The Office for National Statistics have a Longitudinal Study covering England and Wales, which has been running since the 1970s. In 2006, it was decided that a Scottish Longitudinal Study should be set up to allow researchers to explore questions relating to Scottish people. The SLS currently captures its sample from the 1991, 2001 and 2011 Scottish Censuses.

The SLS is a valuable way for researchers to find out more about the people of Scotland and the things that affect our health, neighbourhoods and daily lives. By using a very large sample of people of all ages and from all communities, researchers can be more certain that the results they find will apply to everyone in Scotland. Information is linked across time which helps to show patterns, eg, how moving to a large city affects our health.