Introduction

Summary

The original idea was, after the cohort collections in 1948 and 1953, that the project would continue with new cohorts of students every five years. For many reasons, this has not been done, and the ongoing work can be said to be an attempt to build on the original plans.

The first collection for this project took place in the spring semester of 1980. However, the selection of individuals was made according to principles other than those applied in the Individual Statistics, as the first two cohorts were called. The population here does not consist of all individuals born in a certain year but of all students in a certain grade, more specifically of all students in 6th grade during the spring term 1980. Furthermore, the selection was carried out in two steps. First, a stratified selection of municipalities was made, after which a number of classes from the selected municipalities were sampled. In the selected classes, all students were then allowed to participate. The principles guarantee that a nationally representative sample is obtained. With this collection, Statistics Sweden became more involved and they called the project Student Panels and this cohort became Student Panel 1.

It should be pointed out that even if the selection principles differ, there are good opportunities for comparisons between the samples in the two projects, especially if the comparisons are limited to the normal-year students, that is those who at the age of thirteen attended 6th grade.

The total number of students in the sample in the spring of 1980 amounted to 9,601. Due to the refusal to participate, the sample size was reduced by 487 individuals or by 5 percent. Later, another 10 students were eliminated, so the final selection thus amounts to 9,104 students.

In the spring of 1984, a follow-up study of the cohort was carried out, which completed its compulsory school education one year earlier. The follow-up was done with the help of a questionnaire to those who belonged to the sample (approx. 9,000) in 6th grade in the spring of 1980. Many of the questions in 1984 were similar to those given in 1980. In addition, questions were added that were only relevant after completing primary school. Just over 7,000 answered the survey in 1984.

Conduct of the Survey

It has been a relatively long time since data collection for a corresponding longitudinal study was carried out. Many conditions for such collections have changed over time. Among other things, new laws that regulate the rights of participating persons in connection with investigations that require the establishment of personal registers within the meaning of the Data Act have been added. During the 1970s, the debate about the risks of using computers and the desire to limit personal register layouts has also been intense and often heated. It is reasonable that these things, together with individuals’ need to have their personal integrity secured, have affected the tendency to participate in surveys of the kind that are relevant within, for example, the UGU project. Against this background, we have judged it to be valuable to have an accurate and relatively detailed account of the collection work.

The report therefore describes in some detail the various phases, from the initial information to the bodies and persons concerned to the results in the form of lists of available and processable information in the project database. Loss of individuals and / or information is always a difficult problem in longitudinal studies. A special section in the report is therefore devoted to detailed explanations of the causes of loss and the extent of the same.

Questionnaires

The collection in the 6th grade

The collection was carried out in the spring of 1980 with a test, a questionnaire for the students in 6th grade and a questionnaire that was sent home to the parents.

Cognitive tests

The Cognitive tests are intelligence tests containing tasks of a verbal, inductive and spatial nature. These have been given at each collection in 6th grade and began with the evaluation in 1961. - Antonyms: To choose the opposite of a particular keyword among four options - Sheet metal folding: To work out which of the four figures you get, if you fold a pictured “sheet metal piece” - Number series: To continue a number series, where six numbers are given, with two more numbers

The variables for the cognitive tests are indicated by the prefix “TS” in the dataset.

Questionnaire for students

The questionnaire for students contains 48 questions.

  • Students’ self-perception in different school situations (questions 1-20)
  • Pupils’ attitudes towards certain activities in school (questions 21-36)
  • Students’ study choices and career plans (questions 37-45)
  • Students’ leisure activities (questions 46-48).

The variables for the questionnaires for students in grade 6 are indicated by the prefix “QS6” in the dataset.

The collection in upper secondary school 1st grade

In the spring of 1984, a follow-up study of the cohort was carried out, which completed its compulsory school education one year earlier. The follow-up was done with the help of a questionnaire to those who belonged to the sample (approx. 9,000) in 6th grade in the spring of 1980. Many of the questions in 1984 were similar to those given in 1980. In addition, questions were added that were only relevant after completing primary school. Just over 7,000 answered the survey in 1984. Nine per cent of these had never attended upper secondary school. In 6th grade, the group that did not continue to upper secondary education group answered to a greater extent than the others that they were not good at mathematics. This group chose the general course in mathematics to a greater extent and had to a greater extent lower grades than those who answered the questions in the spring of 1984. A consequence of the drop-out is probably that the proportion of students who have experienced problems in upper secondary school is greater than is shown in data.

Questionnaire for students

The questionnaire contained 59 questions and contained questions about:

  • The employment of the student September 1983 - March 1984
  • Views on and experiences of upper secondary school
  • Future plans
  • The perception of their knowledge
  • Leisure activities
  • Views on and experiences of upper secondary school (only students who have attended upper secondary school)

The exact wording of the questions can be found in the questionnaire for students in upper secondary school / not in upper secondary school.

The survey was conducted from the last week of March to mid-July 1984. Each student received both questionnaires because there was no information on who had been admitted to the high school. Along with the questionnaires, there was information about the project and a response envelope addressed directly to the project. Questionnaires and other information were sent directly to their home address.

The variables for the questionnaires for students in upper secondary school 1st grade are indicated by the prefix “QSA” in the dataset.

Questionnaire to the Guardians

The questionnaire sent to the guardians contains 21 questions divided into the following areas:

  • The child’s upbringing conditions.
  • Ambitions and wishes regarding the child’s education.
  • The parents’ own educational and professional situation.
  • Views on the school’s objectives.

The questionnaire to guardians and parents is collected when the child is in grade 6. The variables for the questionnaire to guardians and parents is indicated by the prefix “QP” in the dataset.

Questionnaire students grade 6

Metadata

Description

Dataset name: kohort3_qs

The dataset has N=9104 rows and 103 columns. 0 rows have no missing values on any column.

Metadata for search engines
  • Date published: 2023-06-08
x
QS61A
QS61B
QS61C
QS62A
QS62B
QS62C
QS63A
QS63B
QS63C
QS64A
QS64B
QS64C
QS65A
QS65B
QS65C
QS66A
QS66B
QS66C
QS67A
QS67B
QS67C
QS68A
QS68B
QS68C
QS69A
QS69B
QS69C
QS610A
QS610B
QS610C
QS611
QS612
QS613
QS614
QS615
QS616
QS617
QS618
QS619
QS620
QS621
QS622
QS623
QS624
QS625
QS626
QS627
QS628
QS629
QS630
QS631
QS632
QS633
QS634
QS635
QS636
QS637A
QS637B
QS637C
QS637D
QS637E
QS637F
QS638A
QS638B
QS638C
QS638D
QS638E
QS638F
QS639A
QS639B
QS639C
QS639D
QS639E
QS639F
QS640
QS641
QS642
QS642SE
QS643
QS644A
QS644B
QS644BSE
QS645A
QS645B
QS645BSE
QS646A
QS646Ba
QS646Bb
QS646Bc
QS646Bd
QS646Be
QS646Bf
QS646Bg
QS646Bh
QS646Bi
QS647
QS648A
QS648B
QS648C
QS648D
QS648E
QS648F
QS648G

#Variables

QS61A

Do you think that you are good at sums?

Distribution

Distribution of values for QS61A

901 missing values.

Summary statistics

name label data_type n_missing complete_rate min median max mean sd hist format.spss
QS61A Do you think that you are good at sums? numeric 901 0.9010325 1 1 3 1.330245 0.4950826 ▇▁▃▁▁ F1.0

Value labels

Response choices
name value
Yes 1
No 2
Other answers 3

QS61B

Do you think that your teacher thinks that you are good at sums?

Distribution

Distribution of values for QS61B

1090 missing values.

Summary statistics

name label data_type n_missing complete_rate min median max mean sd hist format.spss
QS61B Do you think that your teacher thinks that you are good at sums? numeric 1090 0.8802724 1 1 3 1.397554 0.5352182 ▇▁▅▁▁ F1.0

Value labels

Response choices
name value
Yes 1
No 2
Other answers 3

QS61C

Do you often think that you would like to be better at doing sums?

Distribution

Distribution of values for QS61C

840 missing values.

Summary statistics

name label data_type n_missing complete_rate min median max mean sd hist format.spss
QS61C Do you often think that you would like to be better at doing sums? numeric 840 0.9077329 1 1 3 1.323935 0.4731475 ▇▁▃▁▁ F1.0

Value labels

Response choices
name value
Yes 1
No 2
Other answers 3

QS62A

Do you think that you are good at spelling?

Distribution

Distribution of values for QS62A

843 missing values.

Summary statistics

name label data_type n_missing complete_rate min median max mean sd hist format.spss
QS62A Do you think that you are good at spelling? numeric 843 0.9074033 1 1 3 1.342937 0.4892872 ▇▁▃▁▁ F1.0

Value labels

Response choices
name value
Yes 1
No 2
Other answers 3

QS62B

Do you think that your parents think that you are good at spelling?

Distribution

Distribution of values for QS62B

981 missing values.

Summary statistics

name label data_type n_missing complete_rate min median max mean sd hist format.spss
QS62B Do you think that your parents think that you are good at spelling? numeric 981 0.8922452 1 1 3 1.287948 0.4789962 ▇▁▃▁▁ F1.0

Value labels

Response choices
name value
Yes 1
No 2
Other answers 3

QS62C

Do you often think that you would like to spell better?

Distribution

Distribution of values for QS62C

885 missing values.

Summary statistics

name label data_type n_missing complete_rate min median max mean sd hist format.spss
QS62C Do you often think that you would like to spell better? numeric 885 0.90279 1 1 3 1.455773 0.5038998 ▇▁▆▁▁ F1.0

Value labels

Response choices
name value
Yes 1
No 2
Other answers 3

QS63A

Do you like working together with other children in the class?

Distribution

Distribution of values for QS63A

751 missing values.

Summary statistics

name label data_type n_missing complete_rate min median max mean sd hist format.spss
QS63A Do you like working together with other children in the class? numeric 751 0.9175088 1 1 3 1.107387 0.3247225 ▇▁▁▁▁ F1.0

Value labels

Response choices
name value
Yes 1
No 2
Other answers 3

QS63B

Do you think that other children in the class like working together with you?

Distribution

Distribution of values for QS63B

1098 missing values.

Summary statistics

name label data_type n_missing complete_rate min median max mean sd hist format.spss
QS63B Do you think that other children in the class like working together with you? numeric 1098 0.8793937 1 1 3 1.216463 0.4791558 ▇▁▂▁▁ F1.0

Value labels

Response choices
name value
Yes 1
No 2
Other answers 3

QS63C

Do you often think that you would like to be better at working together with other children?

Distribution

Distribution of values for QS63C

1013 missing values.

Summary statistics

name label data_type n_missing complete_rate min median max mean sd hist format.spss
QS63C Do you often think that you would like to be better at working together with other children? numeric 1013 0.8887302 1 2 3 1.624645 0.4933483 ▅▁▇▁▁ F1.0

Value labels

Response choices
name value
Yes 1
No 2
Other answers 3

QS64A

Do you ask the teacher for help when you do not understand?

Distribution