For the 1991 FES, the sample addresses for which there was no response have been checked against the 1991 Census data, so that the characteristics of non-responders can be found and compared with responders. Other surveys are also compared with the Census - General Household Survey, Labour Force Survey, and National Food Survey. It was done for the FES in 1971 and 1981. The results of the Census check have not yet been published. Differences in questions between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK are small.
Some questions reflect different circumstances, e.g. rates instead of council tax.
And finally some questions are extra, e.g. fuel use, religion. The sampling method is also somewhat different. Richard Dorsett spoke as an analyst of the FES for research purposes. He described a project underway to analyze the demand for meat. Characteristics can influence these two decisions independently.