Understanding Society User Support

The survey office put more effort into verifying deaths of sample members in certain years if the sample members or their households had not been contactable for one or more years. This was done at the survey office by searching obituaries and stressing the importance of gathering this information to interviewers before the fieldwork. If you look back at the household interview outcomes of deceased sample member a wave or two you will see a varying proportion originates from households that were unproductive in the previous year. This effect is particular clear for Wave 14. The new Scotland and Wales samples were first selected at Wave 9 and the mortality rate in these two samples seems to be higher than average for some reason in the following year.