The Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS) Louise Corti Economic and Social Data Service UK Data...

The Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS)

Louise Corti

Economic and Social Data ServiceUK Data Archive

Maidstone NHS18 October 2007

What is the ESDS?

• national data archiving and dissemination service running from 1 Jan. 2003 – 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 for 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 and beyond

ESDS overview

• core archiving service (UKDA) plus four specialist data services

• ESDS Government (CCSR/UKDA)• ESDS International (MIMAS/UKDA)• ESDS Longitudinal (ISER/UKDA)• ESDS Qualidata (UKDA)

• provide: value-added data and documentation service-specific web pages and help support and training teaching datasets/online samplers discussion lists/newsletters publicity and promotion

UKDA’s role

• overall integration and management of ESDS

• acquiring, processing, preserving and disseminating data

• central registration service operating across the ESDS

• central 'first stop' help desk service • cataloguing and describing data• maintaining and developing web sites• publicity and training• user support

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

• 5,000+ datasets in the collection

• 250+ new datasets are added each year

• 60,000+ datasets distributed worldwide per

year

• History data service in-house

• Census Services (Census Portal)

• specialist units for supporting qualitative and

longitudinal data in-house

Finding data

• Catalogue of holdings

• Describes study, methods and data collection

• Records all study related publications

• Lists variables for SPSS datasets

• Can download user guide free

Access to data

• registration using Athens including agreement to an End User Licence, fine-grained access control

• download service (SPSS, STATA, ASCII, RTF etc)

• request data on CD

• online data analysis, including

– Simple data analysis, visualisation, downloading and subsetting via Nesstar

– ESDS Qualidata online – interview transcripts– ESDS Government Vital Statistics online– International macro data via Beyond 20/20 and

visualisation interface– Census data

Access to data

• End User Licence

– data can only be used by registered users (some exceptions relating to teaching)

– to preserve the confidentiality of, and not attempt to identify, individuals, households or organisations in the data

– to use the correct methods of citation and acknowledgement in publications

– to supply the bibliographic details of any published work based on the data collections

– to offer for deposit any new data collections which have been derived from the materials supplied

ESDS Government data

• 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 People’s

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

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

ESDS Longitudinal Data

• 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)

– English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)– Longitudinal Study of Young People in England

(LSYPE) – 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

• 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 1958 - data collected at birth & ages 7, 11, 16, 23, 33, 42

• 1970 British Cohort Study follows a cohort born in a single week in 1970 - data collected around birth & ages 5, 10, 16, 26, 29 and most recently at age 34

• Millennium Cohort Study focuses on children born in 2000/ 2001 - first sweep at 9 months, second sweep at 3 years

• wide range of social, economic, health, medical and psychological issues

ESDS 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

• access to micro data surveys• Eurobarometers, Latinobarometers• International Social Survey Programme• other social data via other national data

archives

access for UK HE/FE only

International data themes

• 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

Databanks cover:

ESDS Qualidata

• access and support for a range of qualitative datasets, hosted by the UK Data Archive

• 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

• multimedia: audio, video, photos and text (most common is interview transcriptions)

• formats: digital, paper, analogue audio-visual

• data structures - differ across different ‘document types’

Classic sociology datasets

• Peter Townsend – Poverty, old ageand Katherine Buildings

• Paul Thompson – oral history and Edwardians

• Mildred Blaxter’s ‘Mothers and Daughters’

• Ray Pahl –Hertfordshire Villages studies

• National Social Policy and Social Change Archive

Help for users

• help desk and web site• dedicated survey pages• JISCmail list• regularly updated web-based FAQs • programme of training courses and publicity events• news bulletins and articles • resources (links to other sites)• teaching datasets and/or exemplars• enhanced documentation e.g.

dataset and software guides statistical guides (SPSS, Stata, weighting) Variables consistent over time on specific surveys

(ESDS Government) Thematic guides

Each specialist service provides:

The Census Registration Service

• the Census Registration Service provides one-stop registration and support for access to:

– Census Dissemination Unit from MIMAS – aggregate tables/Casweb

– Census Geography Data Unit (UKBORDERS) from EDINA – boundaries data

– Census Interaction Data Service (Universities of Leeds and St Andrews) - flow data

– Samples of Anonymised Records from CCSR – micro data

– CHCC - Historical Census Collection from AHDS History

History Data Service

• History Data Service 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 (1881 100% sample; 1851 2% 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 1600-1900) • agricultural statistics (prices, output) • surveys of Scottish witchcraft• state finance data• economic indicators/industrial production data

Secondary analysis potential

• descriptive material

• comparative research, restudy or follow-up

study

• re-analysis/secondary analysis

• research design and methodological

advancement

• replication of published statistics

• teaching and learning

Using ESDS data for teaching

• tutor registers with ESDS and downloads data

• registers a usage (for micro data)

• tutor makes data available to students (if online only via secure network)

• tutor asks students to register or sign access agreement for teaching (not always necessary, but to be encouraged)

ContactContact

www.esds.ac.uk

help@esds.ac.uk

ESDS FAQ: www.esds.ac.uk/about/faq.asp