Abstract

Many life course hypotheses can only be addressed using observational studies which follow the same individuals through time, and a birth cohort is perhaps the ideal study in which to investigate life course influences on ageing. Careful consideration of study design is vital to the delivery of good quality research on healthy ageing. The design of a study not only determines the research questions that can be addressed, but also various sources of error and bias. This chapter reviews approaches to data collection, highlighting the importance of mode and frequency of data collection and discusses the future opportunities afforded by innovations in data collection technology and record linkage. It argues that strong study management, a consideration of ethical concerns, and engagement of study participants are vital to the delivery of high quality data and maintenance of response rates. With increasing cross-cohort collaboration, the current resource of studies provides exciting opportunities.