Main survey

Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study, is a longitudinal survey of the members of approximately 40,000 households (at Wave 1) in the United Kingdom. Households recruited at the first round of data collection are visited each year to collect information on changes to their household and individual circumstances. Interviews are carried out face-to-face in respondents’ homes by trained interviewers or through a self-completion online survey. Young people aged 10-15 complete a youth questionnaire, whilst respondents aged 16 and over complete the adult survey.

The overall purpose of Understanding Society is to provide high-quality longitudinal data on subjects such as health, work, education, income, family, and social life to help understand the long-term effects of social and economic change, as well as policy interventions designed to impact upon the general wellbeing of the UK population. To this end, the Study collects both objective and subjective indicators and offers opportunities for research within and across multiple disciplines including sociology and economics, geography, psychology and health sciences.

The Understanding Society main survey sample consists of a large General Population Sample plus three other components: the Ethnic Minority Boost Sample, the former British Household Panel Survey sample and the Immigrant and Ethnic Minority Boost Sample. 

The data from Understanding Society are available via the UK Data Service.