Centre for Youth and Life Course Research (TRACE) coordinates and curates an integrated portfolio of quantitative and qualitative data resources with exceptional scope, depth and continuity. The combination of longitudinal cohorts, repeated cross sectional surveys and qualitative longitudinal studies enables analyses of inequality, life course trajectories and generational change that are rarely possible in international youth research.
Quantitative data
Young in Norway
A nationally representative longitudinal cohort study following individuals born in the 1970s from adolescence into middle adulthood across five survey waves (1992–2020).
The study includes linkage to national administrative registers for consenting participants, covering education, income, prescriptions, crime and welfare over nearly three decades. DNA samples collected at the fifth wave extend the analytical potential further.
Ungdata plus
A county representative longitudinal panel of 7,240 children and young people from Vestfold and Telemark, born in the 2010s and followed from middle childhood through adolescence and into early adulthood across five planned waves (2023–2039).
The study includes geocoding and planned linkage to major administrative registers. The thematic scope mirrors that of Young in Norway and is aligned by design with Inequality in Youth Cohort 2.
UngVold
A repeated cross sectional survey series on violence victimisation and perpetration among Norwegian youth, conducted in 2007, 2015 and 2023, with a fourth wave planned for 2028.
Register linkage for the 2007 cohort enables longitudinal analysis of life course consequences of early exposure to violence and abuse.
Qualitative data
Inequality in Youth (Ungdom i endring)
A qualitative longitudinal research programme integrating contemporary and historical studies of youth conducted at NOVA. The programme includes two contemporary cohorts born around 2005 and 2015, followed across multiple interview waves, with parallel interviews with parents.
Historical qualitative data
The programme incorporates earlier qualitative longitudinal youth studies designed with closely aligned interview guides and thematic focus, including cohorts born in 1968 and 1986, as well as a three generation qualitative study spanning the twentieth century.
Together, these materials enable analysis of intergenerational transmission and historical change in youth trajectories.
Nordic qualitative longitudinal infrastructure
Through the FUNORE collaboration, Inequality in Youth is embedded in a coordinated Nordic qualitative longitudinal dataset including parallel studies in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.
The collaboration is built on shared analytical principles and comparable research designs, enabling systematic cross national qualitative cohort comparison.
Read more about the FUNORE collaboration (futurenordics.org).
Access to data
When possible, TRACE aims to make TRACE-data available to the research community in accordance with ethical approvals, data protection regulations and agreements with data owners. Information about access procedures, documentation and conditions for use will be provided on this page.
