An Introduction to the UK Data Archive and the

Economic and Social Data Service

November 2007Jack Kneeshaw, UKDA

UKDA overview

• the UK Data Archive (UKDA) preserves and supplies social science data

• the Archive manages a national data archiving and dissemination service – Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS)

• ESDS provides access and specialist support for key economic and social data resources

Types of collections

• Data for research and teaching purposes and used in all sectors and for many different disciplines

• surveys

• censuses

• registers

• aggregate statistics

• text (digital) and images

Sources of data

• official agencies - mainly central government

• international statistical time series

• individual academics - research grants

• market research agencies

• public records/historical sources

• access to international data via links with other data archives worldwide

Collection held at UKDA

• 5,000+ 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)

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DATA SERVICE (ESDS)

Specialist data services

• ESDS Government• ESDS International• ESDS Longitudinal • ESDS Qualidata

provide: dedicated web sites data and documentation enhancements user support training

ESDS GOVERNMENT

Large-scale government data

• General Household Survey• Labour Force Survey• Health Survey for England/Wales/Scotland • Expenditure and Food Survey• British Crime Survey• Family Resources Survey • ONS Omnibus Survey • Survey of English Housing • British Social Attitudes• National Travel Survey• Time Use Survey

Benefits of the large-scale government data

• Good quality data– produced by experienced research organisations– usually nationally representative with large

samples– good response rates– very well documented

• Continuous data– allows comparison over time– data is largely cross-sectional

• Hierarchical data– intra-household differences– household effects on individuals

ESDS LONGITUDINAL

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 manage and analyse

British Household Panel Survey

• collected and deposited by ISER, here at Essex

• follows the members of 5500 households first sampled in 1991 - interviews conducted annually

• panel survey, repeated questions allows change to be tracked

• coverage includes:– income, labour market behaviour, social and

political values, health, education, housing and household organisation

British Birth Cohort Studies

• impact of childhood conditions on later life and understanding children and families in the UK – lifecourse study

• National Child Development Study follows a cohort born in a single week in 1958

• 1970 British Cohort Study follows a cohort born in a single week in 1970

• Millennium Cohort Study focuses on children born in 2000/2001

ESDS INTERNATIONAL

International data

• 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:

• International Monetary Fund • OECD • United Nations• World Bank • Eurostat• International Labour Organisation• UK Office for National Statistics

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

International micro data

• Eurobarometers• International Social Survey Programme• other social data via other national data

archives

ESDS International at the UK Data Archive (UKDA) can help users to locate and acquire data from other archives within Europe and worldwide, using a series of reciprocal agreements with the individual institutions. Datasets include:

POTENTIAL USES

Secondary analysis potential

• descriptive / background population information

• comparative research, re-study or

follow-up study

• secondary analysis

• verification

• research design and methodology

Access

• web access to data and metadata

• data are freely available for use in higher education institutions

• data supplied in a variety of formats– statistical package formats (e.g. spss,

stata) – databases and spreadsheets– word processed documents– pdf documents

DEMO –

Finding/accessing dataOnline analysisUser support