My Visit at the Institute for Social and Economic Research – Essex - Discovering the richness of the Understanding Society database

I think visiting the Institute for Social and Economic Research is a milestone in the life of any researcher, irrespectively of its level of expertise at the moment the visit takes place. In many respects it is a enriching, enlightening, and roller coaster like experience. First, the excitement of visit, being able to see in backstage of the Understanding Society: The UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS). Second, the flickering of fear one has in front of the vastness of data offered by the 14 waves of one of the world’s largest panel surveys. Third, the joy of discovering the countless research possibilities the dataset provides—it’s like having in front of you the results of a social X-ray machine.

My research project focuses on the use of devices by children from the Alpha generation as a predictor of sleep problems. While in Essex, I worked on identifying new indicators and testing different chains of variables that could best explain the alarming sleep problems that children from UK are having today. In my endeavours, I am grateful for the support offered by Cara Booker, and Silvia Avram.  Also, I am thankful for the support offered by Ebru Isikli with the administrative aspects of my visit, and for having the chance to have academic exchanges with other visiting scholars.

Like any milestone, my TAV experience in Essex gives me a unique chance to see past, present, and future in their interdependence, thanks to the longitudinal dataset of the Understanding Society and to the historical grounds on which the Institute is built.