How can I link postcodes to SIMD ranks or deciles?
If you have a small number of postcodes, you can find the SIMD rank by putting one postcode at a time in to the 'Quick Profile' tool on the Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics website. SIMD rank is one of the summary statistics provided in the profile.
If you have a large number of postcodes, you need two separate files:
- A postcode lookup file is included in the geography download product from Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics. The lookup is a list of all postcodes in Scotland, and the data zone in which it is situated, along with various other geographies such as intermediate geography or health board. The geography download is available from the data download section of the SNS website. The file in the download that contains the postcode index is prefixed 'snspc…'. Note that the file is in a comma separated format as it is too large to load in to excel. To use the file, load it into SAS, Access, or split the file up using notepad so that you can then open in excel.
- The Overall SIMD 2006 and individual domain data file available from the data and analysis section of the SIMD website. This datafile contains a list of all 6,505 data zones and, for each one, the overall SIMD rank and the ranks for each of the SIMD domains.
To use the files you need to attach the data zone code to your list of postcodes using the postcode lookup, and then attach the SIMD rank to those data zones using the SIMD data file.
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Can I produce an SIMD rank for areas larger than data zones?
The SIMD is calculated at the data zone level only. In order to measure how deprived larger areas are, it is necessary to look at the proportion of data zones within that larger area that fall within the 5, 10 or 15% most deprived areas or the proportion that fall within bands of say 5% or 10%.
To compare local authorities, it is most appropriate to use the proportion of data zones, or the proportion of the population, in the 15% most deprived.
It is important to bear in mind that data zones nest directly into intermediate geographies and local authorities, however, they do not fit exactly into other higher geographies e.g. wards. Any comparisons of the SIMD at these geographies will be on a 'best fit' basis only.
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How can we use SIMD to understand communities better?
The SIMD ranks provide a relative measure of deprivation. It is important to note that because the rankings of data zones within the index are relative, it is not possible to tell, from the rank, how much more deprived one data zone is than another. A data zone ranked 5 is not necessarily twice as deprived as one that is ranked 10. Likewise, a data zone with a more deprived rank in SIMD 2006 than it had in SIMD 2004 may not necessarily have become more deprived in absolute terms, rather its relative position to other areas has worsened.
To find out why an area has a different ranking to another, it is possible to investigate the domains and indicators that make up the overall SIMD rank. These are available in the data and analysis section section of the SIMD website. Individual indicators provide absolute values for each data zones and so can provide information on how much more deprived one area is than another.
To assess why a data may have changed rank over time, again, it is possible to look at individual indicators in the data and analysis section of the website. Care must be taken when comparing indicators from SIMD 2004 and SIMD 2006 as some data sources have changed and the methodology for compiling the indicators may have changed. These changes are described for each indicator in the SIMD 2006 technical report.
The employment domain, however, has seen no changes to methodology or data source between the two Indices and, as it is an absolute measure (proportion of working age population that are employment deprived) and it has one of the greatest weightings in the overall SIMD rank, it will provide a good indication as to why an area may have changed rank.
Finally, as data zone boundaries have remained constant, populations within data zones may have changed and this might affect the overall SIMD rank.
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Can I compare SIMD to other indices of deprivation across the United Kingdom?
Each of the four nations in the United Kingdom produces its own index. Although each of the indices are based on the same methodology, the respective indices are not comparable for a range of reasons, including: the use of different geographies (Scottish data zones are considerably smaller than the SOAa used in England and Wales) and the use of slightly different indicators and weightings.
The Office for National Statistics have put together a website to explain in more detail the similarities and differences between the four indices.
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Is the population in the 15% most deprived data zones 15% of the population of Scotland?
Yes, because the data zones have roughly the same population, the population in the 15% most deprived areas is approximately 15% of the Scottish population, although this is subject to change as the populations of data zones will change over time (demolitions, new buildings, etc).
Data zones are based on 2001 census populations and are the static geographic unit in the SIMD methodology. It is anticipated that data zone boundaries will be reviewed in light of the 2011 population census results.
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