FAQs

Everyone living in Scotland over the age of 12* is welcome to join Generation Scotland. Our mission is to create a large study reflecting the lives of people in Scotland, following individuals and their communities from childhood to old age. Every volunteer matters, and if you decide to join Generation Scotland your data will be of help in understanding the health and wellbeing of people in Scotland now and into the future.

*12-15 year olds will need a parent or guardian to join GS in order to participate.

Make sure you read our information and consent sheet before you continue to our portal to join. These can be found at your relevant link in How You Can Help.

If you are aged 12 or over click the link below to join.

Join Generation Scotland

The saliva sample you provide contains your DNA, which researchers will study. This may include ‘Whole Genome Sequencing’, where we read all 6 billion letters of your DNA. This means we can look at which DNA sequences seem to be important in health or disease.

Due to the nature of our study, we do not provide feedback on your individual data, including your genetic data.

The data we receive from our volunteers is de-identified and linked to unique ID numbers. It is shared with us electronically in a format that looks like a spreadsheet filled with numbers, codes, and keywords. This means that all data is analysed in large datasets, allowing researchers to study health trends at a group, rather than individual level.

This approach ensures your privacy while enabling meaningful health research. 

We regularly update our social medias and website with our latest findings, reports and research. We also send our volunteers regular newsletters.

We can link people who are genetically related utilising DNA samples and some family members by address.

Yes you can. Generation Scotland is separate from other large UK studies and has different research interests. It is fine to be part of multiple studies if you wish. Each study will be looking for different data and information.

There are two options if you would no longer like to be part of Generation Scotland.

You can chose to unsubscribe from future contact, but allow us to still use your data, by following this link https://www.ed.ac.uk/generation-scotland/unsubscribe. If you withdraw your consent for re-contact, we will be unable to let you know new information about the study, such as record linkages. Therefore, we suggest you check our website and social media posts in case of updates. This way you can still let us know if you want to opt out of a specific record linkage.

If you would like to withdraw completely and have us remove your data and samples from the study, please email genscot@ed.ac.uk.​​​​

There is a wide variety of information needed for research on people’s health and well-being. For example, Government departments collect information about your education, work, earnings, tax and benefits. Researchers can use this information to better understand:

• How wealth influences health.
• When people move from education to getting a job. The impact of work and education on people’s health and well-being.
• When people rely on different benefits and services in the context of, for example, the cost of living crisis.

Researchers also study the things that influence our experience at school and the way this affects the rest of our lives. If you went to college, university or undertake any training at work or adult education, it is important to see how the skills you acquire influence your working life. Information about these questions are particularly important to us in the current economic climate.

People’s wellbeing is important as it covers both mental and physical health and generally indicates whether people feel their lives are going well or not so well. Well-being generally includes global judgments of life satisfaction and feelings ranging from depression to joy.

The World Health Organisation constitution states, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." So by well-being we mean how people feel their lives are going more generally. This is important as we want to support research on how to improve people’s well-being.

Any forms containing personal details will be stored in a secure location and kept separate from study data.

Study data and DNA from your sample will be stored in secure buildings, using a unique anonymous identification (ID) code. All data will be kept in a password-protected database and linked by your unique ID code. Saliva (spit) samples will be processed and the DNA stored in a secure lab with your ID code.

Personal details will never be stored with samples or data.

Your data contribution is vital for helping researchers understand how genes, environment, and lifestyle influence health over time—a unique and valuable aspect of our study. Your data will be used and monitored only by our team and approved researchers, for as long as there is public benefit.

Our team handles your de-identified data with the utmost privacy and care. 

Only approved researchers who have gone through a rigorous access procedure are allowed to access the data you have provided. This information is used to study key health research questions, such as how genetics and lifestyle influence our health, disease development and risk.

We are committed to ensuring that your data is used responsibly and only for projects that aim to deliver meaningful health and research benefits.

Generation Scotland has security in place to ensure complete anonymity and to protect the information we collect. We'll always make sure that identifying data (e.g. name, address, date of birth) are kept separate from all other information we gather (e.g., your answers to questionnaires, health records, administrative records). Those involved are fully trained to maintain your confidentiality.

Researchers who analyse the data will not be able to identify you. Study data will be stored carefully in secure buildings, using a unique anonymous ID code. This code allows researchers to access an anonymous copy of the information they need. They will not be able to use your ID to identify you.

In your sample kit, there's a barcode on the saliva sample tube, which has letters and numbers underneath it. We have linked this code to your volunteer ID. When you provide your sample, you don’t need to add your name, as this code will be enough. This process makes sure your personal data is protected.

We will email you to let you know your sample kit is on the way and tell you what your code is. It is important that you check this code matches the code on your saliva tube before you provide your sample.

Our research has been reviewed by an independent group of people, called a Research Ethics Committee. They’re here to protect your safety, rights, well-being and dignity. This project was reviewed and given a favourable opinion by the East of Scotland Research Ethics Committee.

We do not share your data with:

• Insurance companies
• Current or future employers
• The police (unless requested by court order - which we have never received as of yet). 

Your de-identified information will only be used by researchers who have approval from our access committee. The Access Committee read all access requests and approve or deny them based on their scientific merit. Researchers will also need ethical approval before we will give them data.

This could include researchers working in other countries or with companies who are looking to develop new treatments or lab tests. 

Our team at Generation Scotland is based at the University of Edinburgh, and we carefully manage the data and samples collected as part of our study. 

Therefore we are the legal owner of the data and the samples collected as part of the study. If you choose to take part, we will ensure your information is used in way that prioritises your privacy and contributes to vital health research.

Combined with your baseline questionnaire answers, health and administrative records are an amazing resource which allows researchers to look for patterns in our health and lifestyle and how this impacts our wellbeing and risk of disease.

We never link your personal data (e.g. your name or full date of birth) to the de-identified data given to us.

During our signup process, we ask for consent to link to administrative records. This is an optional part of signing up, and we will contact you if we link to a new type of administrative record. We’ll let you know what type of record it is, and what type of information it holds. This information can add great value to our research, helping researchers understand how work, education and financial situation impacts people’s health and wellbeing.

These include records such as, Education, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and tax records as well other types of administrative records.

Health records are stored securely at the Register House, and include NHS data including drug prescriptions, hospital admission and lab tests. We’ll ask your permission to allow Public Health Scotland (who hold all this information for you) to share details of your past and future health with us. We’ll securely send the relevant NHS staff your name, address and date of birth, so they can find your records for us. Also with your permission, we'll let your GP know that you are volunteering in medical research.

Learn more about how we link to records in this video:

Image

The data we receive will always look slightly different dependent on where the data is coming from. However, it will always be de-identified using an ID number instead of your name. That means the data will never be linked to your personal data like your name or full date of birth.

We ​won't be accessing your personal file either. Instead we will get lots of volunteer data at once linked to individual ID numbers. It will be sent to us electronically and will look like a spreadsheet, that you might use at work or at home. The image on right is an example of what the data might look like (this is not real data but an example of how it might look).

No, we will not store copies your personal official records. We will get in touch with the people who hold the records we request. They will collect the information requested and send the data over in a big data file. Your data will be linked to an ID number and data points like ‘tax bracket: higher rate’ ‘occupation code 1131 financial manager and directors’ will be attached to that ID number. We will never link your personal data, e.g. your name or full date of birth, to the de-identified data given to us.

If the project is ongoing and your data is not withdrawn we will continue to keep your data securely, maintaining strict confidentiality.

Your contribution will remain a valuable part of research, advancing studies and creating a lasting impact for yours, and future generations.

With your permission, we'll tell your GP that you have taken part. This is to inform them that you are volunteering in medical research.

If you consent to your child taking part, we will contact them and let them know you are taking part and have given us permission to contact them.

We will not tell anyone else that you are taking part in Generation Scotland.

The Generation Scotland data access committee will have authority over access and use of data. All studies must also be approved by an Ethics Committee. 

Researchers will only be able to access anonymous information. Once the research is complete, we ask for the results to be returned to us. We can then share the overall results of the research with our volunteers. We do not give volunteers individual results based on their data alone.

If you would like to complain about our handling of your data, you can contact the University’s Data Protection Officer via email at dpo@ed.ac.uk or write to: 

Data Protection Officer, Governance and Strategic Planning, The University of Edinburgh, Old College, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL Scotland

In order for you to receive any information regarding our projects, it’s essential that we have your up to date information. If you are registered on our secure online portal you can update your details using the ‘personal details’ page.

If you have any difficulties please email us at genscot@ed.ac.uk.

It’s important to us that you have all the information you need before you join the study. If you can’t find the answer to your query here, or in our Volunteer Information Sheet, you can contact us. Details can be found in the link below:

Contact us