About the research
Full project title: Linkage to Administrative and Educational Data
Administrative data refers to the information that is collected by official bodies during their routine contact with citizens or service users. In the UK, the government is the main collector and custodian of administrative records; examples include data collected regarding tax and benefits, education and health. This project worked towards linking data from specific cohort studies with administrative datasets, focusing specifically on indicators of economic activity and education.
It also created a new database to allow researchers to track the performance of schools more accurately and efficiently, helping to paint a clearer picture of education in England. The consistent schools database links data on school performance, mergers, splits, closures and changes in school status, both forwards and backwards in time.
Research leads
Professor Lorraine Dearden
Professor Alissa Goodman
Alissa Goodman (Centre for Longitudinal Studies, UCL) and Lorraine Dearden (UCL)
Studies used
Research outputs
- Consistent schools database
- Project work contributed to the government policy document “Factors associated with achievement: key stage 2”.
- Survey–Administrative data linkage guidance. Not yet available – sign up to CLOSER’s email newsletters to find out when it is published.
Read about other CLOSER data linkage projects.