Accessing the NCDS and the BCS70 via the

Economic and Social Data Service

Jack Kneeshaw and Alasdair CrockettNCDS/BCS workshop 29 October 2003

ESDS Longitudinal

Economic and Social Data Service

• new national data archiving and dissemination service, running from 1 Jan. 2003 – 2008

• 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

Partners

• UK Data Archive, Essex

• MIMAS, Manchester

• Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research (CCSR), Manchester

• Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), Essex

Specialist data services

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

Greater emphasis on:―value-added data and documentation―enhanced resource discovery―improved delivery services―service specific help―online support materials―training programme―outreach and promotion

ESDS Management: UK Data Archive

Broad strategic role, concerned with the supply, funding, and use of social science data.

• a central 'first stop' help desk service • a coherent and flexible collections development

policy

• a central registration service operating across the ESDS

• a universal portal

ESDS Access and Preservation: UK Data Archive

Focuses on the central activities of data acquisition, processing, preservation and dissemination. The key services are:

• a collections strategy • ingest activities

• metadata creation

• a data dissemination service

• flexible long-term preservation

About ESDS Longitudinal

ESDS LongitudinalJoint enterprise:

• UK Data Archive (UKDA)• UK Longitudinal Studies Centre (ULSC) - Institute for Social and Economic Research

(ISER), University of Essex)

Supports a range of longitudinal data collections but four ‘core’ collections in particular:

• British Cohort Study (BCS70) • British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) • Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) • National Child Development Study (NCDS)

ESDS Longitudinal

In addition to core studies ESDS Longitudinal will also:

• Aim to identify other longitudinal datasets for inclusion, e.g. English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) and the 1946 Birth Cohort (NSHD)

• Via the UK Data Archive, continue to make available other longitudinal studies such as the LFS (2 and 5 quarter), YCS, HALS and BEPS

ESDS Longitudinal

The service already provides:

• a helpdesk service operated by – Email: longitudinal@esds.ac.uk – Telephone: +44 (0)1206-872143– Jiscmail discussion list: esds-longitudinal@jiscmail.ac.uk

• web-based Frequently Asked Questions

• web-based downloadable data files

• online data in NESSTAR to facilitate the browsing of longitudinal datasets (inc. the NCDS and BCS70)

• a series of meetings and workshops for both novice and more advanced users

ULSC/ESDS Longitudinal

For the future – ULSC’s ‘Cohorts Enhancement Project’:

• online facilities will include a searchable directory of researchers' interests and a catalogue providing details of other longitudinal data collections

• the provision of harmonised data standards across all NCDS/BCS70 waves or sweeps a

• improved information on weighting, missing data, statistical adjustments and additional derived variables

• the development of an online system for visualisation of documentation, sub-setting and data matching

• the use of confidential, geo-coded data under secure access conditions (BHPS)

Centre for Longitudinal Studies

• Working with ULSC to provide improved user access to all the cohort materials

• Provides access to non-archived data

• Advice and guidance

• Documentation/Working papers/Data Notes

• Information on uses of the data/publications/other developments

http://www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/

The data themselves - NCDS

Survey Form

Perinatal Mortality Survey, 1958 |NCDS First Follow-up, 1965 | 3 longitudinalNCDS Second Follow-up, 1969 | datasetsNCDS Third Follow-up, 1974 |

NCDS Exam Results Survey, 1978 Single dataset

NCDS Fourth Follow-up, 1981 8 datasets

NCDS Fifth Follow-up, 1991 17 datasets

NCDS Sixth Follow-up, 2000 Single dataset (with BCS70

2000)

The data themselves – BCS70

Survey Form

British Births Survey, 1970 Single dataset

BCS70 First Follow‑up, 1975 Single dataset

BCS70 Second Follow‑up, 1980 Single dataset

BCS70 Third Follow‑up, 1986 2 datasets

BCS70 Fourth Follow‑up, 1996 Single dataset

BCS70 Fifth Follow-up, 2000 Single dataset(with NCDS6)

Documentation

A variety of NCDS/BCS70 documentation is available, including:

• Guides to datasets• Lists of publications• Annotated questionnaires• Interactive data dictionaries• ‘Data Notes’ series• Other survey-related doc, inc. Working Papers etc.

Available both from CLS and UKDA web sites

Retrieval and Access

• Web access, via UKDA site, to data and metadata

• Documentation (codebooks, questionnaires) freely available to any UKDA user (registered or unregistered)

• Data can be browsed and frequencies run by any user (registered or unregistered) using NESSTAR

• Full datasets are freely available for download for the majority of our registered users

• Data supplied in a variety of formats– SPSS – STATA– Tab-delimited text

Online access for unregistered users

• UKDA web pages - easy to navigate format– ‘Search catalogue’ facility– Subject browsing - eg major series – HASSET thesaurus– Access to online doc - pdf user guides and

questionnaires

• NESSTAR– Browse data and metadata for a selection

of data, inc. NCDS and BCS70 – Run frequencies

Online access for registered users

Registered users can:

• Download full datasets

• Order data via online order system

• Browse/analyse/download data in NESSTAR

To register:

• Complete online form. Sign and return data access agreement (legal undertaking)

• (To access data) register a project

NESSTAR

NESSTAR provides quick and easy access to data and information about that data via a standard web browser.

Anyone can: • search for and list datasets • browse dataset documentation (including codebook and

frequencies)

Non-commercial users registered with UKDA accounts can: • browse and analyse data • visualise data (for example, produce graphs and pie

charts)• download data (including subsets) in a number of

formats (including SPSS, SAS and STATA) • bookmark searches and analyses

NESSTAR DEMO

Data not held at the UKDA

• Some additional data, derived from further minor data collections, data cleaning etc., only available via CLS at present

• These data are added to the UKDA collection from time to time

• Data from the ULSC’s ‘Cohorts Enhancement Project’ to be made available as project progresses

ESDS Longitudinal Help

CLS

+44 (0)20 7 612 6860www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/

cohort@cls.ioe.ac.uk

UKDA/ESDS

+44 (0)1206 872143www.esds.ac.uk/longitudinal/

www.data-archive.ac.ukhelp@esds.ac.uk