In July, Centerdata attended the 5th International ESS Conference at the University of Lisbon in sunny Portugal. This conference marked the 20th anniversary of the European Social Survey (ESS) project, in which Centerdata’s DataCTRL tool suite plays a key role in data collection. Throughout various sessions and keynote presentations, the importance of the collected data and its applications were once again emphasized.
ESS is a pan-European project that gathers data every two years through a recurring survey on social attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors across different European countries. The resulting dataset is used by researchers and policymakers within European countries and across Europe as a whole. Want to learn more about this project? Click here.
ESS is currently transitioning to a new method of data collection, namely self-completion. In this method, respondents independently complete online questionnaires. The limitations of face-to-face data collection, where interviewers approach people in person, became evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting ESS to explore new ways of data collection and to centralize their process more. These changes in data collection bring both challenges and opportunities.
The conference in Lisbon provided a great opportunity to meet new participants in the project, catch up with project partners, and learn from the experiences of those working with the DataCTRL tools.
New agreement between ESS and EVS
A highlight of the conference was the signing of an agreement between ESS and the European Values Study (EVS), another project in which Centerdata is involved. The agreement signifies closer cooperation between the participating organizations to share knowledge, expertise, and research methodology.
The 5th ESS conference was engaging and informative, once again highlighting the importance of the ESS project for the participating countries and Europe as a whole. We move forward with renewed energy in preparing for the next ESS data collection round.