The Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) and its predecessors are the longest running study of students and young adults conducted in Australia. The survey tracks young people from their mid-teens to their mid-20s and collects information that helps to better understand how young people make the transition from school to work and beyond.

This presentation will provide an overview of the LSAY research program, introducing participants to the survey instruments as a research tool. There are currently three groups of young people involved in LSAY: those who were 15 years old in 2003 or 2006, and a new group who were 15 in 2009. Two previous cohorts of those who were in Year 9 in 1995 and 1998 have now completed the survey. Methodological issues relating to longitudinal surveys will also be discussed.