Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Community Life Survey was first commissioned by the Cabinet Office in 2012-2013. It is a household survey conducted in England, tracking the latest trends and developments across areas key to encouraging social action and empowering communities, including:volunteering and charitable giving;views about the local area;community cohesion and belonging;community empowerment and participation;influencing local decisions and affairs; and subjective well-beingUp to 2015-16, the survey used a face-to-face methodology. Following thorough testing, the CLS moved to an online and paper mixed-method approach from 2016-17 onwards (a paper self-completion questionnaire being available as an alternative to the online survey), with an end to previous current face-to-face method. The objectives of the survey are to: The objectives of the survey are to: provide robust, nationally representative data on behaviours and attitudes within communities to inform and direct policy and action in these areas;to provide data of value to all users, including public bodies, external stakeholders and the public; andunderpin further research and debate on building stronger communitiesThe Community Life Survey incorporates a small number of priority measures from the Citizenship Survey, which ran from 2001-2011, conducted by the Department for Communities and Local Government. These measures were incorporated in the Community Life Survey so that trends in these issues could continue to be tracked over time. (The full Citizenship Survey series is held at the UK Data Archive under GNs 33347 and 33474.) Further information may be found on the gov.uk Community Life Survey website.
The Community Life Survey Experimental Online Data, 2015-2016 includes the Special Licence data gathered from an online alternative to the face-to-face survey and comprising a sample of 3,256 adults. Data from a postal version of the questionnaire, which was included in a targeted 50% of second reminder mailing packs, is also contained in the dataset. This questionnaire covered the same topics as the online survey but was reduced in length. Full details can be found in the Web Survey Technical Report which is available in the Documentation section below. End User Licence and Special Licence data Users should note that there are two versions of each Community Life Survey Experimental Online Data experimental online dataset. One is available under the standard End User Licence (EUL) agreement, and the other is a Special Licence (SL) version. The SL version contains more detailed variables relating to: social class; ethnicity; religion; sexual identity and lower level geographical classifications. The SL data have more restrictive access conditions than those made available under the standard EUL. Prospective users of the SL version will need to complete an extra application form and demonstrate to the data owners exactly why they need access to the additional variables in order to get permission to use that version. Therefore, users are strongly advised to order the standard version of the data. The standard EUL version of the Community Life Survey Experimental Online Data, 2015-2016 is held under SN 8124.
Main Topics:
The survey covers measures that are key to understanding our society and local communities such as volunteering, charitable giving, neighbourhood, civic engagement, social action and subjective well-being.The Community Life Survey Experimental Online Data, 2015-2016 data file includes the following extra variables:SOC 2010 Major Groups (SOC10mg)SOC2010 Sub-Major Group (SOC10smg)Ethnic group: 6 categories (Ethnic6)Ethnic group: 11 categories (Ethnic11a)Respondents Ethnic origin and age (excludes Mixed/Other) (Rethage9a)Sex within Ethnicity: 11 categories (E11sex1)Sex within Ethnicity: 10 categories (E5sex1)Whether practising for each religion (Actrel)Respondent religion: 7 categories (Jewish included in other)(Relig7)Practice status for each religion (Relstat)Ethno-Religious groups: 11 categories (E11Relig1)Respondent sexual identity: 3 categories (Sid2g)Rural or Urban Area (2011 Census definition) (Rural11)ONS Ward Classification : Subgroup (2001 Wards) (Wrdsubgpg)ONS District Level Classification: Subgroup (2011) (Lasubgpg11)Output Area Classification - Subgroup (76 categories) (2011 Census definition) (oasubgrp11)Address sampling weight (StandardisedAddressSamplingWeight)Respondent base weight for calibration (StandardisedBaseWeight)WEB ONLY Respondent base weight for calibration (StandardisedBaseWeight_Web)
Multi-stage stratified random sample
Postal survey
Online (web-based) survey
