Social Participation and Identity, 2007-2010 : Combining Quantitative Longitudinal Data with a Qualitative Investigation of a Sub-Sample of the 1958 National Child Development Study

This dataset is a mixed-methods data collection incorporating both qualitative and quantitative data. This is a highly original data collection and represents the first attempt to interview members of a national, longitudinal cohort study in depth, with the possibility of linking such biographical narratives to structured survey data collected throughout the life course. Interviews were conducted with a sub-sample of 220 NCDS cohort members at age 50, resident in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). The interviews were organised into six main sections focussing on: 1) Neighbourhood and belonging; 2) Leisure activities and social participation; 3) Personal communities; 4) Life histories; 5) Identity; 6) Reflections on being part of the NCDS. Each interview has been transcribed verbatim and carefully anonymised prior to deposit at the archive. The dataset is accompanied by a detailed user guide. The significance of the dataset is being demonstrated through its use by a number of researchers from different disciplines. For example zzz individuals have downloaded the dataset since November 2011. The approach of conducting biographical interviews with existing members of cohort studies has been extended and used with the 1946 cohort and the Hertfordshire Cohort Study as part of a cross-cohort research programme funded under the New Dynamics of Aging cross-council initiative. The data set also has considerable potential future significance. The multi- user data set will continue to be used in years to come either as a rich source of qualitative data on the lives of 50 year olds in 2008 and/or as a mixed methods resource such that the transcribed interviews are analysed alongside the quantitative longitudinal data