In every country in which cost of living figures have been obtained the same method, as far as broad lines are concerned, has been followed. The method adopted is to ascertain the average retail prices for a number of representative commodities for the dates to be compared and then to combine these retail prices in a single figure representing the change in retail prices as a whole. This combination is not effected by a plain average, but the individual price changes are "weighted" according to a comparison of the amounts spent on each of the commodities concerned (_e.g._, a change in the price of a commodity such as bread, must obviously be given more "weight" than a change in the price of such commodities as cheese or soap) and in order to determine the proper "weight" to attach to the retail price changes, representative family budgets are obtained showing the details of the actual expenditure of a large number of households. By combining these budgets it is possible to discover the relationship between the consumption of the various items; for instance, 12s. may be spent on meat for every 5s. 6d. spent on butter, and so on. The retail price changes can then be "weighted" according to the results given by the budgets and the final figure arrived at by combining them on these lines. Stages of our Inquiry. Our inquiry can, therefore, be divided into four main stages: =(A)= The collection of retail prices for July, 1914, and March and June, 1922. =(B)= The collection and analysis of representative family budgets by means of which to determine the "weighting" of the retail price changes. =(C)= The combination of the retail price changes by means of the "weights" so obtained into one final figure. =(D)= The results of applying different methods of "weighting." (A) Collection of Retail Prices. We found that as regards articles of food much of the information we required had already been collected by the Ministry of Economic Affairs who had obtained returns for July, 1914, and March, 1922, from 420 sources in towns of 500 persons and upwards; and also that retail prices of a certain number of articles of food had been collected in 1914, in Ireland by the Labour Statistics Branch of the Board of Trade. Our first task was, therefore, to collect returns of the retail prices in June, 1922, of all the commodities selected, and of the corresponding prices in July, 1914, and March, 1922, where these were not already at our disposal. Forms were accordingly drawn up on which this information could be collected and specimens of these forms are shown in the Appendix to the Report. (1) _Food, Clothing, Fuel and Light, and Sundries._