METHODOLOGY

The information below covers:

• The survey modules and questions comprising the Happiness Pulse
• An overview of the way individual scores within the survey modules are calculated.

The Happiness Pulse has four core survey modules of wellbeing:

General: GENERAL
Emotional: BE
Behavioural: DO
Social: CONNECT

For general wellbeing we use two of the ONS-4 questions on wellbeing. Our BE domain comprises the seven questions from the short version Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being scale (SWEMWBS) as these questions are robust, subject to stringent testing and provide the best way of summarising the main elements of emotional wellbeing. We also use their prescribed method for working out the results of the BE domain.

The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale was developed with funding provided by the Scottish Government’s National Programme for Improving Mental Health and Well-being. It was commissioned by NHS Scotland, developed by the University of Warwick and the University of Edinburgh in 2006, and is jointly owned by NHS Scotland, The University of Warwick and the University of Edinburgh.

All the questions in both the DO and CONNECT domains are based on indicators used by recognised data agencies, adapted and tested by Centre for Thriving Places. The additional Community Pulse module, accessed via our Advanced package, uses the following data organisations as its source: the Office for National Statistics, the Understanding Society Survey, the European Quality of Life Survey, the Oxwell Survey. A number of the questions are adapted by Happy City.

Where we use a question directly from another source we also use the original response scale for that question.

For more detailed information about the methodology behind the Happiness Pulse, please read the Happiness Pulse Methodology in full (pdf).