Census based longitudinal studies tend to ask the same questions with each wave. Birth cohort studies often ask a core of repeated questions with a selection of questions which change with each wave

• Census based longitudinal studies tend to ask the same questions with each wave. Birth cohort studies often ask a core of repeated questions with a selection of questions which change with each wave

• Very useful for studying migration patterns over the lifecourse

• Issues:

• Potentially disclosive nature of longitudinal data means access is often strictly controlled

• Spatial information is limited