The aim of this Government of Ireland (IRCHSS) funded project is to improve the well-being of the Irish population through increasing the quality and quantity of social science information available to policy makers on the factors that determine well-being. It aims to assess the extent to which levels of well-being vary by environmental, social, psychological and demographic factors.

In order to achieve this aim, the research team is developing scientifically robust measures of well-being which combine cutting-edge day reconstruction methods with psychometric scales and detailed bio-markers. This will allow for an integrated account of daily well-being and functioning in Ireland drawing from economics, geography, psychology and biological accounts of functioning. This project is being conducted by a strong scientific team across a number of disciplines and will enhance the capacity of Irish research to answer questions on the determinants of well-being that require several different approaches.

These well-being studies will integrate in to a wider set of studies being conducted in UCD on ageing, health and economic behaviour, including the UCD Science and Society stream, the European-wide Study of Health, Ageing and Retirement (SHARE) and the Lifeways panel study. Having a sophisticated approach to human well-being deeply rooted in interdisciplinary scientific endeavour is a vital pillar in Ireland's move to an advanced post-industrial standard of living.

Methodology