Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER)
The British Household Panel Survey is a multi-purpose study. It is unique because:
- it follows the same representative sample of individuals - the panel - over a period of years
- it is household-based, interviewing every adult member of sampled households
- it contains sufficient cases for meaningful analysis of certain groups such as the elderly or one parent families
- it allows for linkage of data both from other surveys and from local area statistics.
The Wave 1 panel consists of some 5,500 households and 10,300 individuals drawn from 250 different areas of Great Britain. Additional samples of 1,500 households in each of Scotland and Wales were added to the main sample in 1999, and in 2001 a sample of 2,000 households was added in Northern Ireland, making the panel suitable for UK-wide research. Continuing representativeness of the survey is ensured (and loss of panel members minimised) through
- following panel members wherever they move in the UK
- including in the panel the new members of households formed by original panel members
- efficient fieldwork practices
- training videos for the interviewers and
- by regular contact with panel members through special reports and letters.
For further information, see the ISER website
Latest results available to buy from the UK Data Archive
This page last revised: Wednesday, 14 September 2005
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