cohort Study - Datasets.

Youth Cohort Study - Datasets