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Participant FAQs

If your question has not been covered here, please contact us using one of the methods below:

Top FAQs

Voucher queries

Why won’t my voucher work?
It can take up to five working days for your voucher to be activated after you have completed your interview. If it’s still not valid after that time, please call 0800 015 2908.

I’ve moved house and haven’t received my vouchers
Please call 0800 252 853.

Where can I redeem my vouchers?
Please see the Love2Shop website for a full list of places where vouchers can be spent.

How do I use my voucher card? 
The voucher card that you received in the mail is pre-activated, so you can use it straight away. If your transaction is greater than the value of the card, you’ll need to pay the difference by another method before the card is swiped in the shop. You can use up to three voucher cards in any transaction. If you don’t spend the full amount on the card, please keep a note of remaining balance as shops do not have access to this information. You can check your balance on the Love2Shop website

Completing the survey online

How do I access the online survey?
You need to manually type 

www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/Society 

into your web address bar. The survey cannot be accessed by using a search engine (e.g. Google) because it is a secure link. If you’re still having technical difficulties, please call the survey helpline on 0800 015 2908.

Is my information secure if I complete my interview online? 
Yes, your survey answers are completely secure. You are issued with a unique, personal log-in for the survey and the information you enter in the interview is stored on secure servers.

I’m having log-in problems or technical difficulties, who do I contact?
Please speak to your interviewer or call our survey helpline on 0800 015 2908.

I have lost my log-in details, who do I contact?
Please call the survey helpline on 0800 015 2908.

Can I stop the interview online and complete it at another time?
Yes, you can stop the interview at any point and complete it later. You will need to log back in using your username and password and you will be taken to the point in the questionnaire where you stopped your interview.

Moving house

We’re about to move. How do I let you know?
Please complete our online Change of Address form and you will receive a £5 voucher.

We’re moving outside the UK. Can we still take part?
No, we’re afraid not – those away or likely to be away for 6 months or more are not counted as residents at the address. However, if you return to the UK please let us know.

We are currently piloting a special survey for participants who emigrate from the UK. If you have recently emigrated you may be contacted to see if you would like to take part in this pilot survey. 

My interview

Please call the number on your interviewer’s appointment card. If you do not have this, please fill in our Contact Form or call 0800 252 853 ASAP.

How long does the interview take?
The average length of the adult questionnaire is between 40-60 minutes. The children’s questionnaire (for 10-15-years-olds) takes around 10-15 minutes.

I’ve received an invitation to complete my interview online, but I would rather have a telephone interview. Can this be arranged? 
Yes, if you are not able to complete your interview online, or would prefer to have your interview by telephone, an interviewer will be in touch to arrange a convenient time. You do not need to do anything to arrange this. 

Can I do my interview in another language?  Yes, a translated interview is available online and with an interviewer. We can translate surveys into Bengali, Gujarati, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi: Gurmukhi, Punjabi: Urdu, Turkish, Urdu, and Welsh. 

About the study

I would like to know more about Understanding Society
Please see our About Us page, or for further questions please email us on contact@understandingsociety.ac.uk. For regular updates on how information from the Study is being used, you can follow us on Twitter and Instagram, or look for our news updates on our website

Who runs Understanding Society? 
The Study is run by a team at the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex. Our face-to-face interviews, online and telephone surveys are delivered by Verian, Nat Cen and Ipsos MORI. 

Who funds Understanding Society? 
We are funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and various government departments. 

Can I send you feedback on the survey? 
Yes, it helps us to hear about the experiences of our participants. You can email any comments about the Study to our participant liaison team via contact@understandingsociety.ac.uk.

Your data

Are my data confidential?
Your interview answers are completely confidential. However, if you tell us something that makes us worried about your safety or the safety of others in your household, we may have to discuss this with somebody else as we need to be sure you are safe. The security of our participants’ information is one of the most important parts of Understanding Society. Please read our guide for more information.

Is my information linked to other data sources?
Yes, but only with your permission. Linking your interview answers to other data sources, such as education, health or employment records, makes the information you give us even more useful. You’ll be asked to give permission for linking your data as part of your interview.  For more information on the different data linkage in Understanding Society please see our guides below:

My household

Can I add new family members to the survey?
Yes: we would like to speak to everyone aged 16+ who is living with you. This could include step-siblings and new partners, regardless of whether they have been interviewed previously.

Do you want to interview household members who live outside the household?
We would like to continue speaking to any household members who are ‘absent’ from the household but still have it as their main address – for example, people who are in hospital. If a household member moves out of the house and remains in the UK, we would like to carry on interviewing them at their new address.

My friend would like to join the survey, can they do this? 
No, they can’t. Our participants are selected on very specific scientific criteria so that the Study is representative of the UK population. New participants do join Understanding Society, but only if they move into a household which is already part of the Study.

Keeping your data safe

How does Understanding Society keep data safe? 
We are governed by the Data Protection Act and all our procedures have data protection at the heart of them. The Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER), the home of Understanding Society, is also ISO-27001 certified. This international standard upholds the best practices for information security management. Our ISO certificate requires the Study to have a wide set of rules and regulations for managing data. 

Are you GDPR compliant? 
Yes, we are. You can read about Understanding Society and the GDPR here

What do you do with my personal data?
Your personal details (name, address, telephone numbers, email addresses) are only used so that we can contact you during the year to invite you to take part in the Study and to send you information on how the Study is being used by researchers and policymakers. Your personal details are never made available to researchers or to any other companies who might use them for marketing purposes. For more information please read our privacy statement.

How does Understanding Society link to NHS records? Are you part of the new GP database?
Understanding Society is not linked with the proposed GP database. We will never link your survey data to your NHS records without your permission.

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