The Scottish Longitudinal Study Development & Support Unit (SLS-DSU) is a project of the Longitudinal Studies Centre – Scotland (LSCS) at the University of Edinburgh. The Director is Prof Chris Dibben, and the SLS team includes 3 Support Officers, 2 Database Managers and a Project Manager.  Researchers can use the data remotely (by sending syntax for Support Officers to run) or at the safe-setting within the National Records of Scotland at Ladywell House, Edinburgh.

The SLS consists of a sample of around 5% of the total population of Scotland, and currently has over 274,000 members.  Unlike the other RSUs, SLS-DSU creates and maintains the dataset itself, which has allowed a greater freedom to develop linkages to other sources.

The SLS is built upon census records from 1991 onwards, with links to: vital events (births, deaths, marriages, emigration); geographical and ecological data (deprivation indices, pollution, weather); and education data (attendance, Schools Census, qualifications).  It is also possible to link the SLS to the rich NHS Scotland ISD datasets which contain detailed health information on Scotland’s population, including cancer registrations, maternity records, hospital admissions, prescribing data and mental health admissions.

For more information about SLS-DSU please visit their website at sls.lscs.ac.uk

If you are interested in using the SLS or any of the LSs please contact us