Research

Examples of research work undertaken using SafePod Network Services are detailed below, catalogued by Data Centre.  If you would like to add your research to this page, please complete the following form here. Researcher testimonials for the SafePod Network are available here.

OFFICE FOR NATIONAL STATISTICS
 


Research title: All-cancer incidence and mortality in Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, and their descendants in England and Wales.
Research summary: This paper uses the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study of England and Wales. It studies first cancer incidence and subsequent mortality between1971 and 2016. We show that lower incidence of cancer and not better survival is the driver of the low cancer mortality previously found for Pakistani and Bangladeshis in the UK. This apparent advantage persists across immigrant generations, but we note that all-cancer mortality following incidence may be elevated for the descendants of Pakistani and Bangladeshi immigrants.
Research data used: Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study of England and Wales.
Research status: Published.
Publication: Available from here.
Year published: 2024.
Researcher: Joseph Harrison.
Research Organisation: University of Salford.
SPN Service used: University of Dundee SafePod

Research title: The Effects of Childhood Exposure to Housing Provision: Evidence from A Radical Reform in Britain.
Research summary: Right to Buy (RTB), a largescale housing policy by which incumbent tenants in public housing could buy their properties at heavily subsidised prices, increased the homeownership rate in the UK by over 10 per cent between 1980 and the late 1990s. Using the ONS Longitudinal Study, this project will study the impact of childhood exposure to RTB on their educational and professional trajectories. The research will provide evidence of a potential novel means by which gentrification, and housing provision, may contribute to increase human capital accumulation and improve the educational and professional trajectories of children born in low income settings.
Research data used: Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study.
Research status: Currently active.
Researcher: Yifan Li.
Research Organisation: University of Nottingham.
SPN Service used: University of Nottingham SafePod.

Research title: The trajectories of excluded school pupils into (and out of) the criminal justice system.
Research summary: I am using the deidentified Ministry of Justice and Department for Education linked dataset. Drawing on a range of school- and offence-related factors, I am tracing the offending patterns of excluded school children who were born between 1st September 2000 and 31st August 2003 with at least one criminal record or caution until the end of 2021. I’m exploring how different types of school exclusions (temporary or permanent), and how often they happen, might influence the paths young people take into offending. I also want to understand if where a child lives impacts these trajectories, as well as whether there are differences in the severity and frequency of offending between those who stay in mainstream education after being permanently excluded and those who move to Pupil Referral Units.
Research data used: Ministry of Justice and Department for Education linked dataset.
Research status: Currently active.
Publication: Research article available from here.
Researcher: Dr Vickie Barrett.
Research Organisation: University of Huddersfield.
SPN Service used: University of Sheffield SafePod.

UK DATA SERVICE

Research title: Using risk profiling to help address the £81 billion cost of illiteracy in the UK.
Research summary: This study is analysing the relative importance of a range of personal and socio-economic characteristics identified as being associated with why some children achieve low literacy scores in school using multiple regression analysis of the Millenium Cohort Study. A longitudinal analysis is also being carried out to understand the long-term outcomes of individuals who had received low literacy scores during primary school. 
Research data used: Millennium Cohort Study.
Research status: Currently active.
Researcher: Katherine Collier.
Research Organisation: Durham University.
SPN Service used: Durham University SafePod.

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT
 

Research title: Sustainable School Leadership ESRC Research – Secondary Analysis of the Scottish Senior Leadership Workforce.
Research summary: This research forms part of a UK-wide ESRC-funded project examining the sustainability, diversity, equity and future fitness of the school senior leadership workforce. The Scottish strand analyses the composition, recruitment, retention and career trajectories of headteachers and depute headteachers.  The study examines:

  • The demographic and professional composition of the senior leadership workforce (e.g. gender, ethnicity, age, experience, qualifications.
  • How this composition has changed over time.
  • Patterns of recruitment, promotion, retention and turnover.
  • The relationship between leadership characteristics and school and local area context.
  • Leadership career pathways and trajectories.

The analysis uses longitudinal and multivariate statistical approaches, including regression models, time series analysis and career sequence analysis, to provide a detailed evidence base to inform policy and practice in Scotland and across the UK. The research contributes to national discussions about leadership supply, equity, and sustainability in education and will produce academic publications, reports and policy-relevant outputs later this year.
Research data used: Scottish Government linked administrative workforce and school-level data (2010–2023).
Research status: Currently active.
Researcher: Dr Thomas Perry.
Research Organisation: University of Warwick.
SPN Service used: University of Warwick SafePod.