GUIDE: A pilot study to improve the quality and efficiency of the full-scale study and to obtain provisional data

The national node of the GUIDE consortium operating at Daugavpils University, is carrying out preparatory work to launch the first comparative European cohort study on the well-being of children and young people from birth to age 24 in Latvia, together with 24 partners from 22 European countries.

The first wave of GUIDE field studies is planned for 2027. Led by experts from University College Dublin (Ireland) and Manchester Metropolitan University (United Kingdom), the consortium will conduct a pilot study in 2026 to test data-collection methods and the detailed study design. Although smaller in scale, the pilot will enable researchers to refine sample sizes, budgets, and methodological approaches before launching the full-scale study. It will also provide preliminary data that can offer insight into potential results. By addressing issues identified in the pilot, researchers will reduce potential errors and risks, thereby improving the reliability and validity of the future full-scale study. Because of its importance for improving the quality and effectiveness of the main study, the GUIDE consortium decided to conduct the pilot in the United Kingdom. Led by experts from Manchester Metropolitan University, the pilot will be carried out with a representative sample of 250 families with eight-year-old children across the UK (100 in England, 50 in Scotland, 50 in Wales, and 50 in Northern Ireland). During home visits, researchers will interview children in their familiar environment.

The pilot study will collect data on a wide range of issues affecting children and their families, including well-being and mental health, parenting and childcare, school experiences and performance, cognitive, social and emotional development, out-of-school activities, wider family, social and environmental contexts. The results will be analysed to develop documentation and recommendations for the full-scale cohort study, which will be shared with all GUIDE partners.

The pilot study will also evaluate whether the survey questions and technical infrastructure developed by GUIDE are appropriate for the UK context, including potential variations in sampling, survey instruments, and compliance with data retention and privacy laws. A survey company will be selected through a competitive tender process to conduct the fieldwork. The pilot data will be deposited in the UK Data Service for wider use by the scientific community. The UK Economic and Social Research Council has awarded £400,000 to the GUIDE consortium to support the pilot study.

This initiative is implemented within the framework of ERDF project No 1.1.1.5/3/24/I/003 "Support for the Participation of Daugavpils University in the Horizon Europe programme".