Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Adult Literacy Survey, carried out in Great Britain in 1996, was part of an international programme of surveys known as the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). The aim was to profile the literacy skills of adults aged 16-65 using an internationally agreed measure. The objectives were to provide data for international comparison; to provide a profile of adult literacy in Great Britain; to provide a self-assessment of literacy skills by respondents; to collect background information to examine the link between literacy and socio-economic factors such as education, employment and income.

Main Topics:

Distribution of literacy by socio-demographic characteristics; literacy skills and work; occupational demand for literacy; literacy in everyday life; literacy practices and literacy skills; self-assessment of literacy skills for work and everyday life; adult education and training. Standard Measures Three measures of literacy (prose, document and quantitative) were calculated using Item Response Theory (IRT) by Educational Testing Services (ETS) of Princeton, New Jersey.

Multi-stage stratified random sample

The sampling frame was the Postcode Address File (PAF). Postcode sectors are the primary sampling unit. Sectors were stratified by region and indicators from the 1981 Census (SEG and proportion of households with no car available). There was oversampling in Scotland and Wales. One person per household was selected by the interviewer at random using Kish grid.

Face-to-face interview

CAPI