Scottish Surveys Core Questions 2022

1.1 Source Surveys and Core Questions

Results from the three large-scale Scottish Government population surveys are published separately as Accredited Official Statistics:

• Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS)
• Scottish Health Survey (SHeS)
• Scottish Household Survey (SHS)

Further information on Population Surveys in Scotland can be found on the Scottish Government website.

Since the beginning of 2012 each of the surveys have included a set of around 20 core questions that provide information on the composition, characteristics and attitudes of Scottish households and adults across a number of topic areas, including equality characteristics, housing, employment and perceptions of health and crime. Responses to these questions in all three surveys have been pooled to provide the Scottish Surveys Core Questions (SSCQ) dataset with a sample size of around 20,000 responses.

Full details of the harmonised questions are available online and questionnaires are provided on the websites of each of the individual surveys.

Due to the different sampling nature of each survey, which is necessary to meet their primary aims, the number of respondents varies between different SSCQ questions. The questions were hence batched into three groups: household questions, individual questions and crime questions, and three different sets of weights calculated to ensure representative results. Sampling, weighting and pooled sample numbers are described separetely for each survey below.

Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) technical notes

Sampling, survey response and weighting are described in full in the SCJS technical report. Briefly, the survey consists of a stratified systematic sample which is designed to achieve a robust sample at national and local authority level. The target samples size at national level is 6,000 interviews per year. One random adult per household is interviewed and asked all SSCQ and SCJS questions.

Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) technical notes

Sampling, survey response and weighting are described in full in the SHeS technical report. Briefly, the survey is a partially clustered stratified multi-stage sample, with local authorities as strata, intermediate geographies as primary sampling units and addresses as secondary sampling unit. All adults and up to two children in each household are eligible for interview. Only one adult in each household is asked the crime and household questions to remain in line with the SCJS sampling procedure. The SHeS sample is boosted for some health boards and to capture more households with children.

Scottish Household Survey (SHS) technical notes

Sampling, survey response and weighting are described in full in the SHS technical report. The SHS consists of a stratified systematic sample with a target minimum effective sample size of 250 per local authority. The SSCQ household questions are answered by the highest income householder or their spouse/partner, and one adult is randomly selected to answer the individual and crime questions, in line with the other two surveys.