Graduate Outcomes user guide

Guidance on the background, methodology, and available resources for users of the Graduate Outcomes survey.

On this page: Survey methodology | Governance and data protection | Metadata and definitions | Data quality | Archive

This contents list links to various sources of documentation for the Graduate Outcomes survey and the datasets created from its results. This material aims to meet the needs of technical and expert users of the data. If you have any feedback on the contents of this guide please contact [email protected].

List of user guide contents

 
Survey methodology

Graduate Outcomes Survey methodology - Introduction and contents

• Specification of user needs (history and background)
  • Understanding the outcomes and destinations of students in higher education
  • Historical context
  • DLHE review
  • Consultations
  • Evolution from DLHE to a centralised survey
  • Review topics and main data items
  • Review governance
• Survey coverage
• Sampling frame
  
  • Role of higher education providers
  • HESA's role
• Survey targets
  
  • DLHE response rate targets
  • Graduate Outcomes response rate targets
• Survey questions
• Online survey design
  
  • Provider personalisation of survey and emails
• Telephone survey design
• Data collection
  
  • Online data collection
  • Telephone data collection
  • Postal data collection
  • Opt-outs
  • Case prioritisation
  • Welsh language requirements
• Data processing
  
  • Data capture
  • Data quality checking
  • SIC/SOC data coding
  • Free text field cleaning
  • Derived fields
• Data analysis
  
  • Approach to weighting
  • Reliability
• Dissemination
  • Key users and uses
  • Legal and Compliance considerations
    
    • Data protection Act 2018/GDPR
    • Official Statistics
    • Freedom of Information
    • Competition Law
  • Ethical considerations
  • Misrepresentations of Graduate Outcomes data
  • Products and services
  • Supporting information for users of the data
    
    • Data definitions
    • Quality and data intelligence
    • Survey methodology
    • User guide
  • Content and presentation of data in HESA data releases
    
    • Operational policy on Tailored Datasets
      • Provider Preview service
  • Comparisons with DLHE
  • Approach to data concepts and standards
    
    • Classes of usage
• Sector engagement
  
  • Cohort reports and regular communications
  • Data dissemination communications approach
• Evaluation
  
  • Data collection
  • Data quality analysis
  • Data processing and dissemination

Governance and data protection

Graduate Outcomes steering group

Implementation project including:

• Subscription model
• Key principles of Graduate Outcomes
• Survey questions
• Third party suppliers

Data protection guidance for providers (re. contact details)

• Actions and implications for providers
• Operational support

Privacy information for graduates (on www.graduateoutcomes.ac.uk)

Privacy information for students

Metadata and definitions

Coding manuals for HESA data collections include lists of data fields and values as well as metadata information:

• Coding manual - Graduate Outcomes Contact Details record 2020/21
• Coding manual - Graduate Outcomes Survey Results record 2020/21

Tables and charts specification 2020/21 (.xlsx)

Definitions

Glossary

Providers submitting data to HESA collections

Data quality

Graduate Outcomes Survey Quality Report

• Executive summary
• Introduction
• Quality methodology
• Quality description
  • Relevance
    • Users and user needs
    • Data and statistical concepts
    • Assessment of gaps
  • Accuracy and reliability
    • The sampling frame, and how it is maintained
      • Sampling frame data based on HESA data collections
      • Sampling frame data based on other ingested data
    • How does the sampling frame relate to the population
    • The sample
    • Sampling error and non-response error
      
      • Unit non-response error
      • Item non-response error
    • Proxy responses
    • Measurement error
      
      • Respondent error
      • Survey instrument error
      • Interviewer error
    • Paradata
      
      • Overview
      • Paradata available to use in Graduate Outcomes
      • Potential usage of Paradata in case prioritization
      • Data quality review
      • Future work
    • Mode effects
    • Reliability of sensitive data
      • Salary data
      • Activity and employment assurance
      • Location data
    • Processing error
      
      • Imputation and editing
      • SIC and SOC coding
      • Handling free text responses
      • Location of work data – handling free text
      • Further study data – handling free text
      • Home country – handling free text
  • Timeliness and punctuality
    
    • Timeliness and user needs
    • Production timeline
    • Frequency of production
  • Accessibility and clarity
    
    • Confidentiality and disclosure control
    • Statistical products and supporting information
    • Access and use
  • Coherence and comparability
    • National and international data standards
    • Graduate Outcomes and other data on graduates
      
      • Graduate Outcomes and the HESA Student record
      • Graduate Outcomes and external data on graduates
    • Comparability and time series
      
      • Graduate Outcomes and DLHE
      • The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic
  • Respondent burden
• Conclusion
• References

Archive and record of changes to the user guide

Year 3 - 2019/20

Coding manual - Graduate Outcomes Contact Details record 2019/20
Coding manual - Graduate Outcomes Survey Results record 2019/20
Tables and charts specification (2019/20) (.xlsx)
Graduate Outcomes Survey Quality Report v3.0

Year 2 - 2018/19

Coding manual - Graduate Outcomes Contact Details record 2018/19
Coding manual - Graduate Outcomes Survey Results record 2018/19
Tables and charts specification (2018/19) (.xlsx)
Graduate Outcomes Survey Quality Report v2.1.0

Year 1 - 2017/18

2017/18 Methodology Statement part two
Graduate Outcomes Dissemination Policy v1
Coding manual - Graduate Outcomes Contact Details record 2017/18
Coding manual - Graduate Outcomes Survey Results record 2017/18
Tables and charts specification (2017/18) (.xlsx)
Graduate Outcomes Survey Quality Report v1

Feedback

This arrangement of documentation as a 'user guide' is new for the 2018/19 release of Graduate Outcomes data. If you have any comments or suggestions to improve this guide please let us know by emailing [email protected].