Linking lives through time

The Longitudinal Studies Centre - Scotland (LSCS) is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of the Scottish Longitudinal Study (SLS). This dataset includes a large sample of the Scottish population and links together various demographic, socio-economic and health data about these individuals. The data are available to academics and support is provided free of charge by a team of researchers.

Training courses introducing the dataset are run regularly and information about these is made available on this website. In addition, the LSCS provides training in longitudinal data handling, analysis and modelling. It also hosts events designed to encourage the use of longitudinal data and to identify state-of-the-art research in the field. The LSCS involves staff from a variety of backgrounds, providing an inter-disciplinary team who are also engaged in longitudinal research themselves.

The LSCS is funded by the:

• Scottish Funding Council (SFC)
• Chief Scientist Office (CSO)
• General Register Office for Scotland (GROS)
• Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
• The Scottish Executive (SE)