SOEP-Core v26 (data 1984-2009)

Publications using this file should refer to the above DOI infoFind an explanation on the usage of DOI here.and cite following references

• Goebel, Jan, Markus M. Grabka, Stefan Liebig, Martin Kroh, David Richter, Carsten Schröder, and Jürgen Schupp. 2019. The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik (Journal of Economics and Statistics) 239 (2), 345-360. (https://doi.org/10.1515/jbnst-2018-0022)

If you do not exclude the cases of the migration samples in your analysis, then please also cite the following reference:

• Herbert Brücker, Martin Kroh, Simone Bartsch, Jan Goebel, Simon Kühne, Elisabeth Liebau, Parvati Trübswetter, Ingrid Tucci & Jürgen Schupp. 2014. The new IAB-SOEP Migration Sample: an introduction into the methodology and the contents. SOEP Survey Paper 216 (PDF, 444.25 KB), Series C. Berlin, Nürnberg: DIW Berlin.

If you do not exclude the cases of the refugee samples in your analysis, please also cite: 

If you use data from the SOEP-LEE2 surveys, please also cite:

• Wenzel Matiaske, Torben Dall Schmidt, Christoph Halbmeier, Martina Maas, Doris Holtmann, Carsten Schröder, Tamara Böhm, Stefan Liebig, and Alexander S. Kritikos. 2023. SOEP-LEE2 : Linking Surveys on Employees to Employers in Germany. Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik Data Observer, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1515/jbnst-2023-0031.

If you would like to refer more specifically, please also cite:

• Schröder, Carsten, Johannes König, Alexandra Fedorets, Jan Goebel, Markus M. Grabka, Holger Lüthen, Maria Metzing, Felicitas Schikora, and Stefan Liebig. 2020. The economic research potentials of the German Socio-Economic Panel study. German Economic Review 21 (3), 335-371. (https://doi.org/10.1515/ger-2020-0033)
• Giesselmann, Marco, Sandra Bohmann, Jan Goebel, Peter Krause, Elisabeth Liebau, David Richter, Diana Schacht, Carsten Schröder, Jürgen Schupp, and Stefan Liebig. 2019. The Individual in Context(s): Research Potentials of the Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) in Sociology. European Sociological Review 35 (5), 738-755. (https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcz029)
• Jacobsen, Jannes, Magdalena Krieger, Felicitas Schikora, and Jürgen Schupp. 2021. Growing Potentials for Migration Research using the German Socio-Economic Panel Study. Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik 241 (4), 527-549. (https://doi.org/10.1515/jbnst-2021-0001)
• Fedorets, Alexandra, Stefan Kirchner, Jule Adriaans, and Oliver Giering. 2022. Data on Digital Transformation in the German Socio-Economic Panel. Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik 242 (5-6), 691-705. (https://doi.org/10.1515/jbnst-2021-0056)

The 2010 data distribution (data for years 1984-2009) has comprehensive improvements, additions, and modifications. For the most recent survey year 2009, it also provides the usual wave-specific data ZPBRUTTO, ZP, ZPKAL, ZPGEN, ZPAGE17, ZHBRUTTO, ZH, ZHGEN, ZKIND and YPLUECKE as well as the updated files with a longitudinal component (PFAD files, biography files, spell data and weighting factors).

1. Beta verson in 'long format'

The SOEP data are being provided for the first time ever as a beta version in "long format" in addition to the standard data format. SOEPlong refers to a compressed form of the SOEP data: rather than being provided as wave-specific individual files, all available years and cohorts are pooled (long format).

2. New Subsample I
As part of the recent SOEP innovations, fieldwork began in fall 2009 on a new subsample (Sample I). The subsample is currently being used to test the effect of different incentive strategies on participation in the SOEP and it will become part of the innovation sample. See SOEPnewsletter 89 (PDF, 1.37 MB)for more on this new sample.
In four randomly assigned groups, the following strategies were used:

1. SOEP standard incentives (one lottery ticket per respondent),
2. Choice of eather a lottery ticket or five euros per individual interview,
3. Five euros per individual interview,
4. Ten euros per individual interview.

The data from the new Sample I has been included in the new release of SOEP data (SOEP, v26), but due to the particular features of the subsample, it does not have an integrated weighting framework with the rest of the SOEP samples. For subsample I we are conducting a mail survey of all non-participants in the four groups. Since this is the first wave of subsample I, we were not able to integrate the biographical information from Sample I into the existing biography files. The same applies to the biographical information in the dataset PPFAD, e.g. the variable MIGBACK is completely set to -2.

Apart from that the following additions and modifications have been made:

3. New and Renamed Datasets 

• Data on cognitive tests (COGDJ)
  For the first time, all available data on the cognitive tests of young people ("Denksport Jugend", DJ) are included in the SOEP data release. Since 2006, these tests have been given to young respondents (aged 16) the first time they participate in the SOEP survey.

4. New Variables

4.1 Dataset $HGEN
Two new variables describing the quality of the dwelling:

• EQPLIF$$ "Dwelling has an elevator"
• EQPNRJ$$ "Dwelling has alternative energy source"

4.2 Dataset $PEQUIV:

• There is a new variable on additional child benefits together with the corresponding imputation flag variable (ADCHB$$ and FADCHB$$)

4.3 Dataset $HBRUTTO - Calender Year of Interview

• We distribute now a variable( ZDATUMY) describing the calendar year of the interview for the first time. Because of the additional Sample I (and therefore a longer fieldwork period), there were some few cases with a successful interview in 2010.

5. Revised Variables

5.1 Datasets $HGEN  

• The variables on household type TYP1HH$$ and TYP2HH$$ were completely revised and tested for intertemporal consistency.

5.2 Datasets $KIND – KIDLONG

• The variables were also completely revised and are now also provided in longitudinal form (KIDLONG) as well as in cross-sectional form in $KIND. This made it necessary to change the variable names in KIDLONG to be consistent over time.

5.3 Datasets BIOMARSM/BIOMARSY  

• The biographical data set on marital status was revised.

5.4 Dataset BIOTWIN

The dataset BIOTWIN contains 100 additional cases since wave Z. This considerable increase in case numbers is due to an adjustment in the data generation procedure: In contrast to the previous generation, all siblings with an identical year of birth are consdered twins under the condition that the information on the month of birth remains missing. This less restricitve generation is based on the assumption that two separate births in a single calendar year remain rare occurences. Nevertheless, the number of false positives in this group with a missing month of birth is likely to exceed the BIOTWIN average. Hence a new value label was introduced with the variable INFOTWIN in order to flag these twin groups for the user (Code "6": Coverage since 2007, congruent year of birth, missing month; see in contrast to this code "5": Coverage since 2007, congruent year & month of birth).
In its current state (wave Z) the dataset BIOTWIN covers 250 sets of twins and 5 sets of triplets.

infotwin: 
           [1] Twins - Not in 2006 (gen.) 
            [2] Twins - 2006 (Answer Not Verifiable)
            [3] Twins - 2006 (Answer Refused)
            [4] Twins - 2006 (Answer Validated)
            [5] Twins - since 2007 (gen.)
            [6] Twins - since 2007 (gen.)   

5.5 Minor bugs fixed

• Correction of MONTH08
• Correction of some very few cases on IMMIYEAR
• Change in the variable names for questions 25 and 26 in YH and ZH

1984-2009 (Wave Z)

Survey Instruments 2009: 2) Survey Instruments 2009 Field-de

Please find all sample specific questionnaires of this year and all questionnaires of previous years on this site

1) Handgreifkraftmessung im Sozio-oekonomischen Panel (SOEP) 2006 und 2008

2) Documentation on ISCED Generation Using the CAMCES Tool in the IAB-SOEP Migration Samples M1/M2

3) The new IAB-SOEP Migration Sample: an introduction into the methodology and the contents

4) The Request for Record Linkage in the IAB-SOEP Migration Sample

5) Flowcharts for the Integrated Individual-Biography Questionnaire of the IAB-SOEP Migration Sample 2013

6) The Measurement of Labor Market Entries with SOEP Data: Introduction to the Variable EINSTIEG_ARTK

7) Job submission instructions for the SOEPremote System at DIW Berlin – Update 2014

8) SOEP 2015 – Informationen zu den SOEP-Geocodes in SOEP v32

9) Editing and Multiple Imputation of Item Non-response in the Wealth Module of the German Socio-Economic Panel

10) Die Vercodung der offenen Angaben zu den Ausbildungsberufen im Sozio-Oekonomischen Panel

11) Das Studiendesign der IAB-BAMF-SOEP Befragung von Geflüchteten

12) Scales Manual IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees in Germany – revised version

13) SOEP 2010 – Preparation of data from the new SOEP consumption module: Editing, imputation, and smoothing

14) SOEP Scales Manual (updated for SOEP-Core v32.1)

15) Kognitionspotenziale Jugendlicher - Ergänzung zum Jugendfragebogen der Längsschnittstudie Sozio-oekonomisches Panel (SOEP)

16) Die Vercodung der offenen Angaben zur beruflichen Tätigkeit nach der International Standard Classification of Occupations 2008 (ISCO08) - Direktvercodung - Vorgehensweise und Entscheidungsregeln bei nicht eindeutigen Angaben

17) Die Vercodung der offenen Angaben zur beruflichen Tätigkeit nach der Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 (KldB 2010): Vorgehensweise und Entscheidungsregeln bei nicht eindeutigen Angaben

18) Multi-Itemskalen im SOEP Jugendfragebogen

19) Dokumentation zum Entwicklungsprozess des Moduls „Einstellungen zu sozialer Ungleichheit“ im SOEP (v38)

20) SOEP-CoV: Project and Data Documentation

21) Missing Income Data in the German SOEP: Incidence, Imputation and its Impact on the Income Distribution

22) Zur Erhebung des adaptiven Verhaltens von zwei- und dreijährigen Kindern im Sozio-oekonomischen Panel (SOEP)

23) SOEP 2013 – Documentation of Generated Person-Level Long-Term Care Variables in PFLEGE

24) SOEP-Core v34 – PFLEGE: Documentation of Generated Person-level Long-term Care Variables

25) SOEP 2006 – TIMEPREF: Dataset on the Economic Behavior Experiment on Time Preferences in the 2006 SOEP Survey

26) SOEP-Core v34: Codebook for the EU-SILC-Like Panel for Germany Based on the SOEP

27) Assessing the distributional impact of "imputed rent" and "non-cash employee income" in microdata : Case studies based on EU-SILC (2004) and SOEP (2002)

28) SOEP-Core v36: Codebook for the EU-SILC-like panel for Germany based on the SOEP

All documentation for filtering can be found on this page

1) SOEP 2009 – Methodenbericht zum Befragungsjahr 2009 (Welle 26) des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels