Integrated social data systems: the role of household censuses and surveys as sources of social, demographic and manpower data in Britain

Recent developments in household census and survey work that represent progress towards an integrated social data system are described. Continuous surveys on the population and its characteristics provide the primary sources of data that serve developmental functions. However, the feasibility and desirability of using standard entity concepts (for example standard definitions and classifications) for making connections between datasets is questioned; the resulting constraints on the application of different conceptualizations of problems or issues (the entity problem) is particularly limiting on the developmental mode of social information processing. The use of sampling as an alternative technique for making connections between datasets is explored.