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| Typical data matrix |
The longitudinal data set is stored in the file rochmig.dat. The data matrix for a typical individual is of the form:
| Case number | 50016 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move/No move | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Age | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| Year | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 |
| Duration of stay (dur) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Education (ed) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Children age 11-12 (ch1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Children age 13-14 (ch2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Children age 15-16 (ch3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Children age 17-18 (ch4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marital status (msb) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Marital status (mse) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Employment status (esb) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Employment status (ese) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Occupational status (osb) | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 0 | 0 |
| Occupational status (ose) | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marital break-up (mbu) *** | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Remarriage (mrm) *** | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| First marriage (mfm) *** | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marital status (msb1) {msb collapsed} *** | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Promotion to manager (epm) *** | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Obtaining a job (eoj) *** | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Employment status (esb1) {esb collapsed} *** | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Promotion to service class (ops) *** | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Occupation (osb1) {osb collapsed} *** | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Marital status (msb2) {msb1 collapsed} *** | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Employment (esb2) {esb1 collapsed} *** | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Occupation (osb2) {osb1 collapsed*** | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Occupation (osb3) {osb2 collapsed} *** | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The core variables are marked in bold; other variables have been derived from these and are marked with asterisks. Some are new variables which indicate a change in marital, occupational or employment status during the year, - these are seen as important in explaining the dynamics of migration - , others are simplified versions of the core variables, formed by collapsing categories.
For a detailed description of the variables click here.
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| Limitations of the data set |
The data is restricted to those residing in the study area in 1986; it
includes individuals who had moved to Rochdale before 1986, but not those
who had moved away. Therefore
those who had left cannot be compared with those remaining.
The data contains the complete, or nearly complete histories for those
aged sixty at the time of interview but only short histories
for younger respondents.
Therefore the data are comparatively sparse on migration behaviour
during later career stages and during the more distant past. For earlier
periods the maximum age is reduced.
There is no information on retirement or post-retirement migration.
As the data were not specifically collected for studying migration,
some explanatory variables which may be important, such as family income
for instance, were not available.
The reliability of retrospective data may also be called into question
(Dex 1995; Dex and McCulloch 1998).
We can sum up the number of migrations for each individual and produce a summary data set, with one line of information for each individual. This will give cross-sectional information for the years up to 1985.
What questions can be answered by cross-sectional analysis?
Next:Cross-sectional data |
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