The Sample

• Nationally representative sample of households in 1991
• All adults (16+) interviewed
• Initial sample of households drawn from Postcode Address File (PAF)
  • 250 areas sampled from PAF (primary sampling units, PSUs)
  • Approx 33 addresses sampled in each PSU
• Persons in institutions at Wave 1 excluded
• No PSUs north of the Caledonian Canal in Scotland (excludes north and west highlands: sparsely populated)
• Northern Ireland excluded
• Sample additions since wave 1:
  • Incorporation of ex-ECHP subsample (incl NI, oversamples low-income hhds)
  • Welsh and Scottish Household Panels beginning 1999 (can both stand alone and integrate into core BHPS)
  • A Northern Ireland sample from 2001