Frequently Asked Questions
- What is it?
- What’s it for?
- Why me?
- How do I find out more?
- What difference will it make to people’s lives?
- What do I get out of it?
- Who is running it?
- What about confidentiality and data security?
- What will you do with the information?
- What will you ask young people aged 10–15?
- How many people are being asked to take part?
- Who do you want to talk to?
- What do I have to do?
- Linking to administrative data
What is it?
Understanding Society is the biggest study of its kind in the world – and we’d very much like you and the people you live with to be involved. By spending just a short time answering questions about your experiences and opinions, you will help us paint a unique picture of life in the UK and how it’s changing.
What’s it for?
The information from the survey will help us learn more abut each other, and will help people who analyse and design policies to make better decisions about how to improve everyone’s lives.
Why me?
You and the people you live with were chosen from a scientifically selected sample of addresses, and your place in the survey can’t be taken by anyone else. We want to hear your point of view – without it, the survey will be missing an important element. Your views will represent those of many thousands of people living in your area and across the country. So we do hope you will agree to take part as you are unique and irreplaceable and vital to the success of the study.
How do I find out more?
To find out more please do contact us. We would be very happy to hear from you.
What difference will it make to people’s lives?
One thing people often say is ‘What difference will this study make to people’s lives?’ We think this is a fair question to ask, so here are some examples of research making a difference. Research contributes to changes in the law, gives insights into human psychology, and helps doctors treat illnesses more effectively.
What do I get out of it?
Each person in the household who decides to take part will receive a gift voucher as a thank-you. Young people aged 10–15 will also receive a gift voucher.
But apart from this token of our thanks, you will know that you are contributing to the largest and most exciting study of its kind ever to take place. You will be making your mark on history and helping to shape future policies and our understanding of the world around us.
As the data from the study are collected and analysed, we will provide you with early access to results and study findings through the website and annual newsletters so you can see what your data is producing.
Who is running it?
Researchers at the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex are running Understanding Society with funding from the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK. The interviews are being carried out by the National Centre for Social Research , one of the largest and most highly respected social research organisations in the UK, who are responsible for the conduct of many large scale studies.
What about confidentiality and data security?
We operate under the rules of the Data Protection Act and your personal details will remain strictly confidential and secure at all times. You and members of your family cannot be identified from the data and your personal details will never be disclosed. You can ask to see your details or to have them removed from our database. The data used by analysts will be anonymous and individual people or households will not be identifiable from it.
What will you do with the information?
The results of the survey will be used for research purposes only. The data from the survey will be deposited in the UK Data Archive at the University of Essex in an anonymised form. Academic and policy researchers can apply under licence to access the data for social research analysis projects. Data users are legally bound to comply with all aspects of the Data Protection Act. Your personal details will not be deposited in the UK Data Archive, but will be held securely by the Understanding Society team conducting the study at the University of Essex. Your personal details will not be available to those accessing the anonymous data through the UK Data Archive.
What will you ask young people aged 10–15?
The questionnaire for those aged 10–15 asks about things such as how they spend their leisure time, school, their friends, their view of themselves, and what they would like to do in the future. The interviewer will be happy to show you the questionnaire before your child completes it. Giving young people a voice to tell us about their lives when they are young and then following their development is a key part of Understanding Society. The information they give us will be anonymised so that no individual child can be identified from the data.
How many people are being asked to take part?
This is the largest social research project of its kind – we’re asking 100,000 people in 40,000 households across the UK to take part.
Who do you want to talk to?
We would like to talk to everyone aged 16 and over who lives in your home. If parents give their consent, we would also like young people aged 10 – 15 to complete a short questionnaire.
What do I have to do?
To join in, all you have to do is answer some questions about your life and your opinions. An interviewer will meet you at your home and talk to you for around half an hour to forty-five minutes. One person will also be asked to do a 15 minute questionnaire about the household as a whole.
So we can follow how your life changes over time, we would like to come back and interview you again next year. However, we would like to interview you this year whether or not you choose to take part next year, and you can drop out of the study at any point.
Linking to administrative data
Please see linking to administrative data FAQs