IHS: Requirements for Secondary Analysts

Jo WathanESDS Government

University of Manchester

Highlighting...

• The research potential of the IHS• Potential methodological issues• Access issues• Information requirements• But first clarify who we are and our role...

Economic and Social Data Service

• ESRC funded structure within data are distributed and supported, major partner is UKDA

• Has a specialist service dealing with large scale government surveys– Provide link between users and depositors– User meetings– Training workshops, basic and more advanced – Topic and method guides– Newsletters and email list

• Supports users of the affected datasets GHS, EFS, LFS...

• Anticipate supporting IHS

e.g. supporting users of GHS

Regularly updated webpage with news

Data download via UKDA

New documentationto get you started or

help with your analysis

Search tools to find a variableOr registered research use

We also...

• Provide a user helpdesk• So please let us know if we can help!

– govsurveys@esds.ac.uk– (0161)275 1980– http://www.esds.ac.uk

The research potential of the IHS

• Our interest is primarily in output-side• Recognise still being developed

• Previous meetings (2006/07) showed considerable interest in the benefit of the new IHS design:– Potential for novel combination of

modules– Unclustered sample– Large core sample

Large core• Very large sample size for core subjects• Good for looking at:

– Sub GOR geography– Minority groups, such as ethnic minorities

• As long as content is available in the core this may be the biggest contribution of the IHS to research– More timely than Census samples– More flexible than Census samples

• Usefulness hangs on – Availability – Core topics– Methodological consistency across the core

Methodological issues in creating a compatible sample

• Panel surveys and cross-sectional surveys– Samples not wholly independent is this a

problem?– Will we be able to eradicate replication if

combining samples to increase n?

• Very different survey designs– How do we combine these to get a

representative sample?– Will approaches used to provide an overall

population estimate also work when we work with sub-populations?

Potential methodological issues

Potential methodological issues that may affect usability include:

• The placing of modules within interview types and...

• The ability to combine modules to increase sample size & create core

• Continuity for users of fore-runner series e.g. GHS

Access issues

• Will it be possible to link between core and component survey modules?

• Users prefer EUL access through UKDA where possible

• Special license might be appropriate way of making sub-GOR detail available

Continuity for pre-existing surveys:

• Will any changes be made to the pre-existing surveys in order to facilitate their incorporation?

• If so:– Will any work to be done to quantify the impact

of the change?– Will users be informed of all changes?– If new DVs are created will the old ones still be

provided for users interested

What information do secondary researchers need?

• Information about the extent to which continuity is achieved

• Methodological information about each survey interview type and its consistency with other interview types

• Updates about data availability and format (researchers need to plan research a year or so in advance)

• Clear documentation about all changes – risk of confusion

Challenges for the research community

• What research can we do to optimise the potential of the data– Methodological work e.g. looking at aspects of

design– Novel substantive approaches e.g. linking

different topics

• How can we best communicate with ONS, to help inform the development process?– ESDS is happy to help with consultation and/or

further meetings!