Next Steps: Sweeps 1-8, 2004-2016

<i>Next Steps</i>, previously known as the 'Longitudinal Study of Young People in England' (LSYPE1), follows the lives of around 16,000 people born in 1989-90 in England. There have been eight sweeps of the study so far, between 2004 and 2016.<br>
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The study began in 2004 and included young people in Year 9 who attended state and independent schools in England. Following the initial survey at age 13-14, the cohort members were interviewed every year until 2010, when they were aged 19-20, to map their journeys from compulsory schooling to university, training and, ultimately, entry into the labour market. The survey over the past seven sweeps (2004-2010) has thus mainly focused on the educational and early labour market experiences of young people, but also included diverse information on aspects of their lives including social participation and attitudes, risky-, crime- and anti-social behaviours, health and wellbeing, family formation, and aspirations for the future. The survey data has also been linked to the National Pupil Database (NPD) records, including cohort members' individual scores at Key Stage 2, 3 and 4.<br>
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Interviews for the first four sweeps were conducted face-to-face, and young people were interviewed along with their parents. At Sweeps 5 to 7, a mixed mode approach was introduced and respondents – the young person only - could complete the interview online, over the telephone, or face-to-face.<br>
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The first seven sweeps of the study (2004-2010) were funded and managed by the Department for Education (DfE). In 2013 the management of Next Steps was transferred to the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) at the UCL Institute of Education. Further information for the first seven sweeps may be found on the <a href="https://www.education.gov.uk/ilsype/workspaces/public/wiki/Welcome" title="Welcome to Interactive LSYPE">DfE iLSYPE</a> webpage and in the documentation accompanying the data deposit.<br>
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In 2015 Next Steps was restarted, under the management of CLS, to find out how the lives of the cohort members have turned out at age 25. The eighth sweep of the study took place between August 2015 and September 2016 with the fieldwork carried out by NatCen Social Research. The Next Steps age 25 survey was aimed at increasing the understanding of the lives of the young adults growing up today, and in particular the transitions out of education and into early adult life. It maintained the strong focus on education, but the content was broadened to become a more multi-disciplinary research resource. Data was collected about cohort members' education and job training, employment and economic circumstances, housing and family life, physical and emotional health, and identity and participation. A wide range of administrative data linkage consents were collected covering health, education, economics and criminal behaviour. The collection of the data involved a sequential mixed-mode design. Participants were first invited to participate online, non-responders were then contacted by telephone and face-to-face interview afterwards.<br>
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The age 25 survey sample design comprised contacting all cohort members who had ever taken part in any of the previous sweeps of the study (except those who had given a clear refusal or are ineligible). Further information for Sweep 8 of Next Steps may be found on the <a href="http://www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/" title="Centre for Longitudinal Studies">CLS</a> website.<br>
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For the 14th edition (January 2018), unfolding brackets income and benefits data for Wave 8 were deposited. In addition, some variable labels, value labels and missing values have been corrected in the Wave 8 main interview and derived files. The Wave 8 user guide has been updated accordingly (see the Introduction for details of changes).<br>
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