The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2008/09: User Guide

This User Guide provides a comprehensive introduction for anyone wishing to know more about or use the data from the 2008/09 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS). The Guide is structured in four sections. Section 1 provides a short historical account of the development of crime surveys in Scotland, followed by technical information on the background, sample design and methodology of the 2008/09 survey in particular. This includes details of the sample design and methodology, structure and content of the questionnaire, use of weighting and some limitations of the data. Section 2 provides practical guidance on using the data, including how to access it, data file formats and levels of analysis, how to choose the appropriate dataset, selecting and using weights and defining variables. Further support for users is provided in Section 3, which uses illustrative examples to answer common analytical questions and demonstrates how to merge datasets together. The examples provided include SPSS syntax and output, which are intended to allow users to replicate analysis contained in the published reports. The final section identifies some useful resources for survey users.