CLOSER, the home of longitudinal research, brings together eight world-leading longitudinal studies with participants born throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
Our work maximises the use, value and impact of these, and other, longitudinal studies to help improve our understanding of key social and biomedical challenges.
We enable change over time and across generations to be better understood
We bring longitudinal data together in a consistent format – a process known as data harmonisation. This is allowing longitudinal researchers to compare data from different studies for the first time, revealing how and why the country is changing over time – and what this means for the future. Read more about data harmonisation.
We enhance insights through data linkage
We lead research to link data held by government to survey data collected by longitudinal studies across a range of areas, including health, geography, education and social media. Linking this data enables researchers to gain rich insights into how different aspects of people’s lives interrelate. Read more about data linkage.
We help researchers find data
Our flagship resource, CLOSER Discovery, enables researchers to search and browse questionnaires and data from the UK’s leading longitudinal studies to find out what data are available in unprecedented detail. Explore CLOSER Discovery.
We inspire and equip the next generation of scientists
We provide training and capacity building opportunities for researchers and those running longitudinal studies. Our Learning Hub has information and resources aimed at those in academia, government and the third sector to help them better understand the value of longitudinal research and how to use the data. Read more about the CLOSER Learning Hub and view our latest training events.
We support innovative research projects
We support research projects that use longitudinal data to investigate a wide range of areas of interest, including obesity, physical activity, mental health, and social media. Many of the research projects we support are creating harmonised datasets, improving data linkage or developing other resources for the wider longitudinal research community. Read more about the research we support.
We maximise the impact of longitudinal research
We work to achieve the greatest possible impact for CLOSER’s outputs and activities, as well as our studies. We do this by engaging with policy makers, producing longitudinal resources for the academic community and facilitating research that addresses the biomedical, social, economic and environmental policy challenges facing the UK. Read more about how we maximise research impact.
