The Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (NILT) series began in 1998, and was the successor to the previous Northern Ireland Social Attitudes series, which was discontinued in 1996.
The main aims of the NILT series are:

• to monitor public attitudes towards social policy and political issues in Northern Ireland;
• to provide a time series on attitudes to key social policy areas;
• to facilitate academic social policy analysis;
• to provide a freely available resource on public attitudes for the wider community of users in Northern Ireland.

NILT originally had a companion series which also began in 1998, the Young Life and Times Survey (YLT), although the YLT methodology changed in 2003 and it is conducted separately each year. The Kids' Life and Times (KLT) survey of P7 children (10-11 year olds) is also part of the same suite of surveys as YLT and NILT.

NILT also forms part of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), although it does not do so every year. Unfortunately, NILT did not run in 2011 due to funding issues, though YLT ran as normal that year; NILT resumed in 2012 (SN 7408). In addition, several open access teaching datasets were created by ARK (Access Research Knowledge) from various years of NILT, covering different topics such as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) issues, politics and community relations, attitudes to ageing and ageism, and dementia.

Further information about the series may be found on the ARK http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NILT webpage.

NILT 2020

Previous NILT surveys had been undertaken as a face-to-face interview, followed by a short self-completion questionnaire. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 survey was undertaken online. Respondents could also request to complete the survey via a phone or video interview, if they desired.

The Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey was launched in the autumn of 1998. Its mission has been to monitor the attitudes and behaviour of people in Northern Ireland during the late 1990s and into the present century, in order to provide a time-series and a public record of how our attitudes and behaviour develop on a wide range of social policy issues. The survey is run on a modular format. Two modules are repeated every year (Political Attitudes and Community Relations), and the rest of the survey varies annually with all the modules designed to be repeated in years to come. The specialty modules for 2008 are Attitudes to Older People, Religious Observance, and Minority Ethnic People.

Each year, more than 30 countries participate in the "https://issp.org/" Target="_blank">International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), in which the same module of questions is asked cross-nationally. Northern Ireland has taken part in this exercise (via NISA) since 1989. The 1998 module covered religion. Full ISSP datasets can be obtained from the Zentralarchiv in Koln, Germany, where the datasets from the member countries are assembled.

The Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey was launched in the autumn of 1998. Its mission has been to monitor the attitudes and behaviour of people in Northern Ireland during the late 1990s and into the present century, in order to provide a time-series and a public record of how our attitudes and behaviour develop on a wide range of social policy issues. The survey is run on a modular format. Two modules are repeated every year (Political Attitudes and Community Relations), and the rest of the survey varies annually with all the modules designed to be repeated in years to come. The specialty modules for 2004 are Men's Life and Times, Countryside and Farming, Religious Observance, and Grandparenting and Family Life.

Each year, more than 30 countries participate in the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), in which the same module of questions is asked cross-nationally. Northern Ireland has taken part in this exercise (via NISA) since 1989. The 1998 module covered religion. Full ISSP datasets can be obtained from the Zentralarchiv in Koln, Germany, where the datasets from the member countries are assembled.

The Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (NILT) series began in 1998, and was the successor to the previous Northern Ireland Social Attitudes series, which was discontinued in 1996.
The main aims of the NILT series are:

• to monitor public attitudes towards social policy and political issues in Northern Ireland;
• to provide a time series on attitudes to key social policy areas;
• to facilitate academic social policy analysis;
• to provide a freely available resource on public attitudes for the wider community of users in Northern Ireland.

NILT originally had a companion series which also began in 1998, the Young Life and Times Survey (YLT), although the YLT methodology changed in 2003 and it is conducted separately each year. The Kids' Life and Times (KLT) survey of P7 children (10-11 year olds) is also part of the same suite of surveys as YLT and NILT.

NILT also forms part of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), although it does not do so every year. Unfortunately, NILT did not run in 2011 due to funding issues, though YLT ran as normal that year; NILT resumed in 2012 (SN 7408). In addition, several open access teaching datasets were created by ARK (Access Research Knowledge) from various years of NILT, covering different topics such as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) issues, politics and community relations, attitudes to ageing and ageism, and dementia.

Further information about the series may be found on the ARK http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NILT webpage.

The Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey, 2014: Dementia Teaching Dataset is part of a suite of teaching and learning resources created by ARK, and complements a Higher Education Academy (HEA) strategic project focusing on teaching research methods. The project "Northern Ireland by Numbers" involved the creation of new teaching datasets from two major surveys focusing on Northern Ireland, with accompanying 'student-friendly' documentation. Specifically, two teaching datasets were created using the 2012 NILT survey (SN 7546 and SN 7547) as well as a time-series teaching dataset drawing on the 2003-2012 Young Life and Times (YLT) surveys (SN 7548). Likewise, ARK created five other datasets to be used on courses teaching quantitative statistical analysis in the social sciences. Further information about these may be found on the ARK Teaching Resources webpage.

This teaching dataset focuses on public knowledge of dementia and public attitudes towards this condition, using data from the 2014 NILT adapted for the purposes of this project; some variables have been constructed and/or simplified. The accompanying documentation combines an edited technical report and codebook and includes details of all the variables contained in the dataset, as well as, a summary technical report, with the main issues outlined in accessible language. While the teaching dataset is a valid representation of the data, it is intended for teaching purposes only; it is advisable to use the original NILT 2014 study (SN 8064) for research.

The Young Life and Times Survey (YLT) originally began as a companion survey to the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (NILT) series. It surveyed young people aged 12-17 living in the households of adults interviewed for NILT, and YLT ran alongside it from 1998-2000. Following an evaluation in 2001, the YLT series recommenced in 2003 (see SN 4826) using a completely different methodology and independent of the adult NILT. This new YLT survey uses Child Benefit records as a sampling frame.The aims of the YLT series are to: monitor public attitudes towards social policy and political issues in Northern Ireland; provide a time series on attitudes to key social policy areas; facilitate academic social policy analysis; provide a freely available resource on public attitudes for the wider community of users in Northern Ireland; give a voice to young people.

An open access time-series teaching dataset has been created from the 2003-2012 YLTs - see SN 7548.The Kids’ Life and Times (KLT) survey of P7 children (10-11 year olds) is also part of the same suite of surveys as YLT and NILT.Further information about the YLT, including publications, may be found on the Access Research Knowledge (ARK) YLT webpages. Users should note that the accompanying NILT survey did not run in 2011, as full funding was unable to be secured for it. However, funding has been confirmed to run NILT in 2012 and 2013. The 2011 survey covered the following topics:attitudes to minority ethnic groups - funded by Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM)community relations - funded by OFMDFMsexual attitudes and experience - funded by OFMDFMloneliness and wellbeing - funded by University of Ulsterfamilybackground information

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Kids' Life and Times Survey (KLT) began in 2008 and is conducted by Access Research Knowledge (ARK) which runs the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (NILT) and the Young Life and Times Survey (YLT). The KLT is a survey of Primary year 7 (P7) children in Northern Ireland which is carried out online and in school. (Note that NILT did not run in 2011, but resumed in 2012. The KLT and YLT both ran as normal in 2011.)

The aims of the KLT are to:

• provide broad-based monitoring systems to examine children's views on policy issues on a regular basis
• ensure that the information from the survey is fed back to policymakers and others engaged in the policy debates around children and their lives
• provide a high profile endorsement of 'participation' by Northern Ireland's children

Further information about KLT, including the comic-style publication with key results especially designed for children, may be found on the ARK main Kids' Life and Times Survey web pages.

Main Topics:

In 2025 the following topics were included in the survey: Home and family; School and bullying; Respect and disrespect; Mental Health; The Environment.

The Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey was launched in the autumn of 1998. Its mission has been to monitor the attitudes and behaviour of people in Northern Ireland during the late 1990s and into the present century, in order to provide a time-series and a public record of how our attitudes and behaviour develop on a wide range of social policy issues. The survey is run on a modular format. Two modules are repeated every year (Political Attitudes and Community Relations), and the rest of the survey varies annually with all the modules designed to be repeated in years to come.

Each year, more than 30 countries participate in the "https://issp.org/" Target="_blank">International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) in which the same module of questions is asked cross-nationally. Northern Ireland has taken part in this exercise (via NISA) since 1989. The 1998 module covered religion. Full ISSP datasets can be obtained from the Zentralarchiv in Koln, Germany, where the datasets from the member countries are assembled.

The Kids' Life and Times Survey (KLT) began in 2008 and is conducted by Access Research Knowledge (ARK) which runs the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (NILT) and the Young Life and Times Survey (YLT). The KLT is a survey of Primary year 7 (P7) children in Northern Ireland which is carried out online and in school. (Note that NILT did not run in 2011, but resumed in 2012. The KLT and YLT both ran as normal in 2011.)

The aims of the KLT are to:provide broad-based monitoring systems to examine children's views on policy issues on a regular basisensure that the information from the survey is fed back to policymakers and others engaged in the policy debates around children and their livesprovide a high profile endorsement of 'participation' by Northern Ireland's childrenFurther information about KLT, including the comic-style publication with key results especially designed for children, may be found on the ARK main Kids' Life and Times Survey web pages. In 2017 the following topics were included in the survey: Background; Bullying in School; Shared Education; Community Relations, Equality and Diversity Education (CRED); Healthy Lifestyles

All too often the opinions of young people are ignored when decisions are made about many of the issues involving them. Thus, the aim of the Young Life and Times Survey is to record the views of 16-year olds in Northern Ireland, with a focus on community relations issues such as politics, sectarianism and education. By inviting respondents to suggest topics for the following year's survey, we make sure that the topics covered are relevant to the lives of 16-year olds in Northern Ireland today.

The Young Life and Times Survey (YLT) originally began as a companion survey to the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey series (available at the UK Data Archive under GN 33235). From 1998-2000, YLT surveyed young people aged 12-17 living in the households of adults interviewed for NILT. Subsequently, YLT underwent evaluation in 2001 and was relaunched in 2003 (see SN 4826), independent of the adult NILT and using a completely different methodology. From this point, YLT has used Child Benefit records as a sampling frame. Although a few questions are asked that are also included in NILT, the rest of the survey now covers different topics.

The aims of the YLT series are to:

• monitor public attitudes towards social policy and political issues in Northern Ireland
• provide a time series on attitudes to key social policy areas
• facilitate academic social policy analysis
• provide a freely available resource on public attitudes for the wider community of users in Northern Ireland
• give a voice to young people

An open access time-series teaching dataset has been created from the 2003-2012 YLTs - see SN 7548.

Further information about the YLT, including publications, may be found on the Access Research Knowledge (ARK) YLT webpages.

This release can be accessed here

This publication can be accessed here

This dataset is the survey dataset from a booster survey undertaken among BROOK NI service users on sexual grooming and sexual risks experienced. The questions in this survey are repeated from the 2010 (sexual grooming and risks) and 2011 (sexual activity and experiences) Young Life and Times (YLT) survey of 16 years olds undertaken in Northern Ireland.

This Knowledge Exchange project is a joint activity between ARK – a joint initiative by Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster - and Brook Northern Ireland (Brook NI). It is based on data collected in the 2010 and 2011 Young Life and Times (YLT) survey of 16-year olds which is undertaken annually in Northern Ireland. The YLT surveys had asked questions about sexual risks faced by young people and their sexual experiences. The main objective of this project is to facilitate sexual capacity and confidence building among young people in Northern Ireland who are at the start of their sexual careers, i.e. who have not been sexually active or have only been sexually active for a short period of time. This will be done by: (1) collecting a boaster sample for the YLT surveys, to inform; (2)participatory group work sessions with up to 100 young people; (3) the development of an educational resource and young people-led publicity campaign about sexual safety. The project is undertaken in a participatory manner. 12 peer educators ar trained who will help with the group discussions and with the design of the education resource and campaign.

The Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (NILT) series began in 1998, and was the successor to the previous Northern Ireland Social Attitudes series, which was discontinued in 1996.
The main aims of the NILT series are:

• to monitor public attitudes towards social policy and political issues in Northern Ireland;
• to provide a time series on attitudes to key social policy areas;
• to facilitate academic social policy analysis;
• to provide a freely available resource on public attitudes for the wider community of users in Northern Ireland.

NILT originally had a companion series which also began in 1998, the Young Life and Times Survey (YLT), although the YLT methodology changed in 2003 and it is conducted separately each year. The Kids' Life and Times (KLT) survey of P7 children (10-11 year olds) is also part of the same suite of surveys as YLT and NILT.

NILT also forms part of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), although it does not do so every year. Unfortunately, NILT did not run in 2011 due to funding issues, though YLT ran as normal that year; NILT resumed in 2012 (SN 7408). In addition, several open access teaching datasets were created by ARK (Access Research Knowledge) from various years of NILT, covering different topics such as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) issues, politics and community relations, attitudes to ageing and ageism, and dementia.

Further information about the series may be found on the ARK http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NILT webpage.

Data represents Odds Ratios (and 95% Confidence Intervals) from fully adjusted models.

Attitudes to dementia: Degree of independence which should be afforded to those with (a) late stage and (b) early stage dementia.