Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
This BHPS teaching/sampler dataset contains only Wave 1 respondents, and follows them for 13 waves, selecting broadly the same variables at each wave. There are some (fixed) variables which are only included at wave one, and there are a few variables which only appear intermittently, or are introduced later in the panel. The dataset contains a mix of original variables and derived variables. In order to reduce the complexity of the data's structure and to make the data more accessible to inexperienced users, the dataset is in a rectangular format. Users are not required to undertake potentially problematic record/file merges in order to analyse the data longitudinally. Variable names are the same as those in the original BHPS dataset such that variables are prefixed A for Wave 1, B for Wave 2, C for Wave 3 and so on. For example, the variable EAGE records the respondent's age at the date of the Wave 5 interview. The main BHPS is carried out by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex. The main objective of the survey is to further understanding of social and economic change at the individual and household level in Britain, to identify, model and forecast such changes, their causes and consequences in relation to a range of socio-economic variables. The BHPS is designed as a research resource for a wide range of social science disciplines and to support interdisciplinary research in many areas. The unique value of the survey resides in that fact that:it follows the same representative sample of individuals (the panel) over a period of yearsit is household-based, interviewing every adult member of sampled householdsit contains sufficient cases for meaningful analysis of certain groups such as the elderly or one parent familiesit allows for linkage of data both from other surveys and from local area statisticsThe BHPS was designed as an annual survey of each adult (aged 16+) member of a nationally representative sample of more than 5,000 households, making a total of approximately 10,000 individual interviews. The same individuals are re-interviewed in successive waves and, if they split off from original households, all adult members of their new households are also interviewed. Children are interviewed once they reach the age of 16, and there is also a special survey of 11-15 year old household members from Wave 4. Efficient fieldwork practices, training videos for interviewers and regular contact with the panel members ensures that the sample remains broadly representative of the population as it changes over time. For the second edition (November 2011), erroneous syntax used to match files across waves has now been corrected.
Main Topics:
This dataset is the third BHPS sampler. It is based around the theme of time use, leisure activity and membership of social organisations and allows for respondents' behaviour to be tracked over time. A complete list of variables is included in the documentation. The first BHPS teaching dataset covered the themes of work, family and health, and the second covered social and political attitudes. They are both available at the UK Data Archive (UKDA) under SNs 4901 and 5038 respectively.
Multi-stage stratified random sample
See documentation for details
Face-to-face interview
Telephone interview
Self-completion
at Wave 9 of the BHPS, the survey moved from a pen and paper to a Computer-Assisted Personal Interv
