ISSP and ESS An introduction to the surveys

The International Social Survey Programme (ISSP)

Background Began in 1985 Annual survey Initiated and set up by Australia, USA, Britain, West Germany Structure and funding Elected Secretariat (Norway) plus subgroups No central funding for co-ordination activities Individual countries have to raise funds for surveys Now 43 members spanning Europe, America, Asia, Australia and Africa

ISSP member countries Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Bulgaria Canada Chile China Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Dominican Republic Finland France Germany Great Britain Hungary Ireland Israel Italy Japan Latvia Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Norway Philippines Poland Portugal Russia Slovakia Slovenia South Africa South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Turkey United States Uruguay Venezuela

ISSP aims To facilitate the in-depth study of cross-national differences in attitudes towards subjects of global importance and interest, over time … Global focus Time series

ISSP topics Topics Role of Government Social Networks/Relations and Support Systems Social Inequality Family and Changing Gender Roles Work Orientations Religion Environment National Identity Citizenship Administered in 1985, 1990, 1996, , , 1992, 1999, , 1994, , 1997, , 1998, , 2000, ,

ISSP fieldwork Sampling Minimum 1000 achieved sample Expectation that members will use random sampling Fieldwork Face to face or self-completion methods No telephone Variable fieldwork dates Questionnaire 15 minute module (60 questions) asked in agreed order Often administered as part of another survey Agreed background questions Guidance on translation

ISSP questionnaire design Topic selection Topics nominated and voted for at annual plenary meeting Drafting group elected with a chair Module design Circulation of design notes/q-res to members Rough outline for module discussed one year, detailed questions the next Ideally new questions pilot tested prior to final discussion Any module being repeated MUST include 40 repeat questions (plus up to 20 new ones) Members vote on individual questions in final module Design process can vary depending on make-up of group

ISSP data Participating countries should supply data to central archive in Germany within 9 months of fieldwork No core funding for archive Archive work also carried out in Spain Clear guidance provided on dataset conventions Delay before cross-national dataset available Variable fieldwork dates Delays in data deposit Most recent dataset available is 2005 Work Orientation Data available from issp.org

The European Social Survey (ESS)

Background Began in 2002 Biennial survey Structure and funding Central Co-ordinating Team (CCT) at City University plus Sampling Panel, Translation Taskforce, Methods Group Scientific Advisory Board Initiated/seed-funded by European Science Foundation, now core funding from European Commission Individual countries fund country co-ordinator and survey Eurovision membership rules

Current ESS member countries Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Denmark Estonia Finland France Russia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom Germany Hungary Ireland Latvia Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal

ESS aims To measure and explain the relationship between Europe's changing institutions and the attitudes, values and behaviours of its population European focus Time series To draw on best practice as demonstrated in similar national studies in Europe and the US Desire to produce bullet-proof data Winner of Descartes Prize in 2005 for radical innovations in cross-national surveys

ESS questionnaire Core modules Rotating modules (usually 50 items in each module) Socio-demographic/economic background variables Context and event data Contact information

ESS core modules Topics covered 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

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

ESS context and event data Context data Information about specific counties Demographic statistics Socio-economic macro statistics Event data Collected by national co-ordinators Covers period of fieldwork Example page from September 2006 Pope speech angers Muslims 4000 UK jobs to be cut 4 men in court on terrorism charges Blair addresses unions Supply brief summary and media references

ESS contact information Details collected about each address in sample Productive and unproductive Including number of calls, outcome of each visit, number of eligible adults at the address Robust information about response rates Analysis of calling patterns

ESS fieldwork Sampling Minimum effective sample size typically 1500 Essential that members use random sampling Fieldwork Face to face only, no telephone Set fieldwork dates (Sept - Dec of relevant year) Experimental work in 2008 to look at multi-mode surveys Questionnaire minute survey, including background questions Administered as stand-alone survey, questions to be asked in agreed order Guidelines and advice on translation

ESS questionnaire design Topic selection Biennial CCT call for proposals for rotating modules Two or three modules selected for each survey Question Design Teams must be international Final decision following refereeing and discussion with SAB Module design Discussion with CCT Discussion with country co-ordinators Pilot testing in two member countries

ESS data Participating countries supply data to central archive in Norway within a few months of fieldwork Central funding for NSD archive Clear guidance on dataset conventions Considerable communication between country co- ordinator and archive before country dataset signed Full ESS dataset made available fairly quickly 2006 dataset released in spring 2007 (preliminary release) Data available from ess.nsd.uib.no (or follow links from main ESS site)

ESS and ISSP Compare and contrast

ISSP and ESS compared (1) Membership Europe vs worldwide Potential for expansion Time-series ISSP has longer time-series No ESS time series yet on all bar core questions Organisational structure Degree of central co-ordination Top down vs bottom up Funding Presence/absence of adequate funding to cover co- ordination activities

ISSP and ESS compared (2) Methods ISSP has more variation in sampling methods than ESS Similar modes ESS more rigorous and better able to intervene to promote good practice Both surveys provide country specific documentation, ESS is clearer and of higher standard Questionnaire ISSP 60 items on specific topic ESS 240 plus items on range of topics (including 2 rotating topics covered with 50 items about each)

ISSP and ESS compared (3) Design process Both allow considerable consultation with member countries ESS more systematic, gives more weight to academic/policy experts ISSP allows member countries to vote on specific questions Limitations stemming from ISSPs global coverage Data ESS data available more quickly ESS spends more time on practices to ensure high quality

Further information

Further sources of information European Social Survey Measuring attitudes cross-nationally - Lessons from the European Social Survey (Jowell et al, 2007: Sage) Online searchable bibliography at ESS website International Social Survey Programme Bibliography at ISSPwebsite, lists 2880 publications (including 388 books, 428 book chapters and 915 journal papers)

Other relevant surveys European Values Survey 10 year intervals World Values Survey 1981, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005 Range of social, political and moral issues Eurobarometer Annual Public opinion on European Commission