Data
Understanding Society is the new UK Household Longitudinal Study. The study is the world’s largest household panel survey, following a sample of around 40,000 households and has been in the field since January 2009.
Data from the survey can now be accessed via the Economic and Social Data Service .
The study both replaces and incorporates the popular British Household Panel Survey, which contains 18 Waves of valuable and well-used data.
There is also an Innovation Panel, a sub-sample of the main study which is being used for methodological experiments and research, greater detail on ethnic minority groups and proposed qualitative and biomedical data collections.
Data from Waves 1 and 2 of the Innovation Panel are now available from the Economic and Social Data Service
Understanding Society is a world leading study of the socio-economic circumstances and attitudes of 100,000 individuals in 40,000 British households.
It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and run by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER). The study allows for deeper analysis of a wide range of sections of the population as they respond to regional, national and international change. Understanding Society will greatly enhance our insight into the pathways that influence peoples longer term occupational trajectories; their health and well-being, their financial circumstances and personal relationships.
Understanding Society also breaks new ground with its interdisciplinary focus. The study will capture biomedical data on 20,000 participants and place this alongside rich social histories, helping us weigh the extent to which people's environment influences their health.