The Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS) Karen Dennison Economic and Social Data Service UK Data Archive Government Chief Social Researchers Office Information Seminar Cardiff, 21 June 2004

What is the ESDS? national data archiving and dissemination service running from 1 Jan – 2008 jointly supported by: –Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) –Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)

UK Data Archive, Essex MIMAS, Manchester Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research (CCSR), Manchester Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), Essex Partners

ESDS Overview provides access and support for key economic and social data distributed service, bringing together centres of expertise in data creation, dissemination, preservation and use provides seamless and easier access to a range of disparate resources for UK Higher and Further Education sectors core archiving services plus four specialist data services

Sources / type of data Data for research and teaching purposes and used in all sectors and for many different disciplines official agencies - mainly central government international statistical time series individual academics - research grants market research agencies public records/historical sources qualitative and quantitative links to UK census data access to international data via links with other data archives worldwide

Collection held at UKDA 4,000+ datasets in the collection 200+ new datasets are added each year 6,500+ orders for data per year 18,000+ datasets distributed worldwide per year History data service in-house (AHDS) Census Registration Service in-house (CRS) specialist units for supporting qualitative and longitudinal data in-house

ESDS Core Services ESDS Management –central 'first stop' help desk service –coherent and flexible collections development policy –central registration service operating across the ESDS –universal data portal ESDS Access and Preservation –collections development strategy –ingest activities - including data and documentation processing –metadata creation –data dissemination services –long-term preservation

Joining Up ESRC –joined-up portfolio –implementation of ESRC Datasets Policy –ESRC Information Strategy –e-Science initiatives JISC –Information Environment –Athens / Shibboleth Digital Preservation Coalition, The National Archives / Public Record Office

Enhanced access to data one-stop registration and Athens –important part of ESRCs goal of establishing a common entry point for all socio-economic data. –extension of the Census Registration Service enhanced data delivery: –Download Now service and Nesstar WebView online data delivery: ESDS International online data delivery: ESDS Qualidata

Accessing data Web access to data and metadata Data are freely available for the majority of users Data supplied in a variety of formats –statistical package formats (eg spss) –databases and spreadsheets –word processed documents –pdf documents

Online access to data and user guides Web pages - easy to navigate format –Web catalogue with variable level searching –Subject browsing - eg major series and UK geographic focus web pages –Access to online doc - pdf user guides and forms Registration –One-off registration with Athens login –Online account management and Shopping Basket ordering Data Download –Web Download (SPSS, STATA, TAB, RTF, etc) –Nesstar - browsing metadata and exploring data

Nesstar software Browse detailed information (metadata) about these data sources, including links to other sources Search facility that can return variables as hits and open them in context Do simple data analysis and visualisation on microdata Bookmark datasets and analyses Download the appropriate subset of data in one of a number of formats (e.g. SPSS, Excel)

Data quality issues Require exceptionally high quality data for publishing in Nesstar system. Helpful if: –Full variable and value labels –Systematic variable naming across time for continuous surveys –Literal question text –Information on weighting

Specialist data services ESDS Government ESDS International ESDS Longitudinal ESDS Qualidata Provide - dedicated web sites and help desks - data and documentation enhancements - user support - training

The large-scale government surveys General Household Survey/Continuous Household Survey (NI) Labour Force Survey/NI LFS Health Survey for England/Wales/Scotland Family Expenditure Survey/NI FES British/Scottish Crime Survey Family Resources Survey National Food Survey/Expenditure and Food Survey ONS Omnibus Survey Survey of English Housing British Social Attitudes/Scottish Social Attitudes/Young Peoples Social Attitudes/NI Life & Times National Travel Survey Time Use Survey Vital Statistics for England and Wales

Benefits of the large-scale government datasets Good quality data –Produced by experienced research organisations –UK/GB - usually nationally representative with large samples. Interviewers all over country –Good response rates –Well documented, NISRA, ONS, UKDA, QB etc Continuous data –E.g Continuous Household Survey 1983, allows comparison over time –Data is largely cross-sectional Hierarchical data –Individual and household –intra-household differences –household effects on individuals

Percentage of women aged cohabiting General Household Survey

ESDS Government Led by CCSR and working closely with the UKDA UKDA will continue to be responsible for acquisition of data and dissemination –dissemination mainly on-line/ much via Nesstar CCSR covers added value (help for users and dataset enhancements) Theme based approach to adding value –Year 1: Employment and labour market –Year 2: Health –Year 3: Social exclusion

Help for users Workshops and web-based guides on –on how to get started –theme based, intro to surveys, access –introduction to large-scale government datasets –analysis skills Methods and new opportunities –weighting –data linkage Other CCSR courses –SPSS/ STATA; data analysis methods links to ONS publications & useful websites Helpdesk, Jiscmail list

Enhancements to datasets User consultation a set of derived variables to provide comparability with standard census variables derivation of some key variables for employment and labour market analysis on the General Household Survey and Labour Force Survey an index of variables that are consistent over time on a number of surveys. Geographically referenced variables linked to Common GIS: interactive web-based exploration and visualization tool for data with sub-regional geography. Teaching datasets Labour Force Survey 2002 (links to STATA guide) British Crime Survey 2000 Plan Health Survey for England in 2004

Interaction Developments at ONS and NatCen benefit and influence encourage interaction with research community maximise interests of data depositors, commissioning departments and research community User group meetings LFS October 2003 (establish annually) HSE January 2004 High level annual research conference for policy makers, users and producers of government surveys December 2003 : Social & Demo Change December 2004 : health Meetings/ongoing liaison with ONS & ESDS Govt

Longitudinal data Longitudinal surveys involve repeated surveys of the same individuals at different points in time Allow researchers to analyse change at the individual level More complex to analyse

Longitudinal Data four main studies, that are primarily UK Research Council: –British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) –British Birth Cohort studies: National Child Development Survey (NCDS) British Cohort Study 1970 (BCS70) Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) –Also possible forthcoming Medical Research Council population study datasets – 1946 Birth Cohort

British Household Panel Survey Collected and deposited by the ULSC at Essex follows the members of 5500 households first sampled in 1991 interviews conducted annually become a major resource for understanding the dynamics of British households coverage includes: –income, labour market behaviour, social and political values, health, education, housing and household organisation Recently large new samples were introduced in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

British Birth Cohort Studies Impact of childhood conditions on later life and understanding children and families in the UK National Child Development Study follows a cohort born in a single week in data collected at birth & ages 7, 11, 16, 23, 33, British Cohort Study follows a cohort born in a single week in data collected around birth & ages 5, 10, 16, 26 and most recently at age 30 Millennium Cohort Study focuses on children born in 2000 / first sweep at 9 months, second sweep at 3 years Wide range of social, economic, health, medical and psychological issues

International data portfolio Regularly updated macro-economic time series datasets from selected major international statistical databanks that collectively chart over 50 years of global economic, industrial and political change: the International Monetary Fund the OECD the United Nations the World Bank Eurostat the International Labour Organisation the UK Office for National Statistics BUT access for UK HE/FE only Access to microdata surveys Eurobarometers International Social Survey Programme Other social data via other national data archives

International data themes Databanks cover: Economic performance and development Trade, industry and markets Employment Demography, migration and health Governance Human development Social expenditure Education Science and technology Land use and the environment

ESDS Qualidata provides access and support for a range of qualitative datasets, and is hosted by the UK Data Archive the work builds on Qualidata's expertise and international reputation in this area, developed over the past eight years

Qualitative data collections Data from National Research Council (ESRC) individual and programme research grant awards Data from classic social science studies Other funders/sources Focus on DIGITAL Collections, but also facilitate paper-based archiving

Types of qualitative data Diverse data types: in-depth interviews ; semi- structured interviews; focus groups; oral histories; mixed methods data; open-ended survey questions; case notes/records of meetings; diaries/ research diaries Multi-media: audio, video, photos and text (most common is interview transcriptions) Formats: digital, paper, analogue audio-visual Data structures - differ across different document types

Classic datasets Peter Townsend – Poverty, old age and Katherine Buildings Paul Thompson – oral history and Edwardians Ray Pahl –Hertfordshire Villages studies National Social Policy and Social Change Archive

The Census Registration Service The Census Registration Service provides one- stop registration for: Census Dissemination Unit from MIMAS (University of Manchester) Census Geography Data Unit (UKBORDERS) from EDINA (University of Edinburgh) Census Interaction Data Service (Universities of Leeds and St Andrews) Samples of Anonymised Records from the Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research (University of Manchester)

AHDS History AHDS History is one of the five Subject Centres of the Arts and Humanities Data Service. AHDS History collects, preserves, and promotes the use of digital resources, which result from or support historical research, learning and teaching.

The AHDS History collection Particularly strong in 19th and 20th century economic and social history Census data ( % sample; % sample; lots of local census returns) Great Britain Historical Database online Taxation materials Large scale datasets of Welsh and Irish historical statistics Electoral data (poll books for local areas) Criminal court records (e.g. a collection of datasets on violent crimes ) Agricultural statistics (prices, output) Surveys of Scottish witchcraft State finance data Economic indicators/industrial production data

Secondary analysis potential description comparative research, restudy or follow-up study re-analysis or secondary analysis research design and methodological advancement verification teaching and learning Highlighting research potential

ESDS: supporting research and teaching service specific help for each service –help desk, FAQs, analysis support generating new researchers –series of workshops around the country teaching datasets, online samplers discussion lists, newsletters

ESDS outreach programme Service specific and joint workshops –awareness days for new users –thematic data resources events –data confrontation: specific datasets; data handling skills; methodological issues; analytic skills - introductory and advanced level Publicity and publications –conference presentations, talks, –articles in newsletters and journals –UKDAtabytes & ESDS Government newsletters

Working groups and user forums establish working groups to gain input and feedback on specific ESDS developments: –user forum – user groups, discussion lists etc –data creators, eg ONS, Govt. departments, ESRC –preservation expertise, eg DCC –teaching and learning bodies such as HE - LTSN, & FE - RSC –data support staff eg subject or data librarians

Contact ESDS FAQ: