Welcome to the Understanding Society main survey User Guide. Information on how to cite this User Guide is on the citation page.
A PDF version of the User Guide is also available as well as a document to explain the changes made to the Main Survey due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
How to access Understanding Society via the UK Data Service and unzip your data, plus what level of access researchers might need.
A quick overview of the study, its design and timeline.
How the dataset is structured, the variables available and how to undertake basic data management tasks with the dataset.
Understanding Society is built on the British Household Panel Survey, which ran from 1997 until 2009. BHPS data is harmonised with Understanding Society allowing researchers to use both datasets together.
How the questionnaire is structured, what’s covered in the survey and how the Study carries out fieldwork.
Calculating income and using income variables in Understanding Society.
How to correctly use weights in the dataset and why you need to use them.
Using different modes during a survey can affect how respondents’ answer the same questionnaire. Find out how this may impact your analysis.
Understanding Society help and support for data users, including FAQs.
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The Economic and Social Research Council is the primary funder of the study
The Study is led by a team at the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex.