Welcome
Welcome to the Growing Up in Digital Europe (GUIDE) UK Age 8 pilot study
Growing up in Digital Europe (GUIDE) is Europe’s first study comparing children’s health and wellbeing in different countries. Researchers from many universities and research organisations in Europe are working together on it. The study will collect important information about children growing up in the digital age and will help improve policies that support children’s wellbeing.
About
About the Study
The GUIDE UK Age 8 Pilot Study is a smaller version of the main study that tests whether the study methods, procedures, and technical systems work effectively in practice.
It helps researchers identify and fix problems, estimate response rates, refine data collection tools, and make informed decisions about resources needed before investing in the full-scale study.
What is the study about?
The GUIDE UK Age 8 Pilot Study will collect survey information from a group of 8-year-old children and one of their parents or legal guardians. This will let us test our survey questions and how we collect the data before we start the main study.
Who is conducting the research?
The GUIDE UK Pilot Study is run by researchers at University College London (UCL) and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). Ipsos, an independent research company, will collect the data. Ipsos follows the rules of the Market Research Society Code of Conduct. Their survey interviewers are specially trained and carefully chosen to work on this study. Ipsos was chosen to collect the information
Who is funding the study?
The study is funded by the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council.
About the families invited to take part in the GUIDE study pilot
We will be inviting 250 8-year-old children and their parent or legal guardian from selected parts of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to take part in this study. Children in England were chosen at random from the National Pupil Database held by the Department for Education. The Department for Education gave us special permission to access the names and addresses of the selected children in Year 4 so we could contact them via their parents/legal guardians.
In Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, families are being contacted through their child’s school. Parents and legal guardians of children in Year 4 (or equivalent) are asked to complete a brief online survey to provide Ipsos with their contact information. The selection process was designed to reflect the diversity of children in the UK. Each child chosen is unique and cannot be replaced.
For more information about the GUIDE study in Europe please visit their website: https://www.guidecohort.eu
About the GUIDE Study in Europe
GUIDE Europe
Link to UCL
Link to MMU
Get involved
Taking part
A trained Ipsos interviewer will be in touch to schedule an interview at a time that that suits you and your child.
Interviews with parents or legal guardians will take approximately 60-minutes. The questions will ask about your experiences as a parent and about your child. The parent interview includes questions about your family, your child’s activities, and covers some sensitive topics including pregnancy and birth as well as partner relationships which can be completed privately on a computer that will be provided by the interviewer.
We will also ask your child to answer some questions with the same interviewer about their own experiences as a child and their family life. The interview also covers some sensitive topics like wellbeing and bullying. This will take about 30-40 minutes.
Fieldwork will run from January – March 2026.
What to expect
Interview
The Ipsos interviewer will visit your home to conduct the interview at the agreed time.
Child friendly
Ipsos interviewers are fully trained and vetted to carry out child friendly interviews.
Identification
Interviewers will carry an Ipsos ID badge and will introduce themselves and take you through the consent process.
Consent
Interviewers will introduce themselves and take you through the consent process and provide you with an overviews of what to expect.
Caregiver
During the child interview, a caregiver must be present at all times.
Take a break
You can pause or stop the interview at any point.
Confidentiality
Personal data will be handled securely and confidentially
For parents or legal guardians
For more information for parents and legal guardians please refer to the Parent Information Leaflet
Additional information regarding Data Linkage
For your child
To help you explain the process to your child, refer to the Child Information Leaflet
FAQs
Your questions answered
Privacy Notice
How we look after your data – please see our Privacy Notice