Integrating biological and social science data: the expertise of Understanding Society
Channel: National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM)
Date: 2018-01-17

Michaela Benzeval (University of Essex) talks at the NCRM Autumn School 2017
https://www.ncrm.ac.uk/autumn/

Abstract of the session: 
Understanding the interaction between people’s social and economic circumstances and their health across the life span is essential to develop policies not only to improve the nation’s health but also its social and economic capacities. To investigate these complex links, studies are required that bring together rich data on people’s social and economic lives with accurate measures of health and health functioning. Such data are available in Understanding Society: the UK Household Longitudinal Study, a major infrastructure investment for UK social science, which in recent years has been enhanced with the addition of biomarker, genetics and epigenetics information. This session will outline the biological information available in Understanding Society, some of the issues that need to be considered in analysing them and illustrate the ways in which they might add value to social science research.