Study title

The Survey of young Scots was designed to investigate the attitudes of young Scots who would be eligible to vote for the first time in their life in 2014 Scottish independence referendum. Two representative samples of young people aged 14-17 years old living in Scotland are collected respectively in 2013 and 2014. Their views on Scottish independence and devolution, feelings of Scottish, British and European identities, and political interest are asked.The Applied Quantitative Methods Network (AQMeN) Phase II represents an ambitious and wide-ranging set of activities that will: exploit the UK's social science data infrastructure through a programme of research, expand the boundaries of academic knowledge, contribute to the evidence base supporting public policy decision making, build capacity amongst social scientists in quantitative methods, create new toolkits and resources for data users, and improve public understanding about complex social issues affecting the UK. Phase I of AQMeN, which began in 2009, focused on addressing a major gap in quantitative skills amongst Scottish social scientists. However, engagement with policy makers during Phase I highlighted gaps between academic research and policy-based evidence in key areas of government importance which they were not able to address because of limited capacity to conduct advanced statistical research. This proposal attempts to address some of these gaps. Our main goal is to develop a dynamic and pioneering set of projects that will improve our understanding of current social issues in the UK and provide policy makers and practitioners with the evidence to build a better future. We focus on three key strands of research: * Education and Social Stratification - This strand aims to better understand the ways in which social class differences in entry to, progression in and attainment at tertiary education affect individuals' labour market outcomes and their civic participation. The proposed research will...