Hong Kong Panel Study of Social Dynamics (HKPSSD): Research Designs and Data Overview

Abstract

The Hong Kong Panel Study of Social Dynamics (HKPSSD) aims to establish a city-wide representative household panel survey to track socioeconomic changes and their impact on people’s livelihood in Hong Kong. Three waves of data collection have been completed in 2011, 2013, and 2015, respectively: 3,214 households, 7,218 adults, and 958 children were successfully interviewed in the first wave, and 2,165 households, 4,270 adults, and 623 children were reinterviewed in the second wave. A refreshment sample of 1,007 households (including 1,960 adults and 145 children) with new question modules were added in 2014, which, together with those in the second wave, were reinterviewed in the third wave in 2015, resulting in 2,404 households, 5,160 adults and 477 children. This article introduces the background, research designs, and content coverage of the three waves of the HKPSSD, and presents an overview of the data. The HKPSSD is expected to serve as an important database for social science research and policy study in Hong Kong, and for comparative analyses in the Greater China region.

Acknowledgements

The author would also like to express sincere appreciation to Professors Lau Siu-Kai and Lee Ming Kwan for their encouragement and support, and the project team members at CASER, especially Dr. Wang Jianping, Dr. Chung Yan Ip (Joanne), Dr. Zhang Zhuoni, Dr. Li Jun, Dr. Ye Hua, Dr. Wang Hongbo, Ms. Maggie Ku, Chloe Li, Joyce Tong, He Guangye (Gloria), Xu Duoduo, Miao Jia, Zhou Muzhi, and Mr. Chen Longhua, Li Zhonglu, and Zeng Donglin, for their excellent work and committed contributions to the project over the past five years.

Notes

The Central Policy Unit (CPU) is a government body established in 1989, with a major function to provide advice and recommendations on public policy and other matters to the Chief Executive, the Chief Secretary for Administration, and the Financial Secretary of HKSAR. The Research Grants Council (RGC), which was established in 1991, operates under the aegis of the University Grants Committee (UGC) and functions as an advisory body on research matters and for the distribution of funding for research projects undertaken by academic staff in government-funded universities (see www.cpu.gov.hk/en/home/index.html).

The Register of Quarters contains a list of addresses of permanent quarters in built-up areas including urban areas, new towns, and major developments in the New Territories. Each quarter is identified by a unique address with such details as house number, street name, building name, floor number, and flat number. Temporary structures, such as roof-top and back-lane structures, are usually not listed in the RQ. Each temporary structure is treated as an attachment to the nearest listed quarters in the RQ. The Register of Segments contains a list of area segments in non-built-up areas. Each area segment contains about 8–15 quarters and is delineated by natural or easily identifiable boundaries such as streams, footpaths, lanes, and ditches. The use of area segments in non–built-up areas is necessary because the quarters in these areas may not have well-specified addresses and cannot be easily identified. Note that while a list of quarters in each segment is available along with the segment maps and location maps, the information is for reference only. Enumerators in the C&SD need to first list each and every quarter in each segment before the segment can be used for survey purpose (see details in Wu 2014).

See details in Appendix I of Wu (2014), “The Construction of Socioeconomic Index for Constituency Areas in Hong Kong.”

Affected by the 2011 population census, the fieldwork was postponed to the end of the year. Several ad hoc remedial/correction visits took place in early 2012.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Xiaogang Wu

Xiaogang Wu is professor of Social Science and the Founding Director of the Center for Applied Social and Economic Research (CASER), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). His research interests include social stratification and mobility, social demography, and economic sociology, political sociology, and statistical methods.