Why have I been chosen to take part? We have chosen families at random from every family that receives child benefit. We take extra special care to ensure that, taken together, all the families we have chosen are representative of all families in Britain. Over 9,000 families from all over the country have been chosen. Each family that is selected is an important part of our overall picture and therefore, if a family cannot take part for any reason, they cannot be replaced by another family. You might find that some of your neighbours will also have been invited to take part. This is because we have randomly selected certain areas on which to focus (this includes your neighbourhood). The areas we have chosen are right across the country, so that when all the interviews have finished, we will have collected information from people who live right across Britain in the full range of different neighbourhoods. But you interviewed me last year… A key aspect of the Families and Children Study is that it is longitudinal. This means that we follow every family year on year to see how people's circumstances change. This makes the study unique as it provides the Government with information on how family life is changing over time and the effect that different policies such as Tax Credits are actually having on people's lives. This makes it especially important that the families we have selected continue to take part every year. If families are unable to take part we lose crucial data on whether their circumstances have got better or worse or whether they feel local services have improved. As a result, the Government has less information about how its policies are working for everyone. Being part of the Families and Children Study panel is a relatively small commitment. It involves taking part in an interview of about an hour in length once a year. A very small number of people will be invited to take part in follow-up studies (because their circumstances are of particular interest), though taking part in these is entirely voluntary. What's in it for me? The information you give us about your views and circumstances will enable the Government to act and make improvements for the people who most need them. So you will be doing a favour for the whole of society and - possibly - for families in similar circumstances to your own. You will receive a £10 high street voucher as a 'thank you' for agreeing to take part. We also hope that you find taking part both interesting and enjoyable - please let the interviewer know what you think of the questionnaire, we welcome your feedback. ^ back to top