About LSAY
About the data
1. How are the data collected?
The first wave of data are collected from a written test when the students are in school. For each subsequent wave, the data is collected by the Wallis Consulting Group through computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI).
2. What formats are the data available in?
Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) data are available in both Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Statistical Analysis Software (SAS) data formats (files).
3. How reliable are the LSAY data?
The data collection contractor, the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) work hard to ensure that the data are consistently collected across waves and cohorts.
However, it is important to note that the accuracy and reliability of LSAY data decreases as the sample size decreases. That is, if you are using finer cuts of the data, then you can expect the reliability to decrease. As a rule, NCVER do not publish figures which have sample sizes less than five, and all estimates that have relative standard errors greater than 25% are flagged in any tables created.
4. When does new data become available?
Data become available in the middle of each year, once they are collected, checked and the associated technical documentation has been written.
5. How can I make a specific data request?
LSAY data is deposited with the Australian Social Science Data Archive (ASSDA) at the Australian National University in Canberra. Permission to use the data and access requirements are managed by ASSDA. To access LSAY data via the ASSDA you must complete the access and undertaking forms. These are available on request from ASSDA by email at: assda@anu.edu.au
Alternatively, you may submit a request for specific tables and/or data analysis to be undertaken by NCVER without the need for you to obtain full sets of data. A data request can be made to lsayrequests@ncver.edu.au There are fees and charges applicable for all data requests.
You may also request to be notified of recent LSAY releases, which include publications and data releases. See Subscribe to LSAY alerts.
6. Are there any restrictions on the use of the survey data?
Yes. The use of data is restricted to research purposes only and they are not to be used for commercial or financial gain. Data access is via the ASSDA and requires authorisation from the Data Archive Manager. In addition, LSAY information by State and School Sector cannot be accessed in combination with the School Achievement information. LSAY data sets therefore contain EITHER State/School Sector information OR School Achievement data. LSAY data users must also agree to refrain from matching the State/School Sector and School Achievement information.
For further information on survey data restrictions, please access the Conditions of Use available from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth Undertaking. This form is available on request from ASSDA by email at: assda@anu.edu.au
7. What are LSAY weights and how do I use them?
For a full description of LSAY weights and how to use them, please refer to the technical notes of the cohort reports, or to the data dictionaries for each cohort of the data (see Cohort reports - Introduction). LSAY weights are used to account for differences in the probability of selection of individuals due to the sampling scheme employed in the first wave. In subsequent waves, weights are also derived to account for non-respondents and non-random drop out.
8. What is survey attrition?
Survey attrition occurs when not all respondents answer the survey in subsequent waves of interviewing. The data collection contractor works hard at achieving maximal response rates but there is still drop-out between waves of the interviews.
Survey attrition is an issue in the reporting of survey results if there are different groups of people dropping out at differing rates. Attrition can lead to biased population estimates. In LSAY, survey attrition is addressed by trying to maximise the year on year response rate and through the application of attrition weights.
9. Can individuals in the survey be identified from the data?
Details about any individual in the LSAY surveys are never made available in LSAY reports or anywhere else. The names and contact details for every LSAY participant are kept in a secure database by the Wallis Consulting Group (the fieldwork contractors). These details are stored separately from the data collected during the annual interviews. Each survey member is contacted by mail prior to interviewing and given the opportunity to review and amend their details. The Wallis Consulting Group fully endorses and adheres to the National Privacy Principles in the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000 in relation to the handling of personal information. The privacy policy of the Wallis Consulting Group is available from their home page.
