International Social Survey Programme

The International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) is a collaboration between different nations conducting surveys covering topics which are useful for social science research. The ISSP researchers develop questions which are meaningful and relevant to all countries which can be expressed in an equal manner in different languages. The results of the surveys provide a cross-national and cross-cultural perspective to individual national studies. By 2021, 58 countries have already taken part in the ISSP.[1]

International Social Survey Programme Members (2016)

History

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The ISSP was founded in 1984[2] by research organizations from four countries:

Four different Social Surveys included a common module each year:

Since then social science institutions from 58 different countries included a 15-minute supplement to their national surveys. The membership to the ISSP is institutional and by country. One or more than one institute in a country can co-operate on ISSP research (cf. France and Spain). The common module surveyed by the member institutions also contains an extensive common core of background variables. The modules focus on one specific topic each year and were planned to be repeated more or less every five to ten years. When it comes to the researchers choice of topics, the relevance of the area of social sciences in the year of the survey is taken into account. Given this, the ISSP deliveries data sets are helpful for both Cross-sectional studies and Time series analysis. Over time the set of modules has grown towards more diverse topics. The latest additions were Leisure Time and Sports in 2007 as well as Health and Health Care in 2011.

Organisation

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The ISSP is a self-funding organisation with an emphasis on democratic decision making stated in its working principles. To accomplish this principle it has set up several groups and committees. These groups either consist of member organisations as a whole or include some particular social scientists. There are:

  • The ISSP secretariat (2021-2024): FORS - Swiss Centre for Expertise in the Social Sciences, Switzerland
  • The ISSP archive (GESIS Data Archive for the Social Sciences, Germany)
  • Methodology research groups
  • The ISSP sub-groups drawn up within the ISSP
  • Drafting groups for modules
  • The ISSP Standing Committee

Most of the members of these groups are elected democratically at the General Assembly. These meetings of delegates from every member state of the ISSP are held in May or June in changing locations all around the world. The General Assemblies also serve the function of discussing modules, which are to be completed the same year or begun and surveyed the upcoming one. The delegates also discuss the topics of upcoming modules.

The ISSP also gives importance to the way member organisations implement their surveys. The organisation's principles are published in its ethical statement and its working principles.

Methodology

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The methodological work in the ISSP is coordinated by a Methodology Committee, consisting of six members elected at the General Meeting. It co-ordinates the work of six groups addressing different areas of cross-cultural methods, all concerned with issues of equivalence: demography, non-response, weighting, mode effects, questionnaire design and translation.

Modules by year

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The datasets from the different modules conducted by participating ISSP member states can be downloaded at the GESIS Archive page.[3] All these links lead to the official GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences homepage, where the data is provided openly for research purposes.[4]

Year Module
2020 Environment IV
2019 Social Inequality V
2018 Religion IV
2017 Social Networks and Social Resources III
2016 Role of Government V
2015 Work Orientations IV
2014 Citizenship II
2013 National Identity III
2012 Family and Changing Gender Roles IV
2011 Health and Health Care
2010 Environment III
2009 Social Inequality IV
2008 Religion III
2007 Leisure Time and Sports
2006 Role of Government IV
2005 Work Orientations III
2004 Citizenship
2003 National Identity II
2002 Family and Changing Gender Roles III
2001 Social Relations and Support Systems ('Social Networks II')
2000 Environment II
1999 Social Inequality III
1998 Religion II
1997 Work Orientations II
1996 Role of Government III
1995 National Identity I
1994 Family and Changing Gender Roles II
1993 Environment I
1992 Social Inequality II
1991 Religion I
1990 Role of Government II
1989 Work Orientations I
1988 Family and Changing Gender Roles I
1987 Social Inequality I
1986 Social Networks and Support Systems I
1985 Role of Government I

Modules by topic

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Source:[5]

Citizenship 2004 2014
Environment 1993 2000 2010 2020
Family and Changing Gender Roles 1988 1994 2002 2012 2022
Health and Healthcare 2011 2021
Leisure Time & Sports 2007
National Identity 1995 2003 2013
Religion 1991 1998 2008 2018
Role of Government 1985 1990 1996 2006 2016
Social Networks 1986 2001 2017
Social Inequality 1987 1992 1999 2009 2019
Work Orientation 1989 1997 2005 2015 2025
National Identity and Citizenship 2023
Digital Societies 2024

Members (1984–2021)

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  Australia
  Austria
  Belgium (former member)
  Bangladesh
  Bolivia (former member)
  Brazil (former member)
  Bulgaria
  Canada
  Chile
  China
  Croatia
  Cyprus (former member)
  Czech Republic
  Denmark
  Dominican Republic (former member)
  Estonia
  Finland
  France
  Georgia
  Germany
  Greece
  Hungary
  Iceland
  India
  Ireland (former member)
  Israel
  Italy
  Japan
  Latvia (former member)
  Lithuania
  Mexico
  Netherlands (former member)
  New Zealand
  Norway
  Philippines
  Poland
  Portugal (former member)
  Romania (former member)
  Russia
  Slovakia
  Slovenia
  South Africa
  South Korea
  Spain
  Suriname
  Sweden
  Switzerland
  Taiwan
  Thailand
  Tunisia
  Turkey
  Uruguay (former member)
  UK
  United States
  Venezuela
Country Organization

  Austria

  Bangladesh

  Belgium

  • The Administration of Planning and Statistics of the Ministry of Flanders.
  • Walloon Institute of Assessment, Forecasting and Statistics (IWEPS). (former member)

  Bolivia

  Brazil

  Bulgaria

  Canada

  Chile

  China

  Croatia

  Cyprus (former member)

  Czech Republic

  Denmark

  Dominican Republic

  Estonia

  Finland

  France

  Germany

  Georgia

  Hungary

  Iceland

  Ireland

  Israel

  Italy

  Japan

  Latvia

  Mexico

  The Netherlands

  New Zealand

  Norway

  The Philippines

  Poland

  Portugal

  Romania

  Russia

  Slovakia

  Slovenia

  South Africa

  South Korea

  Spain

  Suriname

  Sweden

  Switzerland

  Taiwan

  Thailand

  Turkey

  Uruguay

  • Department of Economics (deCON),
  • Faculty of Social Sciences;
  • Institute of Statistics (IEsta),
  • Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Uruguay. (former member)

  United Kingdom

  United States

  Venezuela

  • Laboratorio de Ciencias Sociales (LACSO).

References

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Bibliography

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  • Davis, James A., and Roger Jowell. "Measuring national differences: an introduction to the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP)." British Social Attitudes: Special International Report, edited by Roger Jowell, Sharon Witherspoon, and Lindsay Brook. Aldershot: Gower (1989): 1-13.
  • Smith, Tom W. "The international social survey program." International Journal of Public Opinion Research 4.3 (1992): 1992.
  • Max Haller, Roger Jowell et Tom Smith (dir.), Charting the Globe: The International Social Survey Programme, 1984-2009, London, Routledge, 2009 (ISBN 978-0-415-49192-1)