Output details

British Household Panel Surveys wave 1-18 (dataset and documentation) Economic and Social Data Service Study Number 5151

Buck directed the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) from 1994 and was responsible for the design and scientific leadership of the study. It was designed in consultation with a range of leading social scientists to ensure that it would meet the need for high quality longitudinal data suitable for the analysis of both the short and long-term dynamics of change and their impact on the well-being and life chances of individuals and households. The longitudinal data can be used to model individual and household level outcomes and behaviour in relation to wider social and economic processes. The data at annual intervals from the same set of individuals supports a wide range of research on persistence of various states (e.g. low income and unemployment) and on the factors associated with transitions in and out of these states.

The BHPS has a nationally representative sample of individuals of all ages with annual interviews of all members of the sample households. The initial sample contained some 5000 households, later boosted by additional samples in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The resulting dataset has proved to be one of the richest and most widely used British datasets and continues to be of national and international significance for the promotion and advancement of longitudinal research and methodology. The micro-dataset is made available to research users via the UK Data Service (formerly the Economic and Social Data Service) at the location given above. It was updated with the new wave data annually. There have been 3,883 separate BHPS data users for versions available from 2008 onwards. BHPS data has been used in over 5,500 academic and policy publications. There is international recognition for the quality of BHPS with large numbers of data users in USA, Europe and beyond.