Finding data

Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and run by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) Understanding Society is a study of the socio-economic circumstances and attitudes of 100,000 individuals in 40,000 British households and will allow deeper analysis of a wide range of sections of the population as they respond to regional, national and international change. Understanding Society will provide insight insight into the pathways that influence peoples longer term occupational trajectories; their health and well-being, their financial circumstances and personal relationships.

The study both replaces and incorporates the British Household Panel Survey, retaining the latter's longevity whilst adding not only to the sample size but also extending the scope of the study. Understanding Society also has an interdisciplinary focus. The study will capture biomedical data on 20,000 participants and place this alongside rich social histories which may ascertain the extent to which people's environment influences their health relative to their genetic make-up.

Wave 1, 2009-2010, of the survey was released in January 2012. Due to the sensitive nature of the data, special access conditions apply.