The European Social Survey Roger Jowell Centre for Comparative Social Surveys, City University UK ESDS Conference British Academy, 14 March 2006

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)

Participating countries DenmarkAustria Czech Rep Finland BelgiumEstonia Iceland France Hungary Norway GermanyPoland SwedenIreland Slovenia LuxembourgSlovak Rep Greece NetherlandsUkraine ItalySwitzerland PortugalUKTurkey SpainIsrael R3 will also include Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania, Russia

Core question topics Trust in institutions Political interest/voting Socio-political values Social capital & trust Moral & social values Social exclusion National, ethnic, religious id Well-being, health, security Demographic composition Education and occupation Financial circumstances Household circumstances

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

Obstacles to cross-national attitudinal time series Non-attitudes and social desirability bias Prevalence v salience The satisfaction conundrum Weather vs climate changes Multiple languages Variations in national context Different methodological ‘habits’

Summary of features 29 funders – all involved in governance! Biennial time series Continuity and change Methodological rigour Transparency Immediate access Competition for rotating modules “Comparative sociology is not a branch of sociology; it is sociology itself” - Durkheim