Different ways of recording longitudinal information
Ways of handling the different data structures
Household Panel Studies allow many different Levels of
Analysis
Household versus individual
Individual at one time versus individual through time
Subunits within households
(nuclear) families
benefit or tax units
couples
parent-child pairs
Subunits within individuals
Labour market spells
Marital/cohabitation spells
Payments received
At a practical level we also distinguish between
Enumerated households
Respondent households
Enumerated individuals
Full respondents
Proxy/telephone respondents
Several different subsamples: original, ``temporary'', ECHP low-income
booster, new Scottish and Welsh panels, Northern Irish panel
Three very important files:
XWAVEID: Cross-wave identifier file with interview
outcomes and ``fixed'' information such as sex and date of birth
XWAVEDAT: fixed individual-level information collected
at different times, drawn into one location
wINDALL: Wave-specific file listing all enumerated
individuals, with details of interview outcome, relationships,
benefit unit membership, along with some household-grid derived
information
