mcs_core Longitudinal Dataset

Centre for Longitudinal Studies

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Overview [high-level summary, e.g. the below]

• This repository provides R scripts that harmonise the multiple sweeps of Millennium Cohort Study into a single tidy dataset, so analysts can get straight to research rather than recoding.

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Included variable domains

Domain	Examples
Demographics	sex, ethnicity, language
Socio-economic	parental education, household income
Education	qualifications, institution type
Health	self-rated health, limiting illness
Relationships	partnership status, sexual orientation

See mcs_core_sweeps 1_7_user_guide.docx for full details.

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Syntax and data availability for R

1. Download the following folders as .dta files from the UK Data Service (UKDS): SN 4683, SN 5350, SN 5795, SN 6411, SN 7464, SN 8156, SN 8682, SN 8172, SN 8550.
2. Open the file "1_MCS_Core.R" within the Codes subfolder.
3. Define the path for core_dir to the folder that this file is contained in.
4. Define the subpaths for each of the 9 folders downloaded from UKDS.
5. Run or source the entire 1_MCS_Core.R.
6. Your completed MCS Core file can be found in the temp_data folder.

Syntax and data availability for Stata

1. Download the following folders as .dta files from the UK Data Service (UKDS): SN 4683, SN 5350, SN 5795, SN 6411, SN 7464, SN 8156, SN 8682, SN 8172, SN 8550.
2. Open the file 1_MCS_Core.do within the Codes subfolder.
3. Define the path for core_dir to the folder this file is contained in.
4. Define the subpaths for each of the 9 folders downloaded from UKDS.
5. Run the entire 1_MCS_Core.do.
6. Your completed MCS Core file can be found in the temp_data folder.

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User feedback and future plans

We welcome user feedback. Please open an issue on GitHub or email [email protected].

Authors

• Nicolas Libuy
• Dominic Kelly
• Emla Fitzsimons

Contributors

• Megan Arnot
• Gergo Baranyi
• Uta Bolt
• Ollie Cassaganeau-Francis
• Marta Francesconi
• Tom Metherell
• Larissa Pople
• Georgia Turner

Licence

Code: MIT Licence (see LICENSE).

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© 2025 UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies