Renewal of Ethical Approval for NILS Database (2017)
Research type
Research Database
IRAS ID
227045
Contact name
Deborah Lyness
Contact email
Research summary
The Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS)
REC name
HSC REC A
REC reference
17/NI/0101
Date of REC Opinion
1 Jun 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion
Data collection arrangements
Data taken from Health Card registrations, Census returns, birth registrations, death registrations and marriage registrations will be securely collected, stored and linked to the NILS on a six-monthly basis. This data will be held in a secure environment. Identifiable data will only be viewed by NISRA staff, and solely for the purpose of linking individual records.
This data will then be used to create an anonymised research database, with no personal identifiable data. Anonymised datasets containing high-level aggregated data will then be extracted from this research database for research projects which have been approved by the NILS Research Approvals Group (RAG), which uses a set of criteria to determine whether a project may be approved.
Researchers working on approved projects will only be permitted to access their anonymised project datasets in a secure environment where they are supervised at all times. The data will be used to produce statistical outputs and models in furtherance of health-related research. Paramount importance is placed on confidentiality and data protection at all times.Research programme
The NILS serves as a valuable resource for researchers from both academia and government. The NILS has been used by researchers from Northern Ireland (QUB, UU), universities across the UK as well as the US and continental EU. Academic users by discipline have included Geographers, Public Health researchers, Economists and Psychologists. Projects have been undertaken by experienced researchers but also by PhD, Masters and Undergraduate students. NILS has also collaborated with colleagues from equivalent longitudinal studies in England, Wales and Scotland to facilitate UK-wide research. The valuable support provided to researchers by the NILS-RSU, and its program of outreach and promotion of the NILS, has further strengthened the partnership between NISRA and the Northern Ireland academic community. Further ESRC funding was recently secured, which will enable the NILS Research Support Unit to continue in its current role until March 2018. More information on NILS Research is available on the NILS website (http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/NILSResearchSupportUnit/).
Research database title
The Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS)
Establishment organisation
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)
Establishment organisation address
Colby House
Stranmillis Court
Belfast
BT9 5RR