KWDI Korean Women’s Development Institute

Korean Women's Development Institute (KWDI) has conducted the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families (KLoWF) in order to trace changes in women's lives in Korea. Specifically, the survey was designed to cover women's economic activities, family relationships and structures, and everyday lives. The KLoWF aims to provide a comprehensive database both for academic researches and policy analyses related to gender issues. The first wave data was gathered in 2007, interviewing 9,068 households and 9997 individuals. The second wave data gathering was commenced in the October of 2008, being successfully concluded in June, 2009.

In the second wave, a total of 9,168 households were to be interviewed, among which 9,068 were original households and 100 split-offs, of which 7,750 households (7,704 original + 46 split-off) have been successfully interviewed. Of the 9,068 original households, reponse rate amounted to 85.0%(9,068 vs. 7,704 households). Of the 9997 original household members, 83.7%(8,364 members) have responded to the survey. The reason why the KLoWF has failed to get a higher level of response rate is scrutinized. A rudimentary descriptive analysis of the second wave data is provided, variable by variable, in the report.

The KWDI developed a website(http://klowf.kwdi.re.kr) to communicate with researchers and policy-makers using the KLoWF data. In the July of 2009, the first wave data was finally released to the general public through this website after a tedious and scrupulous data verification process. Filling out a brief form of registration, anyone can have an instant access to the whole body of the first wave data sets and related documents. In addition, the website provides an access to various kinds of publications such as annual reports, statistical reports, and technical reports. To promote the KLoWF data for academic researchers and policy makers, the KWDI published semiannual booklets, , in May and October. In addition, the KWDI held a series of panel forums focusing statistical methods such as survival analysis, discrete panel data analyses, and  multi-level modeling in order to improve the understanding of longitudinal data analysis. The KWDI is going to hold an academic symposium inviting a number of prominent researchers to present academic articles using the first and second wave KLoWF data in the December of 2009.

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