Cens-able project to link census data for research

The new Cens-able project – funded by the Economic Social Research Council – brings Research Data Scotland together with partner organisations to increase researcher awareness and knowledge of best practice in linking, accessing and analysing census-linked data products in Scotland’s National Safe Haven environment.  

We will work closely with the Scottish Centre for Administrative Data Research (SCADR), EPCC, National Records of Scotland, and Public Health Scotland’s electronic Data Research and Innovation Service (eDRIS) to explore various aspects of linking data from three datasets.  

These datasets are:  

• The 2022 Scottish Census 
• The Equalities Protected Characteristics dataset* 
• An Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)  

A synthetic version of Scotland’s linked ASHE-Census linked dataset will be created and made available for training and to help to prepare research project applications.  

In addition to the technical work of preparing and curating the linked datasets, interactive training events will be held using the census-linked products and sharing knowledge with researchers on the system transformation in research access to administrative data happening in Scotland. There is also a public engagement element to the work, as we will connect with relevant communities about appropriate safeguards for linking protected characteristics data and potential research use. 

Nora Cooke O’Dowd, Chief Data Officer at Research Data Scotland, said:  

“This funding from ESRC creates an exciting opportunity to link these powerful datasets with individual census returns. When these data sources are linked together, we can explore rich research questions about employment in Scotland. This will be the first time that the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data will be available within Scotland’s National Safe Haven.” 

You can read more information on Cens-able on SCADR's website. 

*Please note that at present, the Equalities and Protected Characteristics Dataset is only available for access requests to deliver a proof of concept of the utility of the dataset.