Understanding Society Research Conference: Call for Papers

24-26 July 2013
University of Essex, Colchester, UK

The Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) will be hosting the 2013 Understanding Society Research Conference from Wednesday 24 July to Friday 26 July 2013 at the University of Essex.

This conference provides an international forum for the exchange of research based on longitudinal data. An important aim of the conference is to bring together people from different disciplines. Papers may be based on any aspect of economics, sociology, politics, social psychology, or research and survey methods.

There is no conference fee. Contributions towards travel and accommodation costs will be available (only for those presenting papers, one contribution per paper presented). 300 word abstracts of papers for presentation at the Conference should be submitted by 15 March 2013.

ISER are not only keen to receive papers using Understanding Society and the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), but also the European Household Panel (ECHP), the European Union Statistics of Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) and from other UK and non-UK longitudinal studies, as well as comparative papers using the major national panel surveys and the Cross National Equivalent File.

Submit an abstract
Download a poster

Biomarkers in Understanding Society: policy potential

Thursday November 8th 2012, 2 – 5pm at the British Academy, London (tea/coffee available from 1.30pm).

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/festival/festival-events/professionals-2012/biomarkers.aspx

This half-day event is aimed at policymakers to broaden their understanding of how biomarker data collected as part of the Understanding Society study could potentially inform policy research. The event will take the form of a seminar with speakers with specialist knowledge of the potential value of bio-markers, for example, in the field of epigenetics and public health. Speakers include Heather Laurie, Amanda Sacker, James Nazroo, Dieter Wolke and John Hobcraft.

The biomarker data combined with the social and environmental data contained in the study have significant applications for public health policy and this event aims to bring the potential of the data to the attention of policy makers across a range of government departments as well as within the third sector. This is an innovative and exciting area of research and the event aims to provide data users information about the data that will be available and the opportunity to discuss potential uses of the data to address policy concerns. This event will be of interest to policy makers, academic and policy researchers and PhD students.There is no need to register.

Directions to the British Academy can be found here (http://www.britac.ac.uk/contact/visit_us.cfm)

BHPS user support

Support for users of the British Household Panel Study can now be found at http://data.understandingsociety.org.uk/documentation/support

Data Training Workshops supporting the Secondary Data Analysis Initiative

Introduction to the Millennium Cohort Study
7 December 2011, London
Full day, hands-on Booking open

Data, policy and practice: the potential of secondary data analysis
11 January 2012, Belfast
Half day Booking open

Introduction to the cohort studies theme, TBA
Date TBA, London or Scotland
Full day

Understanding Wales: Opportunities for Secondary Data Analysis
16 January 2012, Cardiff Booking open

Growing up In Scotland(GUS) Data workshop
17 January 2012, Stirling
Full day, hands-on Booking open

Introduction to Understanding Society
24 January 2012, London
Half day Bookings closed - may reopen if spaces become available

Webinar: Introducing ESDS data
TBC January 2012
Webinar, One hour

Introducing the European Social Survey and the International Social Survey Programme: Key resources for comparative research
TBA February 2012, London
Full day

Introduction to business microdata: Using the Secure Data Service
21 February 2012, Colchester
Half day Booking open

Introduction to business microdata: Using the Secure Data Service
28 February 2012, Scotland
Half day

Secondary analysis of qualitative data: Opportunities
TBA February or March 2012, Leeds or London
Half day

National Child Development Study (NCDS): Using mixed methods data
6 March 2012, London
Half day

Introducing the International Time Series databanks
14 March 2012, Manchester
Half day Booking open

Introduction to ESDS - opportunities for researching the labour market
21 March 2012, Sheffield
Full day Booking open

Introducing ESDS data: Researching Housing and the Local Environment
26 March 2012, London
Full day

Understanding Society: Introductory Workshop

Date: 24 January 2012
Location: HEFCE offices, CentrePoint, London

This half-day workshop is designed for researchers who want to maximise the research value of the new Understanding Society dataset, also known as the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS).

The event, jointly organised by the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) and the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS), includes presentations on:

• the value of household longitudinal studies
• the design and collection of the Understanding Society survey
• how to access the data

A particular focus will be on the study's four samples, including the British Household Panel Study and the Ethnic Minority Boost sample, plus the study's richness of data on family and social ties, work, financial resources, and health. Participants will also learn how to use the online resources available to users.

This is one of a series of events being run in support of the ESRC's Secondary Data Analysis Initiative. The course is free to attend but booking is essential.

For further details and to book a place please visit: http://www.esds.ac.uk/longitudinal/news/eventdetail.asp?id=3051

Introduction to Understanding Society – the UK Household Longitudinal Study

Date & time: November 29, 2011 13:00
Venue: Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER), University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK.

To register to attend this lunchtime seminar, or for more details, please email Victoria Nolan vlnolan@essex.ac.uk. The seminar will be held in the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) seminar room (on the ground floor) – it is free of charge and a buffet lunch will be available from 13:00.

This lunchtime seminar will provide an essential overview of the Understanding Society survey and its content, data access, data structure and documentation. It will be of interest to anyone who is planning to access and use the new Understanding Society data for their research.

This seminar provides a fantastic opportunity to get to know the survey and the possibilities for research based on the Understanding Society data. It will be presented by Gundi Knies, a Senior Research Officer at ISER who has been closely involved with the Understanding Society project from the outset. This seminar is an opportunity not to be missed, to be one of the first to gain a detailed picture of the enormous research potential of this new dataset.

Understanding Society now includes the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) sample, thus extending the analysis and research possibilities. Understanding Society greatly improves the range of longitudinal analyses that can be carried out given its larger sample size and its in-built design features such as data linkages and inclusion of an ethnic minority boost sample. For researchers using the BHPS, there is an Introduction to BHPS using Stata course being held at the University of Essex on 28th and 29th November.

ESDS International Seventh Annual Conference 2011 - Understanding the world: evidence and impact

***CALL FOR PRESENTERS***

Date: Monday 28 November 2011
Venue: Institute of Materials, London.

The theme of the 7th ESDS International Annual conference is 'Understanding the world: evidence and impact' and we are now looking for UK academics who have used ESDS International data to present their research. We would welcome submissions on the key issues and topics, set out in the Economic and Social Research Councils (ESRC's) strategic priorities (see

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/key-issues-and-topics.aspx):

• Economic Performance and Sustainable Growth
• Influencing Behaviour and Informing Interventions
• Vibrant and Fair Society

Last years submissions included research on ‘Job insecurity and the local economic climate across Europe’, ‘World Electricity Cooperation' and ‘The Dynamic of Institutions and Economic Growth: The Asian Experience'.

Other speakers at the conference will include representatives from Inter Governmental Organisations such as the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the International Energy Agency and other publishers of international data. See our Annual Conference page at http://www.esds.ac.uk/international/news/conf.asp for links to previous conference programmes, reports and proceedings.

There is no need to write a paper specifically for the conference but any papers submitted will be published on the ESDS International website as conference proceedings. If you are interested, please send a title and brief abstract (max 200 words) to ESDS International at international@esds.ac.uk by the 31st August 2011.

Reasonable UK travel costs (i.e. standard class rail travel) for academic speakers will be reimbursed but we are unable to cover accommodation costs.

As a specialist data service of the ESRC/JISC funded Economic and Social Data Service, ESDS International provides the UK academic community with free access to the high quality socio-economic data sets produced by inter-governmental organisations such as the International Monetary Fund, the International Energy Agency, the United Nations and the World Bank. We also help users to locate and acquire international micro-level datasets, such as Eurobarometer, ISSP and the World Values Surveys.

For further information on the conference please contact the ESDS International Helpdesk at international@esds.ac.uk, tel: +44 (0)161 275 6109.

New Additions to RLAB data Library

The British Household Panel Survey waves 1-18 has been added to the library.
The data for Understanding Society, Wave 1, Year 1, 2009 are now available in the library.

To access these data RLAB members should set up an 'end user license' with ESDS and contact the RLAB data manager for access.

For researchers who are not members of RLAB, these data are available for free for non-commercial research following registration with the Economic and Social Data Service.

ESDS     http://www.esds.ac.uk/
BHPS     http://www.esds.ac.uk/longitudinal/access/bhps/L33196.asp
USOC    http://www.esds.ac.uk/longitudinal/access/usoc/L33423.asp

First Understanding Sociey Conference Announced

The Institute for Socio Economic Research have announced the first Understanding Society/BHPS conference.

Date: Thursday June 30th- Friday July 1st
Venue: University of Essex

The conference will showcase early findings from Understanding Society, and other longitudinal studies such as the well-established British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), now part of Understanding Society.


For more information and to register, please go to http://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/understanding-society-bhps-conference-2011/

UN World Contraceptive Use 2010

The United Nations Population Division  has announced the release of  "World Contraceptive Use 2010".

This set of tables in Excel format includes country data as of December 2010 on contraceptive prevalence for 193 countries or areas of the world, and unmet need for family planning for 107 countries or areas of the world. Detailed trend data on contraceptive prevalence (total and by type of method) are available from 1950 to 2010. Data also highlight patterns in use of long-acting and permanent methods and male methods of contraception. Unmet need for family planning data (total, spacing and limiting) are available from 1986 to 2009. Regional and sub-regional time trends in contraceptive prevalence and unmet need for family planning are also presented.

"World Contraceptive Use 2010" can be downloaded free of charge from the Population Division website, http://www.unpopulation.org/

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