National Child Development Study
Encyclopedia
The National Child Development Study (NCDS) is a continuing, multi-disciplinary longitudinal study
which follows the lives of about 17,000 people born in Great Britain
in a certain week in 1958.
It is "the granddaddy of all cohort studies" and was set up by J. W. B. Douglas less than a year after the end of the second world war. It began with interviews of more than 13 000 mothers who had given birth in the United Kingdom during one week of March 1946.http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d942.extract
After the initial survey in 1958, there have been attempts to trace all members of this birth generational cohort in 1965, 1969, 1974, 1981, 1991, 1999–2000, 2004 and 2008 to get information concerning their physical, educational and social development. During the 2002-2204, genetic information on participants was also obtained to examine the genetic effects on common traits and diseases.
The origins of the NCDS can be found in the Perinatal Mortality Survey (PMS) which was then sponsored by the National Birthday Trust Fund and set up to collect information about the social and obstetric factors associated with stillbirth
and death in early infancy. Examples of other topics which have since been included are medical care, health, home environment, educational progress, parental involvement, family relationships, economic activity, income, training and housing.
Following the initial birth survey, the four subsequent sweeps were carried out by the National Children's Bureau
. In 1985, the NCDS was moved to the Social Statistics Research Unit (SSRU), which is now known as the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS).
was used with a sample of 2,997 cases in total.
(ESDS) website . Users will have to register in order to access the download section.
Longitudinal study
A longitudinal study is a correlational research study that involves repeated observations of the same variables over long periods of time — often many decades. It is a type of observational study. Longitudinal studies are often used in psychology to study developmental trends across the...
which follows the lives of about 17,000 people born in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in a certain week in 1958.
History
The NCDS has been conducted in eight different sweeps so far.It is "the granddaddy of all cohort studies" and was set up by J. W. B. Douglas less than a year after the end of the second world war. It began with interviews of more than 13 000 mothers who had given birth in the United Kingdom during one week of March 1946.http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d942.extract
After the initial survey in 1958, there have been attempts to trace all members of this birth generational cohort in 1965, 1969, 1974, 1981, 1991, 1999–2000, 2004 and 2008 to get information concerning their physical, educational and social development. During the 2002-2204, genetic information on participants was also obtained to examine the genetic effects on common traits and diseases.
The origins of the NCDS can be found in the Perinatal Mortality Survey (PMS) which was then sponsored by the National Birthday Trust Fund and set up to collect information about the social and obstetric factors associated with stillbirth
Stillbirth
A stillbirth occurs when a fetus has died in the uterus. The Australian definition specifies that fetal death is termed a stillbirth after 20 weeks gestation or the fetus weighs more than . Once the fetus has died the mother still has contractions and remains undelivered. The term is often used in...
and death in early infancy. Examples of other topics which have since been included are medical care, health, home environment, educational progress, parental involvement, family relationships, economic activity, income, training and housing.
Following the initial birth survey, the four subsequent sweeps were carried out by the National Children's Bureau
National Children's Bureau
The National Children's Bureau is a children's charity based in Islington, London. It was founded in 1963 The National Children's Bureau (NCB) is a children's charity based in Islington, London. It was founded in 1963 The National Children's Bureau (NCB) is a children's charity based in Islington,...
. In 1985, the NCDS was moved to the Social Statistics Research Unit (SSRU), which is now known as the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS).
Methodology and scope
In the latest 2008-2009 sweep a combination of a 55 minute "core" face-to-face interview and a paper questionnaireQuestionnaire
A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Although they are often designed for statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the case...
was used with a sample of 2,997 cases in total.
Survey Results
The results of the NCDS have been used in over 1,000 publications, some of which can be found here. The report "Now we are 50" with the key findings of the NCDS has been published by the CLS on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the NCDS in 2008. It is available to download here.Re-using the data
The data and additional study information are available on the Economic and Social Data ServiceEconomic and Social Data Service
The Economic and Social Data Service is a national data archiving and dissemination service that was founded in January 2003. It is funded jointly by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Joint Information Systems Committee ....
(ESDS) website . Users will have to register in order to access the download section.
External links
- CLS website
- ESDS Longitudinal website
- Summary statistics of genetic information from the 2002-2004 followup (mostly Single-nucleotide polymorphisms).