These data consist of measures of Internet use estimated using small area estimation. The small area estimation is based on census Output Areas (OAs) using the 2013 Oxford Internet Survey (OxIS) and the 2011 British census. There is an estimate for each OA in Great Britain. By combining the 2013 OxIS survey data with the comprehensive small area coverage of the 2011 British census we can use the strengths of one to offset the gaps in the other. Specifically, we follow a two-step process. First, we use the information that is reliably available in OxIS to create model that estimates the proportion of Internet users in OAs. Second, we use the parameters from this model combined with census data to estimate the proportion of Internet users each OA in Britain. Once these estimates are available, we aggregate the estimates up to higher levels of geography. In this way we can estimate Internet use in Glasgow, Manchester and Cardiff as well as other small areas in Britain. This procedure is referred to as indirect, model-based or synthetic estimation. In recent years such SAE techniques have been widely used throughout Europe and North America. See the project website for more details.The objective of the Geography of Digital Inequality project was to explore the geographical contours of Internet use and penetration in Britain. Specifically, the project assembled from existing datasets a new dataset which contains Internet information at fine-grained geographic levels, census output areas (OAs). From OAs we were able to aggregate to higher geographic levels such as counties, Welsh and Scottish Councils, metropolitan areas, or others. Through this unique dataset we explored digital divides and the geography of the Internet, a capability possessed by no other dataset. Specifically, we explored the extent of use versus non-use of the Internet.

There were 2 datasets used to assemble this dataset. First, the 2013 Oxford Internet Survey (OxIS) is a random sample of the 2657 people age 14+ from the British population (England, Scotland & Wales). Interviews were conducted face-to-face by an independent survey research company. The response rate for 2013 was 51%. The data collection was a two-stage sample. A random sample of census output areas (OAs) was selected and respondents were randomly sampled within each selected OA. For details, see "Data collection technical report.pdf" which has been uploaded. We use six variables from OxIS: Internet use, region, age, lifestage, gender and education. The questionnaire for OxIS contains about 300 variables and it is available from the OxIS website, see the URL in the "related resources" section. Second, the 2011 British Census. For information on how the census was conducted,see the census website. The URL for the 2011 census is given below in "related resources".