Scottish Household Survey (including Scottish House Condition Survey)

Time

2003 - On-going (Annual)

Data for the SHS are recorded continuously but annual reports with associated web tables are published annually. The survey started in 1999 and up to 2011 followed a fairly consistent survey design. From 2012 onwards, the survey was substantially redesigned to include elements of the Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) including the follow-up Physical Survey component. Data for the Scottish House Condition Survey is available from 2003

Dataset Quality

Annual Technical reports are provided alongside annual reports to detail the methodology and data quality issues of the SHS. As a sample survey, the EHS suffers from sample error and some coverage issues. Although there are no geographical exclusions to the survey, the sampling frame does not cover the whole population because of a combination of inherent limitations and administrative errors and delays. Some variables are subjective and aspects such as reported income may be reported erroneously. There are also some issues with continuity in the data due to a substantial redesign in 2012. For more details on limitations of the data please see published technical reports.

Organised in two-year cycles, it interviews around 14,500 households per annum and can provide data disaggregated at local authority level at the end of each cycle. The survey is conducted as a two-part interview. The first is the 'Household' element, asked of a householder (typically the Highest Income Householder) or their spouse/partner. The second is an 'Adult' element, asked of a random adult within the household.

Dataset Access and Use

Annual publications are produced with web tables which are freely accessible. For datasets including an local authority identifier, data request forms must be completed. A dataset called SHS Lite is available to encourage use of the Scottish Household Survey. This must be requested and is provided on a CD. Web pages highlight that additional datasets can be requested.

Although data are not freely released, SHS lite is produced to encourage non-commercial uses of the data. Extensive details are also provided on webpages detailing the process and forms needed for accessing data for research use.

Geography

The survey is only designed to be representative at the local authority level on a two-year basis. Follow up surveys and Special Datasets, which may be available at the individual level, may be available where approval is obtained.