11. Impact of transition to Annual Population Survey dataset

This publication represents the first time that personal well-being estimates have been included on the main Annual Population Survey (APS) dataset. Prior to this, they were included on a bespoke APS personal well-being dataset.

The following note presents the results of sensitivity testing, to compare estimates generated between the existing and new dataset. Overall, this analysis has identified the impact on the series to be minimal.

Although the personal well-being questions have been included on the APS since 2011, the structure of the bespoke dataset followed that of the Integrated Household Survey (IHS), of which APS was the largest component. The transition has meant we have re-based the entire back series of personal well-being to ensure a consistent time series from the establishment of personal well-being in 2011.

So what will the main differences be?

Single dataset

From July 2016 onwards there will no longer be a separate Annual Population Survey Personal Well-being dataset. Personal well-being variables will instead be held on the main APS dataset, providing a richer dataset for analysis.

New weight

A new non-proxy weight will replace the existing well-being weight to better align it to the standard APS weight.

Timeliness

We will aim to publish headline estimates more quickly. For example, those for the financial year ending 2016 have been published 3 months earlier than last year.

Re-weighting

As part of this transition, personal well-being estimates will now go through the regular APS re-weighting timetable. Re-weighting can also impact on the estimates; for the series published in this release the estimates for the financial year ending 2012 have been weighted to 2012 mid-year population estimates (MYPEs), and the estimates relating to the financial years ending 2013 through to 2016 have been weighted to the 2014 MYPEs.

Figures 7a, 7b, 7c and 7d present comparisons between the revised and existing estimates of personal well-being in the UK. Across each of the four measures, differences between the existing and revised methodology are minimal; no statistically significant differences were observed.

Figure 7a: Comparison between published and revised estimates of life satisfaction, financial years ending 2012 to 2016 UK Source: Annual Population Survey, Office for National Statistics Notes: Source: Personal Well-being Annual Population Survey dataset; Source: Annual Population Survey, Office for National Statistics Estimates of personal well-being from the "Personal Well-being Annual Population Survey dataset" are not available for 2015 to 2016 onwards, as the personal well-being questions have been added to the main Annual Population Survey dataset. The axis does not start at 0. 2011 to 2012 was the first year of data collection. Question: Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays? Where 0 is "not at all satisfied" and 10 is "completely satisfied". Download this chart Figure 7a: Comparison between published and revised estimates of life satisfaction, financial years ending 2012 to 2016 Image .csv .xls

Figure 7b: Comparison between published and revised estimates of worthwhile, financial years ending 2012 to 2016 UK Source: Annual Population Survey, Office for National Statistics Notes: Source: Personal Well-being Annual Population Survey dataset; Source: Annual Population Survey, Office for National Statistics Estimates of personal well-being from the "Personal Well-being Annual Population Survey dataset" are not available for 2015 to 2016 onwards, as the personal well-being questions have been added to the main Annual Population Survey dataset. The axis does not start at 0. 2011 to 2012 was the first year of data collection. Question: Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile? Where 0 is "not at all worthwhile" and 10 is "completely worthwhile". Download this chart Figure 7b: Comparison between published and revised estimates of worthwhile, financial years ending 2012 to 2016 Image .csv .xls

Figure 7c: Comparison between published and revised estimates of happiness, financial years ending 2012 to 2016 UK Source: Annual Population Survey, Office for National Statistics Notes: Source: Personal Well-being Annual Population Survey dataset; Source: Annual Population Survey, Office for National Statistics Estimates of personal well-being from the "Personal Well-being Annual Population Survey dataset" are not available for 2015 to 2016 onwards, as the personal well-being questions have been added to the main Annual Population Survey dataset. The axis does not start at 0. 2011 to 2012 was the first year of data collection. Question: Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday? Where 0 is "not at all happy" and 10 is "completely happy". Download this chart Figure 7c: Comparison between published and revised estimates of happiness, financial years ending 2012 to 2016 Image .csv .xls

Figure 7d: Comparison between published and revised estimates of anxiety, financial years ending 2012 to 2016 UK Source: Annual Population Survey, Office for National Statistics Notes: Source: Personal Well-being Annual Population Survey dataset; Source: Annual Population Survey, Office for National Statistics Estimates of personal well-being from the "Personal Well-being Annual Population Survey dataset" are not available for 2015 to 2016 onwards, as the personal well-being questions have been added to the main Annual Population Survey dataset. The axis does not start at 0. 2011 to 2012 was the first year of data collection. Question: Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday? Where 0 is "not at all anxious" and 10 is "completely anxious". Download this chart Figure 7d: Comparison between published and revised estimates of anxiety, financial years ending 2012 to 2016 Image .csv .xls

The impact of this change has been assessed over the published time-series at a UK level and also by country, region, gender, age, health and employment status. For the mean average estimates, this impact has caused less than a 0.1 point difference across areas assessed. For thresholds, the impact has been less than 1 percentage point for the majority of scenarios assessed.