NILS funding 2020-2025
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen's University Belfast
Department Name: Sch of Natural and Built Environment
Abstract
The Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS) is an important element in the ESRC data infrastructure for population and public health research in Northern Ireland and across the constituent countries of the UK. It has strategic relationships with the other UKCenLSs and, within Northern Ireland, with the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), the Public Health Agency (PHA), and the Honest Broker Service (HBS). Its 28% sample, which combines census data with administrative data from the healthcard register, social care, and housing, will span the period 1981-2021 when the link to the 2021 Census is completed. This enables the description and analysis of changing populations in changing places, individual fortunes over the life course, household contexts, as well as progress between successive generations. The grant will fund, until 2025, the NILS Research Support Unit (NILS-RSU) which has the functions of maintaining a secure data laboratory for users to work on these data safely, of supporting users from project application to publication, of promoting NILS-based research to policymakers and the public, of seeking new users through the promotion of the NILS, and of encouraging research for the public benefit. A major highlight of our work programme will be testing, using and developing research around the 2021 Census link. The NILS-RSU will also seek to widen the social and educational base of the NILS in Northern Ireland through engaging with new stakeholders and growing its contribution to education. It will also encourage research using the NILS and the other UK longitudinal studies to contribute to national and international research agendas whilst developing new research partnerships in Northern Ireland.
Publications
Foley B
(2021)
How Does Administrative Data Compare with Census Data for the Measurement of Internal Migration? The Case of Northern Ireland, 2001-2011
in Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy
Hughes J
(2022)
An analysis of Covid-19 deaths and equality in Northern Ireland.
in International Journal of Population Data Science
Maguire A
(2022)
Parental mental health and risk of poor mental health and death by suicide in offspring: a population-wide data-linkage study.
in Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences
McElroy E
(2022)
Exploring the effects of socio-economic inequalities on health and disability in Northern Irish adolescents: evidence from a nationally representative longitudinal study.
in Longitudinal and life course studies : international journal
Rowland N
(2021)
The evolution of Catholic/Protestant unemployment inequality in Northern Ireland, 1983-2016
in Population, Space and Place
Shuttleworth I
(2020)
Residential mobility in divided societies: How individual religion and geographical context influenced housing moves in Northern Ireland 2001-2011
in Population, Space and Place
| Description | The NILS is a data infrastructure investment that has been funded on a rolling basis by the ESRC. Our impacts are manifested in the number of users we support, the outputs they produce, and academic outputs such as theses. Nevertheless, there are considerable impacts outside academia, some direct, and some indirect. These result from the sum of the investment over the year that maintains the data and support infrastructure (such as the secure environment). Two items in particular (which overlap this award and the current) are research on Covid and the Irish/Ulster Scots language. To deal with Covid first, the NILS infrastructure in which data on deaths in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 can be linked to the 2011 Census allowed work to be undertaken to inform government about the social and demographic incidence of mortality - in a timely way - through the pandemic. This permitted assessments to be made of Covid's impact across different economic and social groups - and the equality categories - that are a feature of governance in Northern Ireland. The work on the Irish and Ulster Scots languages was done by QUB in partnership with NISRA and co-designed with the Department for Communities (DfC). The work was novel as for the first time the individual, household, and geographical correlates of knowledge of Irish and Ulster Scots in 2011 could be considered - taking the analysis far beyond what is normally possible using aggregate census data - and knowledge of Irish in 2001 and 2011 could be compared for individuals to see who gained, retained, or lost Irish. The significance of this work is that language is an integral part of the Northern Irish political scene - the Northern Assembly was suspended in the past partly because of the arguments over an Irish Language Act (or its absence) - and because of the creation of policies to support the Irish and Ulster Scots languages. For the latter, the research supplied DfC with information that could better help them to (i) formulate policy and (ii) to better target it. One highlight was the family and household concentration of Irish and Ulster Scots knowledge and the fall off in Irish knowledge past the age of 16 - this raised questions as to how to better encourage people with a background in Irish to return to it and what, in particular, could be done at the level of the household. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Policy & public services |
| Description | About the NI Longitudinal Study |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A video introduction to the NILS |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://mediasite.qub.ac.uk/Mediasite/Play/63d3e815a8344af3b251ab54249efa2b1d |
| Description | An analysis of Covid-19 deaths and equality in Northern Ireland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Poster presentation, International Population Data linkage Network (IPDLN) conference, 7-9 September 2022, Edinburgh University |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Big Data and the Information Age |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The NILS dataset and linkage template is used within a lecture for first year students within Digital Society module to demonstrate examples of data linkage. This lecture is hosted by one of the CI's (John Moriarty) Students then use the linkage diagram as a template to create their own proposal for a linked dataset using open data resources, including NINIS, Open Data NI and ARK electoral archive. This introduces them to many different datasets containing information relating to NI |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Creation of a NILS explainer video |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The video is designed to introduce the NILS to non-experts, the public, and prospective users |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.nils-rsu.co.uk/app/uploads/2021/09/NILS_V004.mp4 |
| Description | Creation of a NILS explainer video |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The video is designed to introduce the NILS to non-experts, the public, and prospective users |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.nils-rsu.co.uk/app/uploads/2021/09/NILS_V004.mp4 |
| Description | Creation of a NILS explainer video |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A video to introduce the NILS in an accessible way |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.nils-rsu.co.uk/app/uploads/2021/09/NILS_V004.mp4 |
| Description | How to write a successful NILS application |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A video made to guide applicants through the NILS process |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://mediasite.qub.ac.uk/Mediasite/Play/e43913f024ab4293ae0599fcbc559c071d |
| Description | International Population Data Linkage Network Conference 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation entitled "Prenatal Exposure to PM2.5 and Infant Birth Outcomes: Evidence from a Population-Wide Database" which took place at the IPDLN conference held at the University of Edinburgh on 9th September 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Irish Economics Association Annual Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation entitled "Long-term Exposure to Ambient PM2.5 and Self-Reported Health: Evidence from Longitudinally-linked Census Data" at the IEA Annual Conference 2022 held at the Castletroy Park Hotel Limerick on 4th May 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Irish Language in Transition |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk given to the UK Census LS webinar, December 10th 2021 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFL9zFqHjPN4qzCQgTN9m1g/playlists |
| Description | Participation in the Northern Ireland Assembly All Party Group on Lung Health |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Neil Rowland was invited by Andrew Wilson of Asthma + Lung UK to talk about air pollution and health in Northern Ireland at the NI Assembly APG on Lung Health. This presentation took place on 28th February 2023 and involved a slideshow presentation and question-and-answer session with a virtual Zoom audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Policy Briefs for Researchers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | NILS received ESRC Impact Acceleration Funding to host a workshop delivered by Bulletin, a strategic communications company. This was designed to support researchers in writing policy briefs from their NILS research findings. This was a small workshop designed to provide personalised feedback and support in writing policy briefs from research findings. The company delivering the workshop were very knowledgeable in translating research to knowledge and provided information and templates to write policy briefs during a dedicated writing session during the day event. Following this, the host provided personal feedback and tips to each person on the course. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Poster presentation at CLOSER's Preparing for the future III |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | There were 30-40 views of the poster presentation entitled 'The Collective Intelligence approach to redesigning the NILS data service analytics' which was available as part of CLOSER's Preparing for the future III: Taking key challenges facing longitudinal studies in a post-COVID world. This was an online event using an interactive conference software (SCOOCS) which allowed questions to be raised and informal chats during poster sessions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Section 75 - a signposting guide |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | The Equality Commission have produced a new guide which provides signposts to Section 75 information sources, to assist those working in this area to ensure that their policy making is evidence based and complies with their Section 75 requirements in this regard. NILS have contributed a section to this guide and the webinar was to launch and explain how to use the new guidance document. This was a webinar to provide advice for those working on developing or reviewing this policy to ensure that policy is evidence-based, focused on outcomes, forward looking, 'joined up' and meets Northern Ireland requirements. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Symposium: Every Breath You Take: How air pollution affects your health and what can be done about it |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on the findings of ADRC-NI research on the impact of air pollution on health in Northern Ireland. This event was organised by ADRC-NI and held at Queen's Management School, Queen's University Belfast on 6th October 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | The NILS and Covid-related research |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 14 September we held our first joint ARK webinar - a workshop on the potential of NILS for Covid-related research. Panel members represented the Public Health Agency, Honest Broker Service, NISRA Research Support Unit, The Executive Office and QUB. Approximately 50 participants attended the workshop. It was a very informative session discussing relevant data availability and feasibility of projects. The webinar recording has been viewed on YouTube and a summary of the discussions and event can be found on the NILS-RSU website. The success of this event during a period of Covid restrictions has demonstrated the effectiveness of using webinars to communicate with researchers. Plans are in place to host further online events to communicate upcoming RSU projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.nils-rsu.co.uk/the-potential-of-ni-longitudinal-study-for-covid-research/ |
| Description | UKCenLS Annual Conference 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Research presentation entitled "Regional Analysis of Labour Market Differentials by Religion in the UK" which took place in Cardiff Castle on 20th September 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Using a Linked Dataset to Assess Equality Group Characteristics of Covid-19 Deaths |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Oral presentation, ADR UK Researcher Network Symposium, 23 February 2022 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | poster presentation at CLOSER's Preparing for the future III |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | There were 20-30 views of the poster presentation entitled 'he potential of NI Longitudinal Study for COVID research' which was available as part of CLOSER's Preparing for the future III: Taking key challenges facing longitudinal studies in a post-COVID world. This was an online event using an interactive conference software (SCOOCS) which allowed questions to be raised and informal chats during poster sessions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |