Born to Fail? Improving the literacy and numeracy skills of education’s Left Behind

‘First in family’, higher education choices and labour market outcomes

Social isolation, loneliness and wellbeing across the life course and between five British birth cohorts

This project aims to develop a conceptual and empirical understanding of social isolation across the life course and generate comparable measures across cohorts.

Reading for pleasure and children’s cognitive development

Research using data from the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) has revealed how reading for pleasure can help children excel in English and maths. It has also shown that good reading habits in childhood have a significant longer term impact on people’s vocabulary, with the benefits being evident even 30 years later.

Children and young people’s mental health

Looking after children’s and young people’s mental health is an urgent public health priority. Using data from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), CLS researchers and collaborators have investigated the prevalence of mental ill-health during childhood and adolescence.

Medically assisted reproduction: the effects on children, adults and families

This project aims to advance our understanding of whether Medically Assisted Reproduction (MAR) affects the wellbeing of families, and if so why. Using datasets from the Millenium Cohort Study, we analyse MAR’s effects on a large range of adults/child outcomes through innovative research designs.

The wellbeing and lifecourse trajectories of only children

This research project aims to investigates the consequences of growing up without siblings, particularly longer-term wellbeing and life chances. 

The gender wage gap: evidence from the cohort studies

This project aims to investigate the gender wage gap (GWG) over the life course and across cohorts, using three CLS studies – the National Child Development Study, 1970 British Cohort Study and Next Steps.

Applied statistical methods

Our applied statistical methods research programme supports and enables users to tackle some of the important challenges in using longitudinal data, including handling missing data, making causal inferences, and dealing with measurement error. We bring together ideas and methods from a number of disciplines, such as statistics, econometrics, psychometrics, epidemiology and computer science.

Survey methodology

Our studies are at the forefront of best practice internationally in a range of different areas relating to longitudinal survey methods, and are informed by the most up-to-date evidence available. We share our learning through publications, conferences presentations and our networks. We work closely with the UK survey agencies who carry out the data collection for our studies.