Wednesday, 25 July 2012

UK Census 2011 - second round of results released

The latest table layouts for the second release of 2011 Census tables have been added to the website. See the links below.

Key Statistics

Quick Statistics



2011 Census News and Events

Intergrated Household Survey Consultation

In light of the diminishing sample size of the Integrated Household Survey and subsequent loss of statistical precision for Sexual Identity estimates at the Local Authority level, ONS is asking for feedback from IHS data users on this proposal for the future of the IHS datasets.
ONS do not believe quarterly annual IHS datasets, comprising only the Annual Population Survey and the Living Costs and Food Survey, provide value for money and propose to reduce the IHS to one annual dataset per year – based on the January to December fieldwork period.

The last quarterly dataset ONS is planning to produce will be the April 2011 to March 2012 dataset, which will comprise four quarters of APS and LCF and only three quarters of GLF. This experimental dataset is due to be released in September 2012, with its associated Statistical Bulletin. The next dataset will be the January to December 2012 dataset, due to be released in June 2013. This means that datasets Jul11-Jun12 and Oct11-Sep12 will be omitted from production and delivery.

ONS are interested in IHS data users' views on this proposal and would appreciate feedback by the end of October 2012, using the email addresses below: 

caroline.jones@ons.gsi.gov.uk
dean.fletcher@ons.gsi.gov.uk
simon.woodsford@ons.gsi.gov.uk

Tuesday, 24 July 2012

Economic Impact Evaluation of ESDS

ESDS generates value for money
An economic evaluation of the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS) reveals that for every pound currently invested in data and infrastructure, the service returns £5.40 in net economic value to users and other stakeholders. This compares favourably with the return on investment previously demonstrated for the British Library and for UK academic libraries in general.
The report, commissioned by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and prepared by external consultants, aimed to not only evaluate the economic benefits and impact of ESDS, but also to further develop impact evaluation methods that can provide the research council with robust and consistent estimates for all its investments in data service infrastructure.
The newly announced UK Data Service will draw on these strengths, as ESDS will be a key partner in the integrated service, providing users with a unified point of access to an increasingly extensive collection of research data including census data.
Full news story:
ESRC link to full report:

Announcing the UK Data Service

Continuing access to the most valuable collection of social and economic data in the UK has been secured with a £17 million investment over five years for the UK Data Service.

Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the new service is structured to support researchers in academia, business, third sector and all levels of government.

The new service, starting on 1 October 2012, will integrate the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS), the Census Programme, the Secure Data Service and other elements of the data service infrastructure currently provided by the ESRC, including the UK Data Archive.

The UK Data Service will provide a unified point of access to the extensive range of high quality economic and social data, including valuable census data. It is designed to provide seamless access and support to meet the current and future research demands of both academic and non-academic users, and to help them maximise the impact of their work.

Full news story:

ESRC press release:


Wednesday, 18 July 2012

Consultation on access to address register data for social science research

The ESRC has initiated a consultation to inform its approach in advocating academic access to GeoPlace address register data. As part of the consultation a survey is being undertaken. This, and further information, is available at

Monday, 16 July 2012

UK Census 2011 First Results Released

The first results from the 2011 Census were made available today from 11am. Please see the link below for access to the estimates and supporting information: www.ons.gov.uk/census


CASS Short Course Programme 2012/13 announced

Full updated details of the new CASS Short Course Programme for 2012/13 are now available from the CASS website at www.southampton.ac.uk/cass

*** Please note that courses filled up very quickly and early booking is recommended ***

The 2012/13 Programme includes courses on:

• How to Analyse Survey Data: Methods, Software and Applications (by Prof Danny Pfeffermann, Prof Patrick Sturgis, Dr Moshe Feder and Dr Dave Holmes) • Questionnaire Design (by Dr Pamela Campanelli) • Survey Data Analysis I: Introducing Descriptive and Inferential Statistics (by Dr Olga Maslovskaya and Dr Amos Channon)• Survey Data Analysis II: Introduction to Linear Regression Modelling (by Dr Nikos Tzavidis) • Applied Multilevel Modelling (by Dr Ian Brunton-Smith and Dr Gabriele Durrant) • Regression Methods (by Dr James J Brown) • Essentials of Survey Design and Implementation (by Dr Pamela Campanelli) • Data Linkage: From Theory to Practice (by Dr Nathalie Shlomo) • Structural Equation Modelling for Cross-Sectional and Panel Data (by Prof Patrick Sturgis and Dr Katy Sindall) •Event History Analysis (by Dr Hill Kulu) (tbc) • Longitudinal Data Analysis (by Prof Peter Smith, Dr Ann Berrington and Dr Marcel Vieira)

Courses will be held in Southampton, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London.

For a course summary and details of dates and venues, please visit http://www.s3ri.soton.ac.uk/cass/programme.php

CASS (Courses in Applied Social Surveys) is a programme of short courses covering topics in survey design, data collection and data analysis methods. Courses are aimed at academic social scientists and applied researchers in government, market research and the independent and voluntary sectors.

CASS is part of the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods.

Teaching is interactive and responsive to course participants' needs. All courses include practical sessions or computer workshops to enable participants to put the learned methods into practice.

For most courses fees are £30 per day for UK-registered students. £60 per day for staff from UK academic institutions (including research centres), ESRC funded researchers and UK registered charitable organisations. £220 per day for all other participants. However please check the individual course you are interested in for exact fees. The course fee includes course materials, lunches and morning and afternoon refreshments. Travel and accommodation are to be arranged and paid for by the participant.

If you have any further questions please contact us at cass@southampton.ac.uk or look at our website www.southampton.ac.uk/cass