The Longitudinal Impossible Dataset: Helping Users Navigate the ONS LS

The Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study (ONS LS) follows a 1% sample of the population of England and Wales through each decennial census, linking census data with information from birth, death and cancer registers. As the largest dataset of its kind in the UK, the ONS LS is used for research on topics ranging from health to labour market outcomes to migration. Access to the data is highly controlled and only possible via secure settings. This means researchers must design projects, identify required variables and develop code prior to viewing the data. With thousands of variables available across 50 years of data, navigating and exploring the available metadata can be a complex task.

This webinar will showcase the Longitudinal Impossible Dataset (LIDS): an interactive tool, developed at the Centre for Longitudinal Study Information and User Support (CeLSIUS) at UCL, allowing users to produce artificial ONS LS data extracts. LIDS is based on publicly available metadata and offers a secure, accessible way for prospective users to familiarise with what data is available and to develop scripts for use in approved projects.

The session will cover the conceptualisation, development and methods behind LIDS, and will include a live demonstration of the tool.

This session will be held on MS Teams. A link to the webinar will be sent to ticket holders shortly before the event.