Cohort ’24 Wave One Pilot Report

Growing up In Ireland

Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) is the national longitudinal study of children and young people, a joint project of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) and the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

GUI had its origins in the National Children’s Strategy: Our Children, Their Lives which set out goals and policy priorities in relation to children for the period 2000-2010. In 2022, a Government decision approved the establishment of a new birth cohort for GUI.   The new collaborative model for the survey involves DCEDIY and the CSO working in partnership to deliver GUI.

Cohort ‘24 Wave One Pilot

The Cohort ‘24 Wave One Pilot questionnaire design process began in early 2023. An iterative process of stakeholder engagement and requirements analysis was undertaken. Stakeholder engagement – led by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) - included consultations with policy makers across a range of government departments and public bodies, researchers, and non-governmental organisations.

The original infant cohort – Cohort ‘08 – was used as a baseline for the development of the new instrument. Existing themes that were deemed to be relevant during the requirements gathering phase were maintained. New and emergent data needs based on stakeholder feedback were incorporated. These requirements were reviewed and prioritised based on specific criteria; chief amongst which were policy data need, research data need, longitudinal consistency, availability in administrative data, and length of questionnaire.

Research was carried out on data points, scales and topics included in other international longitudinal cohort studies to enable cross-country comparability. Meta data repositories such as the CSO’s own Colectica database were mined for standardised questions on a range of topics. Data requirements were reviewed against the meta data available in the CSO Administrative Data Centre (ADC). This was followed by an intensive review and refinement of the questionnaires in consultation with DCEDIY.

The GUI Cohort ‘24 Wave One pilot data collection ran for a total of 10 weeks – from the 16th October 2023 to the 22nd December 2023.

Key Themes

GUI seeks to measure pathways through childhood and on into young adulthood. Longitudinal consistency over data collection waves is therefore essential but must be balanced with age and stage appropriate measures. For Wave One key aspects identified were:

• Pregnancy and birth experiences
• Developmental milestones of the child
• Household composition, nature and quality of family relationships
• Parental educational attainment and labour force status
• Parent and child mental and physical health
• Housing quality and neighbourhood characteristics
• Access to and understanding of statutory supports for parents
• Health related and risk-taking behaviours of the parents

While the primary unit of observation is the family unit within which the child resides, information from other respondents was also desired, specifically:

• Childcare Providers
• Parents not resident with the child (“Other Household Parents”)
• Teachers/school principals (later waves)

A strong emphasis on inclusivity and the explicit recognition of diverse family structures was seen as essential.

Pilot objectives

The objectives of the pilot survey were:

• To test the build of the sampling frame and confirm that it met user requirements
• To test the data collection instrument in the field, obtain respondent and interviewer feedback and identify improvements required
• To test the sampling and case distribution process
• To evaluate communication with respondents and test approaches with under-represented groups
• To test the weighing and measuring devices used in the data collection process
• To inform decisions about the final sample design

Cohort ‘24 Wave One Pilot Fieldwork

Sampling

The sampling frame used in the Cohort ‘24 Wave One pilot was an aggregation of administrative data from the Department of Social Protection. This collation of administrative sources ensured that both children in receipt and not in receipt of child benefit were eligible to be sampled, thus minimising under-coverage.

A total of 798 cases were selected, with 712 cases distributed. The target sample was 9-month-old infants and their families.

The sample was isolated to specific geographical areas to increase the efficiency of interviewer assignments (Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Tipperary). The sample design was a Stratified Random Sample.

The strata used in the sampling design were:

• Traveller / Roma ethnicity
• Citizenship - Rest of World and EU 28 (e.g. Latvia, Hungary, etc.)
• Citizenship - EU 15 (e.g. UK, France, etc.)
• One parent households
• Other (e.g. cohabiting, Irish)

Data collection and Recruitment

Data collection was via interviewer administered computer aided personal interview (CAPI) with a self-complete computer aided self-interview (CASI) for sensitive questions. An initial contact letter was sent to participants, outlining what the pilot survey was about; informing them that a CSO interviewer would call to their home; assuring them that their information would be kept confidential, anonymous, and secure; and providing a link to further information on the website and a phone number and email address for them to contact us. All documentation was provided in both Irish and English.

Instruments

There were four instruments used in the pilot:

• Primary Informant (PI) questionnaire – administered to the person in the household who provides the most care to the baby.
• Parent questionnaire - administered to the primary informant (Parent 1) and any other parent/guardian, or resident partner of the parent who acts in a parental capacity (Parent 2).
• Other household parent – administered to a parent who is living elsewhere.
• Childcare provider – administered to the childcare provider if the infant attends regular childcare for 8 or more hours per week.

Table 1 gives an overview of the topics included in each of the instruments. 

Findings from the Cohort ’24 Wave One Pilot

The data collection resulted in 260 full and 61 partially completed interviews giving a response rate of 45%. A number of other household parents were identified during data collection, of these less than one third of the Primary informants provided the contact details of the other, non-resident, parent. Less than one fifth of the identified other household parents responded to the survey. Eighty two childcare providers were identified but contact details were only provided in less than one fifth of the cases. 

Sampling and Case Distribution Process

• The sampling process worked as intended - the proportion of collected households closely matched those sampled.
• Interviewers had success in interviewing within the nine-month window.
• The 14 Childcare Providers for whom contact details were obtained were successfully distributed to the Capita Call Centre for CATI interview after the end of the main fieldwork.

Translations and Materials

• Where English was not their first language, respondents used Google Translate to translate questions they did not understand.
• The use of show cards was not supported by the interviewers; the simpler solution was for respondents to view the question themselves on the tablet screen.

Interview Length

• The median length of an interview in the pilot was 1 hour 48 minutes.
• Interviewers found the interview to be overly long, with the sections on labour market status and baby-feeding particularly long to work through.

Communication with Respondents

• There was some reported difficulty in making initial contact with respondents; however, once participation had been agreed upon, primary caregivers and most partners were happy to be involved.
• Some potential respondents queried why they were being contacted, how contact details were obtained, and used the CSO website to verify the survey.
• The gifts for the infant (baby bib and comforter) were well received, with feedback that they should perhaps be individually wrapped for cleanliness and hygiene reasons.
• The pilot exercise demonstrated the complexity of distributing the Other Household Parent interviews, coupled with the reluctance for resident parents to give contact details and the reluctance of Other Household Parents to complete an interview where contact details were obtained.
• Caregivers were often reluctant to give contact details for Childcare Providers, particularly where there was a more informal arrangement.

Interview Content

• Interviewer feedback was positive for the overall flow of the instrument.
• The screener section worked well in identifying who the primary informant in the household was.
• There were some areas of the questionnaire where respondents would have liked to have been able to talk about their own individual circumstances in more detail.
• The technical use of the physical measurements equipment worked well.

Recommendations for Cohort ‘24 Wave One Main Data collection

The Cohort ‘24 Wave One pilot data collection successfully tested the build of the sampling frame, data collection instrument in the field, sampling and case distribution process. The communications methods with the respondents were evaluated and interviewer feedback was collated on all areas of the data collection process. The following recommendations, based on the pilot outcomes, were implemented in the Cohort ‘24 Wave One main data collection. 

Sampling and Case Distribution Process

• The successful use of administrative data for the pilot sampling frame was carried forward for the main fieldwork.
• The decision was made to select a total sample of n=15,000 – 16,000 for Cohort ’24 Wave One main data collection, based on a comparable proportion of total births to that used in Cohort ’08.

Interview Length and Content

• The questionnaire build was updated to facilitate multiples.
• Questions from the childcare questionnaire were included on the PI questionnaire to mitigate against the reluctance of respondents to share their childcare contact details.
• Respondent burden was reduced via improved routing and updated questions in the following areas of the questionnaires:
  • Labour market
  • Leave/work life balance
  • Baby feeding
  • Parental supports

Communication with Respondents

• The pilot data collection highlighted the complexity of administering Other Household Parent interviews - based on this experience, contact with this group was deemed not in scope for Wave One main fieldwork.
• For the main fieldwork, coherent GUI branding across all documentation, website, and social media was developed.
• The Cohort ‘24 data collection and GUI brand will be promoted at the Ploughing Championships, RDS Pregnancy & Baby Fair, and in a poster campaign to GPs and Public Health Nurses (PHN).
• The decision was made to add the interviewer’s name and phone number to the initial letter, as well as a link or QR code to the GUI page on the CSO website.
• A GUI branded cotton tote bag containing gifts for the infant, caregivers, gifts for any siblings present at the time of the interview, and survey information, was prepared for the main fieldwork.