Accessing the NCDS and BCS70 via the
Economic and Social Data Service
Jack KneeshawNCDS/BCS70 workshop 31 March 2004
ESDS Longitudinal
Economic and Social Data Service
• new national data archiving and dissemination service
• 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
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
Partners
• UK Data Archive, University of Essex
• Manchester Information and Associated Services (MIMAS), University of Manchester
• Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research (CCSR), University of Manchester
• Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), University of Essex
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
About ESDS Longitudinal
ESDS LongitudinalJoint enterprise:
• UK Data Archive (UKDA)• UK Longitudinal Studies Centre (ULSC)
based at ISER
• supports a range of longitudinal data collections but four ‘core’ collections in particular:
• 1970 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 UKDA, 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: [email protected] – telephone: +44 (0)1206 872143– JISCmail discussion list: [email protected]
• 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
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
www.cls.ioe.ac.uk
Data Deposit, Processing, Retrieval and Access
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)
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
Ensuring confidentiality
• Cohort members promised confidentiality
• datasets deposited with UKDA are fully anonymised
• datasets go through further process of checking at the UKDA
• UKDA users undertake not to identify individuals
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 - e.g. 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
Unregistered users demo
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
Registered users demo
Nesstar
Nesstar provides quick and easy access to data andinformation 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
ESDS Longitudinal Help
CLS
+44 (0)207 612 6860www.cls.ioe.ac.uk
ESDS/UKDA
+44 (0)1206 872143www.esds.ac.uk/longitudinal