Footprints in Time: The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children: A guide for the uninitiated

Abstract

The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children is arguably a landmark for the development of an effective policy to address Indigenous disadvantage early in the life cycle. This paper highlights how the resulting data might inform policy makers by providing some historical context about the survey design and collection. The community engagement strategy has been integral key to maximising participation and retention rates, especially the use of Indigenous interviewers to elicit potentially sensitive information. The main constraint for analysing the survey is the relatively small sample size, which limits the statistical power of the resulting analysis.