The UKDA Server. - Study : Integrated Household Survey, October 2010 - September 2011

Dataset: Integrated Household Survey, October 2010 - September 2011

Abstract

The Integrated Household Survey (IHS) is a composite survey combining questions asked on a number of social surveys conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to produce a dataset of 'core' variables. The aim of the IHS is to produce high-level estimates for particular themes to a higher precision and lower geographic level than current ONS social surveys. The 'core' set contains around 100 questions, but a respondent is only asked a proportion of those depending on routing from answers to questions. The core questions are asked, where possible, at the beginning of the component surveys.

IHS prior to 2009:
A set of core questions were introduced within three surveys in January 2008; the General Lifestyle Survey, Living Costs and Food Survey and the Opinions Survey. In April 2008 the IHS core questions were introduced on the English Housing Survey, bringing the family of modules on the IHS up to four. The IHS data for 2008-2009 was used as a pilot for the concept, developing the systems and designing the weighting methodology. The IHS data for that period have not been published as they do not provide better quality information than that within existing surveys. Hence, the earliest IHS data currently available from the UK Data Archive cover 2009-2010.

IHS from 2009-2010:
In April 2009 the IHS core questions were introduced on the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Annual Population Survey (APS) questionnaires, though not all the core IHS questions were fully harmonised on the LFS. From June 2009 the Life Opportunities Survey (LOS) was included in the IHS family of modules. With the inclusion of these new surveys the IHS became complete, with an achieved annual sample size of approximately 450,000 individuals from interviews undertaken in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Therefore, the first IHS dataset to be released covers the period April 2009 - March 2010, starting the IHS data series from the point that all surveys were included. The large sample size and UK-wide coverage means various geographical breakdowns are possible in the IHS, and it is possible to use a geographical hierarchy to drill down to lower level detail within an area. (It should be noted that the lowest geographic level available on the standard access End User Licence IHS dataset is Government Office Region (GOR). Users who require more detailed geographies will need to make an application to use the Special Licence version of the IHS (see below)).

From April 2009 - March 2010 the IHS contained data collected from the following surveys:

General Lifestyle Survey (GLF) (held at the Archive under GN 33090)
Living Costs and Food Survey (LCF) (held under GN 33334)
Opinions Survey (OPN) (held under GN 33252) - removed January 2010
English Housing Survey (EHS) (held at the Archive under GN 33422) - removed April 2011
Labour Force Survey/Annual Population Survey (LFS/APS) (held under GNs 33246 and 33357 respectively)
Life Opportunities Survey (LOS) (held at the Archive under GN 33245) - removed April 2011

However, in January 2010 the OPN survey was removed from the IHS. This was designed to shorten interview length of the OPN. Then from April 2011, the EHS and LOS were also removed. Further information about the IHS may be found on the ONS IHS webpages.

End User Licence and Special Licence IHS data
Users should note that there are two versions of each IHS study. 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 age, age of youngest dependent child, country of birth, family unit type, household and household reference person, industry class, sub-class and division, month left last job, cohabitation, country of residence history, multiple households at address, nationality, New Deal training types, National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC) long version, qualifications, household relationships, minor Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) groups, sexual identity, training and working age. The more detailed geographic variables present include county, unitary/local authority, Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics 2 (NUTS2) and NUTS3 regions and Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs). Users should note that the user guide also mentions variables that are not included in either the EUL or SL datasets held at the Archive.

The EUL version contains less detailed variables. For example, the lowest geography available is Government Office Region, only major (3-digit) SOC groups are included for main, second and last job, and only industry sector for main, second and last job. Users are advised to first obtain the standard EUL version of the data to see if they are sufficient for their research requirements.

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. In order to help users choose the correct dataset, 'Special Licence Access' has been added to the dataset titles for the SL versions of the data.

Experimental data
The ONS have provided the following information for users of the IHS:
"All IHS statistics are designated as experimental. Experimental statistics are new official statistics undergoing evaluation. They are published in order to involve customers and stakeholders in their development and as a mean to build in quality at an early stage. As the data are experimental ONS recommends that any publication of the IHS data should state the experimental branding. Where possible the source of the National Statistic for the estimate being published should also be referenced."

The SL version of the IHS October 2010 - September 2011 is available under SN 7002.

Main Topics
The IHS core questions cover several themes. These include:

economic activity
education
health and disability
identity
income

Income variables:
Users should note that while income data are collected within the IHS and questions are included in the questionnaire, ONS have so far not been able to harmonise the income variables across the different surveys that comprise the IHS. Therefore, there are currently no income variables included in the EUL or SL datasets deposited at the Archive; the variables are only included in the Government Statistical Services (GSS) client and ONS internal research datasets. For further details, see Volume 3 of the IHS user guide.

Variable Groups

Full Title

Integrated Household Survey, October 2010 - September 2011

Alternative Title

IHS; Continuous Population Survey; CPS

Identification Number

7001

Authoring Entity

Name	Affiliation
Office for National Statistics. Social Survey Division

Copyright

Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen’s Printer for Scotland

Funding Agency/Sponsor

Name	Abbreviation	Role	Grant
Office for National Statistics

Data Distributor

Name	Affiliation	Abbreviation
ESDS Government	University of Manchester. Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research

Depositor

Name	Affiliation	Abbreviation
Office for National Statistics. Social Survey Division

Date of Distribution

2012-04-11

List of Keywords

UNITED KINGDOM
AGE
BUSINESS OWNERSHIP
CHILDBIRTH
CHILDREN
ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
EDUCATIONAL COURSES
EMPLOYEES
EMPLOYERS
EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMMES
ETHNIC GROUPS
FAMILIES
FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT
FURNISHED ACCOMMODATION
GENDER
HEALTH
HOME OWNERSHIP
HOUSEHOLD HEAD'S ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
HOUSEHOLDS
HOUSING
HOUSING TENURE
INDUSTRIES
JOB HUNTING
LANDLORDS
LEAVE
MANAGERS
MARITAL STATUS
NATIONAL IDENTITY
NATIONALITY
OCCUPATIONS
PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT
PARTNERSHIPS (BUSINESS)
PLACE OF BIRTH
POPULATION MIGRATION
PRIVATE SECTOR
PUBLIC SECTOR
QUALIFICATIONS
RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION
RENTED ACCOMMODATION
RESIDENTIAL MOBILITY
SELF-EMPLOYED
SMALL BUSINESSES
SMOKING
SOCIAL HOUSING
SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS
SPOUSE'S ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
STUDENT HOUSING
SUBCONTRACTING
SUPERVISORY STATUS
TIED HOUSING
TRAINING COURSES
UNEMPLOYMENT
UNFURNISHED ACCOMMODATION
UNWAGED WORKERS
WAGES
2010-2011

Topic Classification

Integrated Household Survey - Major studies
General - Education
General - Employment and labour
General - Health
Social attitudes and behaviour - Society and culture
Social indicators and quality of life - Society and culture
Social and occupational mobility - Social stratification and groupings

Date of Collection

Start	End	Cycle
2010-10	2011-09

Country

United Kingdom

Geographic Unit

Government Office Regions (GORs)

Unit of Analysis

Individuals; Families/households

Universe

Persons resident in the UK in private households, and young people living away from the parental home in student halls of residence or similar institutions during term time.
National

Kind of Data

Numeric data; Individual (micro) level

Time Method

Repeated cross-sectional study

Sampling Procedure

Each of the surveys comprising the IHS have their own sampling design, meaning that the IHS includes clustered and non-clustered, multistage and single stage component samples and also cross-sectional and longitudinal data.

Major Deviations from the Sample Design

374,218 cases.

Mode of Data Collection

Face-to-face interview; Telephone interview

Weighting

Weighting used. See User Guide for details.

Cleaning Operations

The data were processed to the UK Data Archive's 'A*' standard. This is the Archive's highest standard, and means that an extremely rigorous and comprehensive series of checks was carried out to ensure the quality of the data and documentation. Briefly, the most important procedures were as follows. Firstly, checks were made that the number of cases and variables matched the depositor's records. Secondly, checks were made that all variables had comprehensible variable labels and all nominal (categorical) variables had comprehensible value labels. Where possible, either with reference to the documentation and/or in communication with the depositor, labels were accordingly edited or created. Thirdly, logical checks were performed to ensure that nominal (categorical) variables had values within the range defined (either by value labels or in the depositor's documentation). Lastly, any data or documentation that breached confidentiality rules were altered or suppressed to preserve anonymity.

Location

ESDS Government, UK Data Archive

Availability Status

ESDS Government, UK Data Archive; Data online via Download

Notes

Help desk: govsurveys@esds.ac.uk

Conditions

The depositor has specified that registration is required and standard conditions of use apply. The depositor may be informed about usage. See terms and conditions for further information.