The WERS Time-Series Dataset 1980-2011
The time-series dataset was not used during the primary analysis of the 2011 WERS. That analysis relied upon a new dataset - compiled in Stata - which combined data items from the 2004 and 2011 surveys only. This dataset is described in the Syntax section of this website.
However many of the harmonisation principles that had been established during the construction of earlier iterations of the WERS Time-Series were used to inform the construction of data items for the new Stata dataset. Users will thus find that many variables are derived in the same way in both datasets. The advantages of the time-series dataset are that:
1. It additionally includes data from the 1980, 1984, 1990 and 1998 surveys, and so it allows analysts to look at the conduct of employment relations over a much longer perod of time.
2. The syntax used to construct the dataset will be immediately interpretable to analysts who are more familiar with SPSS than with Stata.
As the WERS series has developed over time, a dataset has been constructed which contains harmonised data items from each of the surveys in the series. This dataset has recently been extended to include items from the 2011 WERS and has been deposited with the UK Data Service for secondary analysis. It will be valuable to any researchers wishing to understand the development of workplace employment relations in Britain over the past 35 years.
This dataset was first constructed in 1998 during the writing of All Change at Work? (Millward et al, 2000, Routledge). It was then extended to include data items from the 2004 WERS during the writing of Evolution of the Modern Workplace (Brown et al, 2009, Cambridge University Press). Some members of the WERS Research Team have now added a selection of core items from the 2011 survey to this dataset.
What does the dataset contain?
The dataset contains consistently-defined variables for many of the data items that are present in any one of the 1998, 2004 or 2011 surveys, and at least one other previous cross-section survey in the series. It is confined to data items from the Management interview.
How can I access the dataset?
The WERS Time-series Dataset can be accessed via the UK Data Service and comes complete with full documentation and the SPSS syntax files that were used in its construction.
Entry for the WERS Time-Series Dataset in the UK Data Service catalogue
Did the primary analysis of the 2011 WERS use the dataset?
The time-series dataset was not used during the primary analysis of the 2011 WERS. That analysis relied upon a new dataset - compiled in Stata - which combined data items from the 2004 and 2011 surveys only. This dataset is described in the Syntax section of this website.
However many of the harmonisation principles that had been established during the construction of earlier iterations of the WERS Time-Series were used to inform the construction of data items for the new Stata dataset. Users will thus find that many variables are derived in the same way in both datasets. The advantages of the time-series dataset are that:
1. It additionally includes data from the 1980, 1984, 1990 and 1998 surveys, and so it allows analysts to look at the conduct of employment relations over a much longer perod of time.
2. The syntax used to construct the dataset will be immediately interpretable to analysts who are more familiar with SPSS than with Stata.
