The study was an analysis of self-reports from students, along with data from Iceland Statistics and the Iceland Directorate of Education. The data were originally collected for the longitudinal study Student progress and school effectiveness, which was conducted in 2007.
Rannsóknin byggir á gögnum úr langtímarannsókninni Námsframvinda nemenda og skilvirkni framhaldsskóla (2007), sem voru svör við spurningalista um andlega líðan, samkeyrð við gögnfrá Hagstofu og Námsmatsstofnun.