Geographical Data Linkage (ONLINE)

Geographical Data Linkage

Who is the course for?

This course is aimed at researchers and analysts who are familiar with Understanding Society and want to use geographical information to link Understanding Society data to UK open data sources.

The workshop introduces the geographical datasets and resources available for Understanding Society, including geographical identifiers, geographical classifications, access conditions, and practical issues that researchers need to consider before linking data. It also explains how geographical linkage can be used to enrich survey data with external area-level information.

The session combines an introduction to the available resources, short external presentations showing applied examples or related perspectives, and a guided practical exercise in Stata. In the practical part, participants will work through an example of linking synthetic Understanding Society-style files (where the data is completely fictitious, but the file structure is maintained) to external Local Authority District-level data.

This course is free to attend, but if you attend in person you will need to pay for your own travel and accommodation.

What will I learn?

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• understand what geographical identifiers and geographical classification datasets are available for Understanding Society;
• identify which access route may be needed for different types of geographical data;
• understand the basic structure of geographical lookup files and how they connect to Understanding Society household and individual files;
• link external area-level data to Understanding Society-style synthetic data using Stata;
• recognise common issues in geographical linkage, including changes in geographical boundaries, differences in terminology, matching timelines, and sample size limitations.

The practical exercise will focus on the logic of linking data: identifying the linking variable, checking the level of each dataset, merging household and individual files, and linking external macro-level data at the Local Authority District level.

Course format

The workshop will include:

• an introduction to geographical data linkage in Understanding Society;
• an overview of data access, data structure, and geographical lookup files;
• short external presentations* to show how geographical linkage can be used in practice;
• a guided Stata exercise using synthetic data;
• discussion of common linkage problems and good practice.

Online and in-person participants will use the same materials and follow the same exercise structure.

*External presenters:

Paulo Morais, University of Essex

Xhiselda Demaj, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Bologna

Elisabetta Pietrostefani, Deputy Director, University of Liverpool

Course materials

Participants will be provided with slides, worksheets, synthetic data files, and Stata syntax files to accompany the worked exercise.

Software and technical requirements

Participants should have access to a computer or laptop with Stata Version 13 or higher installed. Participants joining online should also be able to download and open the workshop files before the practical exercise.

Making our events accessible

At Understanding Society we want everyone who attends our events to feel welcome and included. This short guide will tell you how we plan and deliver events that are accessible for everyone.

Other Understanding Society workshops

You may be interested in other Understanding Society workshops, so please have a look at our Training Hub