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: [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
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/
UKDA/ESDS
+44 (0)1206 872143www.esds.ac.uk/longitudinal/