Data by theme
UK Data Service has web pages to aid researchers looking specifically for data on particular themes:
Labour market
Employment is a fundamental feature of social life. At the macro level, labour costs, employment rates and industrial and occupational patterns have considerable impact on the character and prosperity of nations. At the micro level, individual workers sell labour in markets according to their personal capital and circumstances. In turn, their relationship to the labour market affects their movements, time use, resources available to them, and their well-being. The UK Data Service holds a full range of employment and labour market data from key government and longitudinal surveys to international indicators and qualitative historical interviews.
Housing and the local environment
Housing conditions and the quality of the local environment play a large role in quality of life. Health and well-being can be affected by poor housing conditions such as damp or overcrowding and also by factors related to the local area, for example levels of deprivation, access to services, contact with neighbours or the fear of crime. Good quality homes and local surroundings are important factors in ensuring a safe and healthy environment. Many of the data sources held by the UK Data Service contain information on these topics.
Crime and social control
'Crime' encompasses a wide range of issues that lie within the remit of several academic disciplines, including sociology, psychology, law and economics. As a theme, crime may cover various topics, ranging from contemporary concerns over youth gangs and anti-social behaviour, through ‘white collar’ and corporate crime, including crimes against the environment, to serious violence. Crime-related data held by the UK Data Service include not only national crime surveys (which themselves cover diverse issues such as identity theft and alcohol-related disorder in the night-time economy) but also illegal drug use, workers in the criminal justice system, football hooliganism and community policing in Africa.
Health and health behaviour
Health and health behaviour covers a wide range of topics and cuts across many academic disciplinesg. Data have been collected and are made available via the UK Data Service on topics as varied as the experience of illness, child development, access to care, lifestyle behaviour, subjective physical and mental well-being, diet and nutrition, immunisation programmes and attitudes towards health service provision. Data on health and health behaviour can cover not only a person’s status, behaviour, attitudes and expectations but also the provision of health care, including the mechanics of policy making, government expenditure and service coverage.