Study title

The main objective of the project was to develop a web site that would help people who are analysing social survey data to use the best statistical methods now available. The UK government, the Scottish Executive and the Economic and Social Research Council invest heavily in surveys to inform policies and to understand social processes. The anonymised data files from many surveys are available to policy makers within government and, free of charge, to researchers in UK Higher Education Institutions. The data are provided via the UK Data Archive and the Economic and Social Data Service supports users of the data. The web site is built around a set of six exemplars each one using data from a different survey. The web site also has sections on the theory of survey design and analysis and on computer software that can be used to analyse surveys. There are extensive links between the sections so that, for example, the theory behind the use of a particular method can be accessed from the exemplar which uses it.