1. Rigour and accessibility in cross-national research Roger Jowell Centre for Comparative Social Surveys City University London May 25 2005

2. The quest for rigour A longstanding problem, particularly for attitude surveys (Eurobarometers, EVS, ISSP) Involvement of the European Science Foundation in the mid-1990s A series of expert groups and committees Application to EC for part-funding - conditional agreement The start of the European Social Survey (ESS) in 2001

3. Three main aims To measure and explain long-term value change within and between European nations To improve the rigour of cross-national survey methodology To develop social indicators for Europe (including attitudinal indicators)

4. Obstacles to attitude measurement in general “Non-attitudes” Social desirability bias Prevalence v salience The satisfaction conundrum Weather vs climate changes Impact of context In any case, attitudes are elusive, ‘cheap’, changeable and can’t be validated

5. Added problems for cross- national surveys Language differences that defy translation Differences in methodological ‘habits’ Existing formulations to adhere to Differences in national contexts

6. On the other hand, monitoring social attitudes… …helps us understand how we see our world and ourselves …challenges myths and stereotypes …exposes political, cultural and moral divisions …enables national success to be judged against social, not just economic, criteria “Comparative sociology is not a branch of sociology; it is sociology itself” (Durkheim)

7. 25 participating countries Denmark Greece FinlandItaly NorwayPortugal SwedenSpain Iceland Austria Belgium France Czech Rep Germany Estonia Ireland Hungary LuxembourgPoland NetherlandsSlovenia SwitzerlandSlovak Rep UKUkraine

8. Main features Rigid specifications of:  Sampling method and size  Fieldwork procedures and timing  Response targets  Event monitoring  Translation protocols  Progress and compliance monitoring  Transparent documentation, easy access  Top-down and bottom-up questionnaire design

9. Core question topics Trust in institutions Political engagement Socio-political values Multi-level governance Moral & social values Social exclusion National, ethnic, religious id Well-being, health, security Demographic composition Education and occupation Financial circumstances Household circumstances

10. Rotating modules Round 1 Immigration Citizen engagement and democracy Round 2 Family, work and well-being Economic morality Health and care-seeking Round 3 Indicators of quality of life Perceptions of the life course

11. Access and dissemination Archive = NSD Norway - part and parcel of Central Co-ordinating Team Data available on-line and for download No privileged access 5000+ users to date: www.europeansocialsurvey.org www.europeansocialsurvey.org US clone now funded 7 books, many articles, more dissertations On-line bibliography and training

12. Conclusion “Herding cats can be fun” (Jowell, 2005)