Cross-national attitudinal research The International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) and the European Social Survey (ESS)

Today The value and challenges of cross-national research Key datasets International Social Survey Programme European Social Survey *

Why do cross-national research? Huge challenges Different survey traditions Translation and equivalence Huge dividends Exploring ‘general’ theories (social trust) Examining relationships (welfare regimes and attitudes) Illuminating single-nation studies (what is high?) “We don’t know who discovered water but we know it wasn’t the fish” (Marshall McLuhan) Post-modernism, social capital, trust Differing experiences of European integration, welfare, religion What is high? What is low?

Sampling and fieldwork ISSP Annual since 1985 Sampling and fieldwork Minimum 1000 achieved sample Face to face or self-completion methods Questionnaire 60 question module asked in agreed order Agreed background questions Data Provided to central archive within 9 months of fieldwork end Most recent dataset available is 2008 Religion Available from www.issp.org 48 countries across world

ISSP member countries Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Bulgaria Canada Chile China Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Dominican Republic Estonia Finland France Germany Great Britain Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Italy Japan Latvia Lithuania Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Norway Palestine Philippines Poland Portugal Russia Slovakia Slovenia South Africa South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Turkey Ukraine United States Uruguay Venezuela ISSP annual since 1985. Now 48 countries spanning 5 continents

ISSP topics Year Topics 1985, 1990, 1996, 2006 Role of Government 1986, 2001 1987, 1992, 1999, 2009 1988, 1994, 2002, 2012 1989, 1997, 2005 1991, 1998, 2008 1993, 2000, 2010 1995, 2003 2004 2007 2011 Topics Role of Government Social Networks Social Inequality Family and Changing Gender Roles Work Orientations Religion Environment National Identity Citizenship Sport and leisure Health Two key strengths: Great time series Lots of variety in countries ESS a newer entrant, but a more detailed one with higher quality standards

Sampling and fieldwork ESS Biennial since 2002 Sampling and fieldwork Minimum effective sample size typically 1500 Only random sampling Face to face only Questionnaire 60-70 minute survey, including background questions Extensive attention to translation Quick data supply 2010 dataset just released (preliminary release) Available from ess.nsd.uib.no (or main ESS site) 28 countries in round 5

ESS round 5 participants Belgium Germany Portugal Bulgaria Greece Slovakia Croatia Hungary Russia Cyprus Ireland Slovenia Czech Republic Israel Spain Denmark Lithuania Sweden These are the confirmed list of participants for Round 5 of the survey. ‘Eurovision’ approach to defining Europe – extends as far as Israel. Estonia Netherlands Switzerland Finland Norway Ukraine France Poland United Kingdom

Core topics included each round include: ESS core modules Core topics included each round include: Trust in institutions Political engagement Social capital Socio-political values, moral and social values National, religious and ethnic identity Well-being, health and security Each round of ESS comprises 3 key elements; Core modules – some of them shown here Rotating modules Demographics Also a lot of contextual information.

ESS rotating modules 2002 Citizenship, involvement and democracy Immigration 2004 Family, work and well-being Health and health-care seeking Economic morality 2006 Personal and social well-being Timing of life 2008 Experiences and expressions of ageism Welfare attitudes 2010 Work, family and well-being (repeat 2004) Trust in criminal justice 2012 Personal and social well-being (repeat 2006) Understandings and evaluations of democracy

ESS data 27,000 registered users with Archive Top 6 countries Germany, UK, Slovenia, Belgium, Spain, US Predominantly academic 52% students 25% faculty and research 9% doctoral research Online analysis or data download EduNet Training resource – exploring theoretical questions using ESS data Data from last year – not been able to update

Further sources of information www.issp.org www.europeansocialsurvey.org ‘Measuring attitudes cross-nationally - Lessons from the European Social Survey (Jowell et al, 2007: Sage) Online bibliographies at both ESS and ISSP websites

Thank you www.natcen.ac.uk

Roger’s laws of cross-national research! The larger the number of countries, the harder it is to maintain quality The greater the diversity of countries, the harder it is to maintain quality Whatever one does, many people will use the data merely as league tables Big surprises in the data are usually errors There is no such thing as true equivalence