The Scottish Government

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1. Background to the survey

The Scottish Household Survey ( SHS) is a continuous survey based on a sample of the general population in private residences in Scotland. The survey started in 1999 and is financed by the Scottish Executive and undertaken by a partnership of TNS Social (formerly NFO Social Research) and MORI Scotland.

The aim of the survey is to provide representative information about the composition, characteristics and behaviour of Scottish households, both nationally and at a more local level. The survey covers a wide range of topics to allow links to be made between different policy areas. There is a particular focus on information to inform policy on Transport, Social Justice and Housing. Results are reported in a series of annual reports, of which this is the sixth ¹ and a number of other Scottish Executive publications, some of which are listed on page 180. A comprehensive listing of all publications is available from the SHS website. ²

This Annual Report is based on data collected from 30,822 householder interviews and 28,746 "random adult" interviews in 2003/2004.

Sampling

The sample for the survey meets a number of criteria. It is designed to provide nationally representative samples of private households and of the adult population in private households. This is achieved by splitting the interview between a household respondent and an adult selected at random from the permanent residents of the household.

In order to meet the reporting requirements, the sample is structured to be nationally representative each quarter and to provide a representative sample for larger local authorities each year (those with over 750 achieved interviews per year).

The sample is also designed to provide data for each local authority over a two-year period. This is achieved by disproportionately sampling in each local authority to achieve a target of at least 550 interviews over two years (equivalent to a simple random sample of 500, with a likely maximum sampling error of ±4%).

The survey uses two different sampling approaches. In areas of high population density (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, etc) a simple random sample of dwellings is selected covering the entire two-year sample period. These are subsequently clustered into interviewer allocations. In areas of lower population density, Census enumeration districts ( EDs) are selected with probability proportionate to population. In each ED, 18 addresses are selected, based on achieving an average of 11 interviews from each sampling point.

The sample is selected from the small user Postcode Address File ( PAF) for Scotland, expanded to take account of addresses which might only be listed once but actually contain multiple dwellings, such as tenement blocks and multi-storey flats. Although the small user PAF excludes many institutional addresses such as student halls of residence or nurses' homes, there are no geographical exclusions from the survey, which covers all parts of Scotland, including the Highlands and Islands.

Survey content

The survey questionnaire is in two parts. A householder or the spouse/partner of a householder completes Part 1 of the interview. Once the composition of the household has been established, one of the adults in the household is randomly selected by the computer to complete Part 2. ³ In all households with a single adult the same person completes both parts but as the number of adults in the household increases, the probability of the random adult being the same as the household respondent declines. ⁴

The household section of the interview deals with topics such as household composition, housing and tenure, health, access to the internet, cars available to the household, the occupation and industry of the highest income householder, household income, housing costs and childcare. The random adult section deals with individuals' housing change, tenure change, experiences of homelessness and housing problems, neighbourhood problems, transport and use of the internet, public transport, public services, income and employment.

While most of the survey questionnaire remains the same year on year, the content is reviewed yearly and some amendments are made. A number of new questions were added to the survey in April 2003. Tables reporting the results on these questions state that they are based on data for quarters 2, 3 and 4 of 2003 and all quarters of 2004.

Mode of interview

Interviewing is conducted using Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing ( CAPI). Instead of using pen and paper to record responses, data is collected on handheld or laptop computers.

Response rates

After excluding addresses that were outwith the scope of the survey ⁵, the overall response rate for this two-year sweep of the survey was 69%. There was significant variation in response between local authorities. The highest response rate was achieved in Shetland (80%) and the lowest response was achieved in Glasgow (60%). Post-survey weighting takes account of both the disproportionate sampling between local authorities and the differential response between authorities.

Weighting

The data presented in the report have been weighted in one of two ways. Household data (collected in Part 1 of the interview) are weighted to take account of the disproportionate sampling and response between local authorities. Random adult data (from Part 2) are weighted to reflect both the disproportionate sampling and response to Part 2 between local authorities and the different probabilities of selection within households. ⁶ Similarly, the data relating to the randomly-chosen schoolchild are weighted to reflect the disproportionate sampling and variation in response rates between local authorities and also the number of schoolchildren in the household. These weighted data have been compared with other official estimates and no additional weighting has been undertaken at this stage.

Technical report

Full details of the survey can be obtained from the companion Technical Reports of the survey. There are four parts to the technical reporting detailing separately the methodology, the fieldwork outcomes for 2003 and for 2003/2004, and the questionnaire used. ⁷

Structure of the Annual Report

The report is divided into five substantive chapters, as follows:

Chapter 3 - 'Who we are' - provides information on the population of Scotland covering topics such as the age and sex of the population, household size and type and the marital status of household members.

Chapter 4 - 'Where we live' - looks at the housing circumstances of the population. It covers housing tenure, tenure change, moving home, homelessness and the types of properties in which people live.

Chapter 5 - 'What we do' - examines the economic circumstances of households and adults. It looks at whether people work, the types of work they do, and the number of hours they work. It also looks at the circumstances of non-working adults and the situation of women of working age.

Chapter 6 - 'How we live' - presents analysis of household resources, including both material and financial resources. It examines ill health and disability, and the provision and receipt of care.

Chapter 7 - 'Our communities' - analyses adults' involvement in their community and other neighbourhood issues. This includes voluntary activity, religion and looks at adults' views of local services including recycling services.

The report also contains a glossary with detailed definitions of some of the terms used in the survey. This sets out what is meant by terms such as 'Highest Income Householder' and what is included and excluded from, for example, household income.

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