Community Life Survey Experimental Online Data, 2014-2015

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Community Life Survey (CLS) is a household survey conducted in England, tracking the latest trends and developments across areas key to encouraging social action and empowering communities, including: volunteering and charitable giving; views about the local area; community cohesion and belonging; community empowerment and participation; influencing local decisions and affairs; and subjective well-being and loneliness. The CLS was first commissioned by the Cabinet Office in 2012. From 2016-17, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) took over responsibility for publishing results. During 2020, the DCMS also commissioned the Community Life COVID-19 Re-contact Survey (CLRS) (SN 8781) to provide data on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected volunteering, charitable giving, social cohesion, wellbeing and loneliness in England. BackgroundUp to 2015-16, the survey used a face-to-face methodology. Following thorough testing (experimental online versions of the survey were released for 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16), the CLS moved online from 2016-17 onwards, with an end to the previous face-to-face method. The survey uses a push-to-web methodology (with paper mode for those who are not digitally engaged). The survey informs and directs policy and action in these areas; to provide data of value to all users, including public bodies, external stakeholders and the public; and underpin further research and debate on building stronger communities. The Community Life Survey incorporates a small number of priority measures from the Citizenship Survey, which ran from 2001-2011, conducted by the then Department for Communities and Local Government. These measures were incorporated in the Community Life Survey so that trends in these issues could continue to be tracked over time. (The full Citizenship Survey series is held at the UK Data Archive under GNs 33347 and 33474.) Further information may be found on the GOV.UK Community Life Survey webpage.The Community Life Survey Experimental Online Data, 2014-2015 includes gathered from an online alternative to the face-to-face survey, comprising a sample of 2,323 adults. Data from a postal version of the questionnaire, which was available on request, is also included in the dataset. This questionnaire covered the same topics as the online survey but was reduced in length. Full details can be found in the Web Survey Technical Report which is available in the Documentation section below. End User Licence and Special Licence data Users should note that there are two versions of each Community Life Survey Experimental Online Data experimental online dataset. One is available under the standard End User Licence (EUL) agreement, and the other is a Special Licence (SL) version. The SL version contains more detailed variables relating to: social class; ethnicity; religion; sexual identity and lower level geographical classifications. The SL data have more restrictive access conditions than those made available under the standard EUL. Prospective users of the SL version will need to complete an extra application form and demonstrate to the data owners exactly why they need access to the additional variables in order to get permission to use that version. Therefore, users are strongly advised to order the standard version of the data. The SL version of the Community Life Survey Experimental Online Data, 20132014-2015 is held under SN 7900. Main Topics:The main topics include: identity and social networks, local community, civic engagement, volunteering, social action, subjective well-being and basic demographics.