To answer these questions the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) commissioned an independent review into all the longitudinal studies they help to fund. A panel of international data experts has investigated all the studies, received evidence of research use and impact from researchers across the world and consulted with data users. Published today, the Longitudinal Studies Strategic Review sets out their findings and recommendations for the future.
Read the Longitudinal Studies Strategic Review 2017
The review recommends that the ESRC should continue to support and develop its portfolio of longitudinal studies as they provide researchers and policymakers with unrivalled information about the lives of people in the UK. The mix of panel and cohort studies covers all major life changes and transitions and gives the UK social science community a competitive advantage in analysing changes across the life course. Understanding Society was highlighted by the review panel as a key resource for observing changes in social and economic issues and in household mobility. The large sample size, flexibility for experimentation and ability to allow clear international comparisons were all seen as strengths of the Study.
Professor Sasha Roseneil, Executive Dean of Social Sciences at the University of Essex, welcomed the review saying,
This is key moment for longitudinal studies in the UK and we are pleased that the Review has recognised the huge contribution that the ESRC’s long-standing investment in longitudinal studies has made to social science research. We are committed to ensuring that as many researchers as possible, both here in the UK and internationally, use these superb data resources. We know that Understanding Society is a vital resource for the policy community and we will continue to build on our collaborations with policymakers and researchers to encourage more use of longitudinal data in the development and evaluation of policy.
What are the challenges for the future?
The review panel recommended that:
- More should be done to track the impact of research that uses the longitudinal studies so that the effectiveness of longitudinal studies can be monitored.
- There should be more linking of government administrative data to longitudinal study data to make the data more useful to policymakers.
- The ESRC should continue to promote data sharing and collaboration –encouraging interdisciplinary research across the social sciences, data linkage, training and support.
Read the ESRC blog on the challenges of tracking impact.
Professor Michaela Benzeval, Director of Understanding Society, agreed that longitudinal studies need to continue to innovate,
At Understanding Society we’re experimenting with new technologies for data collection and processing. Linking longitudinal data to administrative data gives researchers a different view on people’s lives, but we also need to ensure that our study data continues to be of the highest quality. We also need to remember that the success of the UK’s longitudinal studies is down to the willingness of our study participants to be interviewed. We’re in a unique position in the UK where tens of thousands of people willingly share the ups and downs of their lives with researchers to improve society– it’s a huge privilege to work with them
