Call for papers - Living Costs and Food Survey user meeting

ESDS Government is organising it's first LCF user meeting for Tuesday 20 March 2012 at the Royal Statistical Society, London. The programme will contain a mixture of papers from data producers and researchers. We invite offers of presentations based on analysis of the Living Costs and Food Survey and the former Expenditure and Food Survey. Presenters will have 20 minutes for their talk followed by 10 minutes for questions.

Details of previous user meetings can be found at http://www.ccsr.ac.uk/esds/events/types/user/

Please send your title and abstract, of around 200 words, to gillian.meadows@manchester.ac.uk as soon as possible but by 9 December at the latest.

The School Workforce Census – Opportunities for Analysis

Tuesday, 27 September 2011, 5pm, at the Royal Statistical Society


The first full collection of the School Workforce Census (SWF) took place in November 2010; the Department for Education subsequently published data from this new source in April 2011. The SWF has been designed to be a single, annual exercise that collects detailed individual level information on school workforce members. Schools and local authorities extract the data from their own management information systems and share this with the Department. This new census has been designed to replace several existing collections and has resulted in more complete data of higher quality on the school workforce.

Officials from the DfE will discuss the issues and challenges involved in moving to this single data collection. Discussion will then turn to analyses undertaken on the SWF census for policy development and the scope for the wider research and statistical community to use this data. In particular, we will present a discussion of the way the new data complement established sources such as Vactrack to answer questions on how many teachers should be trained and how much should be spent on programmes such as the National Professional Qualification for Headship.

Tanya McCormack (Department for Education)
Louise Skelton (Department for Education)
John Howson (DataforEducation.info)

Attendance is free but pre-registration is encouraged. Meeting contact: Charles Lound (charles.lound@ons.gov.uk). For a map and directions see www.rss.org.uk/findus. We expect the meeting will finish by 6:30pm.

Ethnic Minorities Biritish Election Study - a Research Workshop

Date: 19th September 2011
Venue: Institute for Social Change, University of Manchester

This ESRC sponsored research workshop is designed as an introduction to the new major dataset on political attitudes, behaviour and integration of ethnic minorities in Britain: Ethnic Minorities British Election Study 2010. This major new survey has been conducted following the last general election in May 2010 and was in the field simultaneously with the main British Election Study, with which it shares a core common questionnaire. As such, it is the largest and the only up to date source of comparison of political attitudes of British ethnic minorities with the white majority.

The workshop is designed specially to encourage and enable graduate students to use this data in their research. It is open to anyone with a research interest in ethnicity, the integration of ethnic minorities and the political attitudes of British Muslims, although graduate students will have priority if space is limited. The workshop will introduce the data, provide expert advice on the best ways to use and analyse it, and there will be an opportunity for the students to obtain expert feedback on their own research projects.

The event is free to attend and a small number of bursaries will be available to graduate students to cover travel costs to Manchester. This will be on a first come-first served basis.

Programme includes:

Introduction to EMBES - Prof Anthony Heath
How to analyse EMBES - Dr Stephen Fisher
Questions EMBES has already helped to answer - Dr Maria Sobolewska

Please e-mail Alexandra.mandich@manchester.ac.uk to register your attendance and get further details of the workshop. Please write on that e-mail, your Dept/ Course/ Year/ Dissertation Topic, and any diet restrictions. Alternatively please provide details of your organisation or company, and your interest in this subject area.

Migration Data: Information and Resources

The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford has developed a webpage providing 'user-friendly access to analysis of data on migrants and migration issues.

The site includes ready made charts and maps on migration in the UK, and (possibly of more interest to RLAB staff) a description of key data sources and their limitations.

http://www.migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/data-and-resources

Government consultation on reducing 'Red Tape' ie. regulation

The government is undertaking a consultation aimed at reducing ‘red tape’. The consultation asks ‘which regulations are working and which are not; what should be scrapped, what should be saved and what should be simplified’.

Areas under consultation include Pensions, Employment, Equality, as well as Environment, Health and Safety and industry specific regulations.

Questions include:
Should the Equality Act 2010 be scrapped altogether?

Should the 50 regulations that relate to pension protection be merged with existing regulations?

How can employment laws be improved?

For more information and to leave your comments please see the RED TAPE CHALLENGE website http://www.redtapechallenge.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/home/index/ or search for ‘red tape challenge’

Longitudinal studies: lessons for research and policy

Date: 10 May 2011, 10.00-16.45
Location: British Library Conference Centre

Information and booking form: http://www.esds.ac.uk/news/eventdetail.asp?id=2770

The day will focus on longitudinal data sources. This event is organised in conjunction with the UK Data Archive and Longview, and will give you an opportunity to hear talks about major studies, research projects, and their application to policy.

This event will give you an overview of the issues involved in analysing and using data from large-scale studies which track populations over time. The day will focus on how findings from longitudinal studies can contribute to policy development, with contributions from research and policy perspectives. The event will include talks about longitudinal studies from England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The introduction will be given by Jude England, Head of Social Sciences at the British Library. The keynote speaker will be John Hobcraft, Professor of Demography and Social Policy at the University of York. There will be a panel session chaired by John Pullinger of the House of Commons Library. Speakers to include Professor Diana Kuh and Dr Rebecca Hardy, MRC National Survey of Health and Development; Nick Buck, PI of Understanding Society; Dr Dermot O'Reilly, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast; Gemma Tetlow, the Institute for Fiscal Studies; and Dr Chris Dibben, Director of the Longitudinal Studies Centre - Scotland.

Workplace Employment Relations Study 6 Instruments on-line

NIESR [ http://www.niesr.ac.uk/ ] has just announced that details of the design and content of the sixth Workplace Employment Relations Study (WERS6), including copies of all five WERS6 instruments, are now available from the website of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills:

http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/employment-matters/research/wers/wers2011

Fieldwork for WERS6 is now underway and is expected to be completed by Autumn 2011.

For more information on previous waves and data availability please see http://www.wers2004.info/

Debate on the validity of subjective measures of well-being

Are national statistics on subjective well-being valid and reliable?

Monday 4 April 2011, 5.00 - 6.30pm with drinks reception to follow 6.30-7.30pm

Venue: Alexander Theatre, Samuel Alexander Building, University of Manchester, Lime Grove (off Oxford Road), Manchester, M13 9PL (Building number 67 on the campus map)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and methods@manchester are holding a debate on “Are national statistics on subjective well-being valid and reliable?” at the University of Manchester. This supports the national debate on measuring national well-being.

The panel members will be asked questions from the chair and members of the audience. Please register in advance of the event and submit your questions on the registration form. Background material on the issues of well-being and related documents can be found on the ONS website.

Chair: Mark Easton

Panel members include:  
Richard Wilkinson (author of The Spirit Level)
Andrew Oswald (member of the advisory committee on well-being to the ONS)
Stephen Hicks (Assistant Deputy Director of Measuring National Well-being, ONS)
David Hulme (Executive Director of the Brooks World Poverty Institute)

This event is free and open to all, however registration is important as places are limited. Please book a place at www.methods.manchester.ac.uk/events/2011-04-04/

Census Resources for Research

On 12 April 2011, 10.00-4.30
British Library

The event will be an introduction to using census data for UK researchers. Organised in conjunction with the ESRC Census Programme and the UK Data Archive, it will feature presentations on interaction data, samples of anonymised records, aggregate data, boundary data and the ONS Longitudinal Study.

Although the event is open to all, those who are planning to carry out academic research using census data will benefit most. It is not suitable for those interested in genealogy.

This event is free of charge. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.


To find out more and to book a place, please go to: http://www.esds.ac.uk/news/eventdetail.asp?id=2752

What Makes You Happy? Office for National Statistics: Consultation on National Well Being Survey

Tuesday 29th March, 2.00 - 4.00pm,
SRA, 24 – 32 Stephenson Way, London NW1 2HX

Booking by email to makiD@the-sra.org.uk

The purpose of this event is to gather together practicing social researchers to explore in some depth the methodological issues facing ONS

For more information http://www.the-sra.org.uk/events.htm

Introduction to the ESRC Secure Data Service

For people who missed these events the first time, two more introductions to the ESRC's new Secure Data Service have been scheduled for LSE.

Secure Data Service information event

Dates: 13 April 2011, 14.30-15.30 / 11th May 2011, 14.30-15.30

Place: CEP conference room LRB405, London School of Economics and Political Science

The Secure Data Service is an ESRC-funded service designed to allow approved researchers with safe and secure access, from any UK higher education or research institution, to confidential/sensitive data free of charge.

The Service currently provides access to detailed social and health data, including versions of the British Household Panel Survey and Understanding Society, with grid-references for each respondent.

We anticipate that the Service will also provide access to the business and economic microdata collections currently available only from the ONS Virtual Microdata Laboratory.

This information event is designed to inform you about the Service and the datasets that will be available to you.

To book a place at either event email  securedata@ukda.ac.uk or telephone: +44 (0)1206 874968.

13th April: http://securedata.ukda.ac.uk/news/eventdetail.asp?id=2803
11th May: http://securedata.ukda.ac.uk/news/eventdetail.asp?id=2804

Understanding Society/BHPS conference 2011 - submission deadline

The call for papers for the Understanding Society conference 2011 is now open. The deadline for abstracts is March 15th 2011. For more information see the website

http://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/understanding-society-bhps-conference-2011/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Understanding+Society++BHPS+Conference+2011+-+Deadline+for+abstracts&utm_content=Understanding+Society++BHPS+Conference+2011+-+Deadline+for+abstracts+CID_b09466c05dc0724060ed0b92a939a1aa&utm_source=Email+marketing+software&utm_term=Conference+website

Home Office Consultation on Immigration Statistics Publications

Comments on the proposals, summarised below, are sought from users of the following publications produced by Home Office Statistics:

• Control of Immigration: United Kingdom Statistics (annual publication)
• Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary
• British Citizenship Statistics (annual publication)

The consultation ends on 4 May 2011 and a summary update is planned to be included in Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary Q1 2011 at the end of May.

Home Office Statistics are proposing a phased development of changes that would ultimately lead to the release of data using the web as the main vehicle of dissemination.

It is proposed that in a phased development between August 2011 and February 2012:

i) commentary and analysis of the data should be structured in virtual topics, be shorter and focus on key points, but provide longer term trends;

ii) the annual and quarterly Control of Immigration publications, together with the British Citizenship Statistics, are combined to avoid duplication;

iii) tables are presented in such a way that makes them more accessible to users, in particular listing within tables all annual data, followed by quarterly data (a draft example of this layout is available in Table 1.2 of Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary Q4 2010); and a standard and full country of nationality and continent list;

iv) the number of tables released is reduced through a combination of amalgamation and a reduction in the variables reported on; and

v) all data (except passenger arrivals) are provided unrounded.

The latest publications and a copy of the consultation, containing further details and the consultation questions, are available from http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

Please send your responses to MigrationStatsEnquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

On-line Tool for Data Management Plans

The Digital Curation Centre has released a trial version of a new tool to assist users in developing data management plans http://dmponline.hatii.arts.gla.ac.uk/ 

Funding bodies increasingly require their grant-holders to produce and maintain Data Management Plans (DMPs), both at the bid-preparation stage and after funding has been secured.


DMP Online is designed to enable researchers to build and edit DMPs with a view to the requirements stipulated by the major UK funders.

If you are applying to one of the funders that make specific data-related demands at the application stage (i.e. AHRC, BBSRC, ESRC, MRC, Wellcome) you will see the funder's requirements in the left-hand column. These have been mapped to the appropriate clauses in the DCC Checklist for a Data Management Plan. By answering these questions, you should de facto meet the funder's requirements. The tool also presents options for developing DMPs for funding bodies that do not have specific data related demands.

For US researchers a prototype based on the DCC tool is in development http://www.cdlib.org/uc3/datamanagement/dmpo.html

Consultation on Crime Statistics

The National Statistician has launched a web based invitation to comment on how crime statistics should be compiled in future. Anyone with an interest in crime statistics is invited to feed in their views, which will help shape the recommendations from the independent review of crime statistics she is currently conducting.

The Home Secretary has invited the National Statistician to conduct an independent review of crime statistics with the aim of increasing public confidence in these statistics. The Home Secretary has decided that the publication of crime statistics should be moved out of the Home Office to promote greater trust and demonstrate their independence.

The review aims to:

- consider gaps, discrepancies and discontinuities within crime statistics;

- recommend the best future location for the publication of crime statistics, and their associated data collection systems;

- and, produce an action plan for the implementation of recommendations from the UK Statistics Authority’s report Overcoming Barriers to Trust in Crime Statistics: England and Wales published in May 2010.

The open 'invitation to comment' period closes at midnight on 10 March 2011.

The review is due to report at the end of April 2011. It is then intended to run a public consultation on the recommendations from the review. If you are interested in commenting on the review please follow this link

http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/national-statistician/ns-reports--reviews-and-guidance/national-statistician-s-reviews/national-statistician-s-review-of-crime-statistics.html

Introduction to the ESRC Secure Data Service

Date: 17th February
Time: 15.30-16.30
Location: CEP Conference Room, London School of Economics

The Secure Data Service is an ESRC-funded service designed to provide approved researchers with safe and secure access to confidential/sensitive data free of charge, from any UK higher education or research institution.

The Service currently provides access to detailed social and health data, including versions of the British Household Panel Survey and Understanding Society, with grid-references for each respondent.

It is anticipated that the Service will also provide access to the business and economic microdata collections currently available only from the ONS Virtual Microdata Laboratory.

This information event is designed to inform you about the Service and the datasets that will be available to you.

For queries, please contact the Secure Data Service at securedata@ukda.ac.uk

RSS Event: The Retail Prices Index and the Consumer Price Index

Tuesday 25th January 2011 5pm
Royal Statistical Society, London.
12 Errol Street, London, EC1Y 8LX


The Retail Prices Index is the traditional measure of retail price inflation, and has been widely used for a range of purposes. Recently the Government has been giving more prominence to an alternative measure, the Consumer Price Index. This meeting will discuss whether the CPI is a better inflation measure than the RPI for all or some purposes. The ONS is considering how to improve the CPI and in particular how to include housing costs, which are currently excluded.

Speakers
To include Pam Davies (ONS).
Chairperson
Michael Baxter, Official Statistics Section committee.

Tea and coffee will be provided during the meeting.

Attendance is free and open to all, but pre-registration is recommended. You can register by email: meetings@rss.org.uk or by phone (020) 7638 8998. For further information contact Michael Baxter (michael_a_baxter@hotmail.com

LSYPE Introductory Workshop

One-day introductory workshop on the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE).
Monday 13 December 2010: London

The workshop is designed both for researchers who are considering using data from LSYPE in their work and for those in government departments and the voluntary sector who are involved in commissioning research.

Issues to be covered will include: themes and content covered by the survey; survey design; accessing LSYPE via the ESDS; research findings using LSYPE, and i-LSYPE, a new online analysis tool.

Further details including booking form: http://www.esds.ac.uk/longitudinal/news/eventdetail.asp?id=2622