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Metadata

Name
ONS Omnibus Survey, October 2000
Repository
UK data archive
Identifier
doi:10.5255/UKDA-SN-4528-1
Description
Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (formerly known as the ONS Opinions Survey or Omnibus) is a regular, multi-purpose survey which was carried out in eight months of the year until April 2005. From this point it has run monthly. It started operating commercially in 1990 and was set up originally to meet the needs of government departments for a survey that used short and simple sets of questions, had greater statistical reliability than private sector omnibus surveys and a properly designed random sample. Now, however, an increasing number of academics are finding it a valuable research tool.The Opinions and Lifestyle Survey is used for a number of purposes, for example:to provide quick answers to questions of immediate interestto provide information on topics that do not require a full surveyto develop and pilot questions for other surveysto sift for subgroups that can be followed up in another surveyHistory
Up to December 2007, OPN was known as the ONS Omnibus Survey. From January 2008, the name changed to the ONS Opinions Survey, which and formed part of the Integrated Household Survey (IHS). As a result, certain classificatory variables were altered to harmonise with the...
Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (formerly known as the ONS Opinions Survey or Omnibus) is a regular, multi-purpose survey which was carried out in eight months of the year until April 2005. From this point it has run monthly. It started operating commercially in 1990 and was set up originally to meet the needs of government departments for a survey that used short and simple sets of questions, had greater statistical reliability than private sector omnibus surveys and a properly designed random sample. Now, however, an increasing number of academics are finding it a valuable research tool.The Opinions and Lifestyle Survey is used for a number of purposes, for example:to provide quick answers to questions of immediate interestto provide information on topics that do not require a full surveyto develop and pilot questions for other surveysto sift for subgroups that can be followed up in another surveyHistory
Up to December 2007, OPN was known as the ONS Omnibus Survey. From January 2008, the name changed to the ONS Opinions Survey, which and formed part of the Integrated Household Survey (IHS). As a result, certain classificatory variables were altered to harmonise with the rest of the surveys that form the IHS. For further information, see detailed breakdown of the changes contained within the documentation for 2008 studies onwards. Subsequently, in January 2010, the OPN component was dropped from the IHS due to only one individual per household being interviewed, while the IHS requires questions to be asked of all household members. This process significantly increased the length of the OPN interview and, therefore, OPN reverted back to interviewing one household member, but still contains questions harmonised to the IHS. From April 2012, OPN changed its name to the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, following the merger of the non-EU-SILC questions from the General Lifestyle Survey.Secure Access Opinions and Lifestyle Survey data
With effect from 2008, the decision was made by ONS to make all new and existing disability, contraception, lifestyle, Census religion, non-resident parent contact and other selected OPN modules issuable only to Approved Researchers under Secure Access conditions, due to the disclosive nature of the data. See the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey Secure Access datasets page for further details.Main topics
Each month's questionnaire consists of two elements: core questions, covering demographic information, are asked each month together with non-core questions that vary from month to month.
The non-core questions for this month were:Hearing and subtitles (Module 204): this module was asked on behalf of the BBC. It was asked of all household members aged nine or over who had hearing difficulties or difficulty hearing the TV at normal volume.
Internet access (Module 264): this module is being asked on behalf of a number of government departments, but primarily the Office for National Statistics and the E-Envoy's Office (part of the Cabinet Office). Designed to monitor internet use, which is currently a high profile government policy.
E-Health (Module 270): this module was asked on behalf of Citizens Online, a charity set up to monitor and improve access to the internet. These questions are about health information on the internet and asked only of those who have used the internet for private/personal use.
Smoking (Module 130): this module is being asked on behalf of the Department of Health. The questions relate to smoking.
New ethnic question (Module 272): this question was asked on behalf of Social Survey Division and Socio-Economic Division of ONS and may be adopted as the new harmonised ethnicity question.
Data or Study Types
multiple
Source Organization
University of Essex
Access Conditions
available
Access Hyperlink
http://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-4528-1

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