All research resources
Below is a list of all ESRC-funded research resources (end dates in brackets).
Surveys
Our cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys provide a wealth of valuable social science information.
Cross-sectional surveys
British Election Study (BES) (August 2012)
has been conducted at every General Election since 1964. It aims to understand why people vote, and why they vote the way they do.
European Social Survey (ESS) (May 2014)
is an academically-driven social survey designed to chart and explain the interaction between Europe's changing institutions and the attitudes, beliefs and behaviour patterns of its populations.
National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (NATSAL) (July 2013)
gathers data on sexual behaviour, fertility, contraceptive use and sex-related diseases across the UK.
Skills and Employment Survey (SES)
will be carried out across Britain in 2012 of people aged 20-65 in paid employment.
Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS)
spans over two decades of data collection. WERS is jointly sponsored by ESRC, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).
Longitudinal surveys
Life Study
will track a large sample of babies from birth through to the early years of childhood, gathering information on their growth, development, health, wellbeing and social circumstances.
Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) (March 2015)
houses three of Britain's internationally renowned birth cohort studies: the 1958 National Child Development Study (NCDS), the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) and the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) (a cohort of children born in 2000-01).
Understanding Society (March 2015)
is a major household panel study which will provide valuable new evidence to inform research on issues of importance to a wide community. It will assist with understanding the long-term effects of social and economic change, as well as the impact of policy interventions on the general well-being of the UK population.
Poverty and social exclusion in the UK (PSE)
The Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK project carries out two major surveys into the public’s perceptions of necessities and into living standards in 2012 to assess changes in poverty and social exclusion in the UK and improve the measurement of poverty, deprivation, social exclusion and standard of living.
Previous Survey Resources
Longitudinal Studies Centre - Scotland (June 2009)
Survey Link Scheme (December 2007)
Timescapes: An ESRC Qualitative Longitudinal Study (January 2012)
Explores how personal relationships and identities unfold through the life course and will shed light on what these processes mean for individual life chances and wellbeing.
UK Longitudinal Studies Centre (ULSC) (March 2010)
Related links
Capacity building
Our investments support improving the skills, training and development of social science researchers.
Methods for Comparative Cross-National Research Initiative
a number of initiatives supporting research on comparative cross-national methods, for example, through short-term research projects and a network of methodological innovation under the National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM).
Secondary Data Analysis Initiative (SDAI)
The aim of the Initiative is to deliver high impact policy and practitioner relevant research through the deeper exploitation of the major data resources created by us and other agencies.
Quantitative Methods Initiative
aims to combat the skills deficit in quantitative research methods across the social science research base.
Previous capacity building resources
Researcher Development Initiative (RDI)
supports the training and development of researchers across the social sciences. The RDI supports a range of training and development activities and integrates these activities with other ESRC capacity-building activities.
Survey Design and Measurement Initiative (October 2008)
Understanding Population Trends and Processes (UPTAP) (September 2010)
Data support and services
ESRC funds a number of services that allow researchers to access key economic and social data.
Administrative Data Liaison Service (ADLS) (September 2012)
supports academic research and is the focal centre for knowledge, help and assistance with the major administrative datasets in the UK.
Administrative Data Taskforce (ADT)
The ADT report Improving acccess for research and policy proposes a UK Administrative Data Research Network.
Centre for Time Use Research (September 2013)
The Centre delivers free academic access to a range of time use datasets. This ESRC large grant will enable the Centre to enhance time use research resources and techniques and to carry out substantive research.
National Data Strategy (NDS) (2009-2012)
sets out priorities for the development of research data resources both within the social sciences and at the boundaries between the social sciences and other areas of scientific enquiry.
UK Data Service (start October 2012)
will integrate the Economic and Social Data Service, the Census Programme, the Secure Data Service and other ESRC-supported data service elements to provide a unified point of access for high-quality economic and social data.
Previous data support and services resources
Access Research Knowledge (ARK) (March 2012)
provides access to social and political material on Northern Ireland. ARK has developed a range of resource materials that inform social and political debate in the region.
Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS) (September 2012)
ESRC Census of Population Programme (July 2012)
provides data and support services to allow users in UK Higher and Further Education institutions to access the 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001 UK censuses.
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS) (July 2010)
Institute: Social Sciences (formerly SOSIG) (July 2007)
Secure Data Service (SDS) (September 2012)
promotes excellence in research by enabling safe and secure remote access to data previously deemed too sensitive, detailed, confidential or potentially disclosive to be made available under standard arrangements.
Question Bank (October 2008)
Qualitative Archiving and Data Sharing (QUADS) (September 2006)
Related links
Research methods
Find out about ESRC investments relating to research methodology.
Applied Quantitative Methods Network (AQMeN) (June 2012)
is a collaborative network co-funded by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). It aims to build capacity in quantitative methods across the social sciences in Scottish HEIs.
Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice (cemmap) (June 2012)
provides a focus for development, understanding and methods for modelling individual behaviour, the influences on it and the impact of policy interventions.
Digital Social Research (DSR) (March 2013)
aims to maximise the uptake, use and impact of new digital technologies across the social science community.
National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) (March 2014)
forms part of ESRC's strategy to improve the standards of research methods across the UK social science community.
Previous Research Methods resources
Courses in Applied Social Surveys (CASS) (March 2009)
Research Methods Programme (September 2007)
Survey Resources Network (SRN) (January 2012)
is a service which co-ordinates and develops ESRC activities relating to survey methodology and research.
UK Centre for Evidence Based Policy
Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (WISERD) (March 2012)
is co-funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW). It draws together and builds upon existing expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methods and methodologies at several Welsh universities.