DOI: 10.5255/ukda-sn-6024-2
title: Youth Cohort Study: England, Cohort Thirteen, Sweeps One to Four, 2007-2010
title: Youth Cohort Study, 1985-
title: YCS

description: The &lt;i&gt;Youth Cohort Study&lt;/i&gt; (YCS) is a major programme of longitudinal research designed to monitor the behaviour and decisions of representative samples of young people aged sixteen upwards as they make the transition from compulsory education to further or higher education, or to the labour market. It tries to identify and explain the factors which influence post-16 transitions, for example, educational attainment, training opportunities, experiences at school. To date the YCS covers thirteen cohorts and over forty surveys. The first cohort was first surveyed in 1985 and the thirteenth in 2007. The questionnaires have been designed, over the years, to be broadly comparable, but external changes and shifts in policy interest have brought about changes - some minor, some fundamental. Cohorts One to Twelve cover England and Wales but a change to the methodology means that from Cohort Thirteen, data cover England only. For further details of the methodology and coverage, see the documentation.&lt;br&gt;
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The UK Data Archive currently holds data for the cohorts listed below:&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Cohort One (SN 3093) surveyed those eligible to leave school in 1983-84&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Cohort Two (SN 3094) surveyed those eligible to leave school in 1984-85&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;*Cohort Three (SN 3012) surveyed those eligible to leave school in 1985-86&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Cohort Four (SN 3107) surveyed those eligible to leave school in 1987-88&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Cohort Five (SN 3531) surveyed those eligible to leave school in 1989-90&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Cohort Six (SN 3532) surveyed those eligible to leave school in 1990-91&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Cohort Seven (SN 3533) surveyed those eligible to leave school in 1992-93&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Cohort Eight (SN 3805) surveyed those eligible to leave school in 1995-96&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Cohort Nine (SN 4009) surveyed those eligible to leave school in 1996-97&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Cohort Ten (SN 4571) surveyed those eligible to leave school in 1998-99&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Cohort Eleven (SN 5452) surveyed those eligible to leave school in 2000-01&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Cohort Twelve (SN 5830) surveyed those eligible to leave school in 2002-03&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Cohort Thirteen (SN 6024) surveyed those eligible to leave school in 2005-06&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;*Some teaching materials using the data from Cohort Three have been developed. Details are available from the &lt;a href="http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/media/185474/tramsswebsite_archive.pdf" title="Teaching Resources and Materials for Social Scientists (TRAMSS)"&gt;Teaching Resources and Materials for Social Scientists (TRAMSS)&lt;/a&gt; website.&lt;br&gt;
 &lt;i&gt;Cohort Thirteen:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br&gt;
The methodology of the YCS changed at Cohort Thirteen, to allow linkage with the &lt;i&gt;Longitudinal Study of Young People in England&lt;/i&gt; (LSYPE) (held at the UK Data Archive under SN 5545). Samples for Cohort Thirteen and LSYPE were taken from the same academic cohort and their questionnaires and methodology were harmonised to facilitate analysis of the merged datasets. Also, from Cohort Thirteen onwards, the YCS is only conducted in England and no longer runs in Wales. The larger sample from the combined YCS and LSYPE surveys enables analysis at a greater level of detail, for example to show gender differences within a breakdown by ethnic origin.&lt;br&gt;
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The data collection method for Cohort Thirteen was different to previous YCS surveys. Sweep One used a face-to-face methodology in order to address falling response rates on recent YCS cohorts. Sweeps Two, Three and Four were conducted using a mixed-mode methodology (online, telephone and face-to-face interviewing). In particular, there had been concern over differential response rates between high attainers and low attainers, and it was considered that the use of a face-to-face method at Sweep One mixed-mode at Sweeps Two to Four, would boost response rates amongst low attainers.&lt;br&gt;
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Users who require more detailed data than those available in the standard access files should consult the User Guide for details. The confidentiality form to be used for such applications is available in Word format in the documentation table below.&lt;br&gt;
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For the second edition (February 2011), data and documentation from Sweeps Two and Three were added to the study. For the third edition (February 2012), data and documentation from Sweep Four were added.&lt;br&gt;
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