SURVEYS WORKSHOP Edinburgh City Council, 16 th April 2009 ScotStat Network of Analysts from Local Government and Other Public Bodies

Aim of the day Increase understanding of sample survey methodology: Choosing a sample design and size Good practice in designing a questionnaire Quantifying the precision of survey estimates Weighting and grossing survey data Key points for disseminating results

Schedule 9.30 Introductions, aims 9.45 Overview of national surveys and an introduction to the long term survey strategy (a brief run through of the range of national surveys and their coverage, and how you can access the data) Sampling theory and methods (this will cover the basics of what a sample is, different types of samples and their strengths and weaknesses, and some of the practicalities of selecting a sampling frame) Coffee break Questionnaire design (this will be a brief overview of the key points to consider when designing a questionnaire, including harmonisation and the core survey question bank) Understanding sample survey data (this will cover central limit theorem and how it is used to decide on a sample size and calculate confidence intervals, as well as weighting and grossing factors) Dissemination (this will be a brief overview of the key points to consider when disseminating results) Lunch

National Surveys Most national survey datasets can be accessed through the UK Data Archive Most survey teams produce reports and/or web tables of key variables Scottish Government teams can help with ad-hoc requests for data analysis, welcome feedback and engagement with survey reviews Results don’t have to be local level to be informative about local issues National surveys are high quality and can be used to quality control local surveys

Scottish Health Survey Labour Force Survey and Annual Population Survey Family Resources Survey Understanding Society The Wealth and Assets Survey The Scottish Social Attitudes Survey Scottish Crime Survey

The Long Term Strategy for Population Surveys in Scotland Background Scottish Population Surveys Coordination Committee ONS Integrated Household Survey Census National Performance Framework and Single Outcome Agreements Field Capacity and Respondent Burden Data Issues (security, utility, quality, access, etc ) Longitudinal Surveys

The Long Term Strategy for Population Surveys in Scotland Strategic aims To ensure that the Scottish Government’s population surveys meet priority information needs while maximising the anaytical potential of the data they generate, the precision of estimates and value for money. To give full consideration to issues of survey participation, respondent burden, data quality and data security and to make recommendations that align survey practice across Government and promote good practice to other public bodies The Long Term Strategy for Population Surveys in Scotland

Harmonised core questions To increase comparability across surveys To allow survey samples to be combined 11 questions have been finalised 10 more to do May extend the core in light of NPF and SOAs? The Long Term Strategy for Population Surveys in Scotland

Centralised data management To allow sample surveys to be combined To manage respondent burden To remove clustering The Long Term Strategy for Population Surveys in Scotland

Dissemination Review and co-ordinate processes Develop a dissemination strategy for pooled samples The Long Term Strategy for Population Surveys in Scotland

The Scottish Household Survey Possibly become a modular omnibus vehicle for SG data collection Possibly provide all LAs with data annually The Long Term Strategy for Population Surveys in Scotland

Consultation is open until 30 th April. Please send your thoughts and comments to: Alex Stannard 3WR St Andrews House Edinburgh EH1 3DG The Long Term Strategy for Population Surveys in Scotland

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