ONS Longitudinal Study: User needs survey

Overview

The ONS Longitudinal Study (LS) is a 1% sample of the population of England and Wales containing census and life events data, linked between six successive censuses beginning in 1971 and updated at the 1981, 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2021 Censuses. LS members enter the study through birth and immigration and existing members leave through emigration or death, however their data are retained. The LS now includes records for over 1,300,000 individuals. For more information about the ONS LS please see the Celsius website.

We are gathering feedback on paused and potential future Longitudinal Study data sources, as well as other improvements to the study, for example timeliness, support and metadata.

This survey is open for all but we are especially interested in hearing from current and past users of the LS, researchers who are considering using the LS in the future, and researchers who have considered using the LS but have chosen not to.

Feedback gathered will help us improve the user experience and inform the prioritisation of methodological developments to the study.

The survey will run for eight weeks, closing on Friday 8 January 2027. This survey should take about five to ten minutes to complete.

If you have any questions regarding this survey, please contact LongitudinalStudy@ons.gov.uk.