NCDS 2008-9 Survey Interim Data Released

An interim dataset based on a subset of the interviews conducted as part of the National Child Development Study 2008-9 survey has just been released for use.

An interim dataset based on a subset of the interviews conducted as part of the National Child Development Study 2008-9 survey has just been released by the UK Data Archive.

The NCDS 2008/9 survey began in August 2008 and is scheduled to be complete by May 2009. This survey attempts to update the life history information collected in previous studies; repeat measures of health, employment, income etc that have been collected in previous studies, and collect new information relevant to cohort members aged 50, which will help to understand the ageing process.

This interim dataset is intended to enable preliminary analyses of the data from the 2008/9 survey and is based on 2,997 interviews completed between August and December 2008.  The dataset is comprised of a subset of 932 variables from the full list that will be deposited with the Data Archive later this year.

The data can be accessed from the UK Data Archive:
SN 6137 – National Child Development Study: Sweep 8, 2008-2009: Interim Dataset
http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/findingdata/sndescription.asp?sn=”6137″

The dataset includes a wealth of information about the cohort members’ current situations including housing, economic activity and health. The dataset also includes results from a series of cognitive tests and overall scores for the scales included in the questionnaire including CASP-14 (a measure of quality of life in ‘the Third Age’), Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, SF-36, Personality Inventory and AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test).

The survey was designed by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies, and the fieldwork is being carried out by the National Centre for Social Research. The work is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.