Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Integrated Household Survey (IHS), which ran from 2009-2014, was a composite survey combining questions asked on a number of social surveys conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to produce a dataset of 'core' variables. The ONS stopped producing IHS datasets from 2015 onwards; variables covering health, smoking prevalence, forces veterans, sexual identity and well-being will be incorporated into the Annual Population Survey - see the Which surveys (or modules) are included in the IHS? and What is the IHS? FAQ pages for further details. Background and history of the IHS The aim of the IHS was to produce high-level estimates for particular themes to a higher precision and lower geographic level than current ONS social surveys. The 'core' set contained around 100 questions, but a respondent was only asked a proportion of those depending on routing from answers to questions. The core questions were asked, where possible, at the beginning of the component surveys. In January 2008, a set of core questions was introduced within three ONS surveys in the General Lifestyle Survey, Living Costs and Food Survey, and the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey. In April 2008 the IHS core questions were also introduced on the English Housing Survey, bringing the family of modules on the IHS up to four. The IHS dataset for 2008-2009 was used as a pilot for the concept, developing the systems and designing the weighting methodology. The IHS data for that period have not been published as they do not provide better quality information than that within existing surveys. Hence, the earliest IHS data currently available cover 2009-2010. In April 2009 the IHS core questions were introduced on the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Annual Population Survey (APS) questionnaires and from June 2009 the Life Opportunities Survey (LOS, which also ran from 2009-2014) was included in the IHS family of modules. With the inclusion of these new surveys the IHS became complete, with an achieved annual sample size of approximately 450,000 individuals from interviews undertaken in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Therefore, the first IHS dataset released covers the period April 2009-March 2010, starting the IHS data series from the point that all surveys were included. The large sample size and UK-wide coverage meant that various geographical breakdowns were possible in the IHS, and it is possible to use a geographical hierarchy to drill down to lower level detail within an area. The IHS also contained data collected from the following surveys: General Lifestyle Survey; Living Costs and Food Survey; Opinions and Lifestyle Survey; English Housing Survey; Labour Force Survey; Annual Population Survey; and Life Opportunities Survey. All questions had been removed from the component surveys by 2014 and the IHS closed that year. Further information is available from the ONS Integrated Household Survey (Experimental statistics): January to December 2014 webpage. End User Licence and Secure Access IHS data: Two versions of the IHS are held by the UK Data Service. One is available under the standard End User Licence (EUL) agreement, and the other is a Secure Access version (which replaces the previous Special Licence versions previously held under SNs 6585, 6744, 6808, 6776, 6934, 6958, 7002, 7062, 7158, 7420, 7602 and 7840, that are no longer available). The differences are as follows:The EUL version contains less detailed variables. For example, the lowest geography available is Government Office Region, only major (3-digit) SOC groups are included for main, second and last job, and only industry sector for main, second and last job. Users are advised to first obtain the standard EUL version of the data to see if they are sufficient for their research requirements.The Secure Access version contains more detailed variables relating to age, age of youngest dependent child, country of birth, family unit type, household and household reference person, industry class, sub-class and division, month left last job, cohabitation, country of residence history, multiple households at address, nationality, New Deal training types, National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC) long version, qualifications, household relationships, minor Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) groups, sexual identity, training and working age. The more detailed geographic variables present include county, unitary/local authority, Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics 2 (NUTS2) and NUTS3 regions and Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs). Users should note that the user guide also mentions variables that are not included in either the EUL or Secure Access datasets held at the Archive. The Secure Access version has more restrictive access conditions than those made available under the standard EUL. Prospective users will need to fulfil additional requirements, including completion of face-to-face training and agreement to Secure Access' User Agreement and Breaches Penalties Policy, in order to obtain permission to use that version (see 'Access' section below). Users are strongly advised to check whether the EUL datasets (see the UK Data Service IHS series webpage) are sufficient for their needs before making an application for the Secure Access data.
Main Topics:The IHS core questions cover several themes. These include:economic activityeducationhealth and disabilityidentityincomeIncome variables: Users should note that while income data are collected within the IHS and questions are included in the questionnaire, ONS have so far not been able to harmonise the income variables across the different surveys that comprise the IHS. Therefore, there are currently no income variables included in the EUL or SL datasets deposited at the Archive; the variables are only included in the Government Statistical Services (GSS) client and ONS internal research datasets. For further details, see Volume 3 of the IHS user guide.
Each of the surveys that comprised the IHS have their own sampling design, meaning that the IHS included clustered and non-clustered, multistage and single stage component samples and also cross-sectional and longitudinal data.
Face-to-face interview
