Living in the former GDR (data 2018)

Additional questionnaire to the SOEP-Core study in 2018

Two intentions were intended with the creation of the data set:

  1. to validate the data set "The Potsdam Grievance Statistic File (PGSF) - Input statistics ("Eingabestatistiken") of the GDR between 1970 and 1989" (Krawietz et al., 2018).
  2. A retrospective survey of former citizens of the GDR on GDR from today's perspective.

Main topics of the data set are:

  • Life and life satisfaction in the GDR
  • Participation in social and political life
  • Mobility behaviour and intentions, escape
  • Experience with control, surveillance and imprisonment
  • Occupational sector and employment status 1989

Reference:

Class, Fabian, Ulrich Kohler and Marian Krawietz (2018): The Potsdam Grievance Statistics File. New data on quality of life and
participation for the German Democratic Republic 1970–1989, Historical Methods 51 (2), 92-114, DOI 10.1080/01615440.2018.1429970.

Krawietz, Marian; Kohler, Ulrich; Class, Fabian; Albrecht, Sophia (2018): The Potsdam Grievance Statistic File (PGSF). GESIS Data Archive, Cologne. ZA6413 Data file Version 1.1.0, https://doi.org/10.4232/1.12993

Dataset Information

Title: Living in the GDR (SOEP)

DOIinfoFind an explanation on the usage of DOI here.: 10.5684/soep.ddr18
Collection period: 2018
Publication date: 02.11.2019
Creator: Sophia Albrecht (Universität Potsdam), Fabian Class (Universität Potsdam), Jan Goebel (DIW Berlin), Ulrich Kohler (Universität Potsdam), Marian Krawietz (Universität Potsdam)

Data collector: Kantar Germany

Population:Persons lived in the former GDR before 1990, born before 1973 and part of the SOEP respondents in 2018.

Selection method: All samples of SOEP are multi-stage random samples which are regionally clustered. The respondents (households) are selected by random-walk or register sample.

Collection mode: Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Dataset information:

Unit type: Individual
Number of Units: 2315
Number of Variables: 132

Documentation:

Further information and documentation on the dataset can be found on the SOEP-Core v35 page.

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: 

  • Herbert Brücker, Yuliya Kosyakova, Nina Rother, Sabine Zinn, Elisabeth Liebau, Wenke Gider, Silvia Schwanhäuser, & Manuel Siegert. 2025. Exploring Integration and Migration Dynamics: The Research Potentials of a Large-Scale Longitudinal Household Study of Refugees in Germany. European Sociological Review. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcaf032.

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)


Individual (PAPI) 2018: 2) Individual (PAPI) 2018 Field-de 4) Individual (PAPI) 2018 Field-en 6) Individual (PAPI) 2018 Var-de 8) Individual (PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Household (PAPI) 2018: 10) Household (PAPI) 2018 Field-de 12) Household (PAPI) 2018 Field-en 14) Household (PAPI) 2018 Var-de 16) Household (PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Biography (PAPI) 2018: 18) Biography (PAPI) 2018 Field-de,en 20) Biography (PAPI) 2018 Var-de 22) Biography (PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Catch-up Individual (PAPI) 2018: 24) Catch-up Individual (PAPI) 2018 Field-de 26) Catch-up Individual (PAPI) 2018 Var-de 28) Catch-up Individual (PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Youth (16-17-year-olds, PAPI) 2018: 30) Youth (16-17-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Field-de 32) Youth (16-17-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-de 34) Youth (16-17-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Early Youth (13-14-year-olds, PAPI) 2018: 36) Early Youth (13-14-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Field-de 38) Early Youth (13-14-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-de 40) Early Youth (13-14-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Pre-teen (11-12-year-olds, PAPI) 2018: 42) Pre-teen (11-12-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Field-de 44) Pre-teen (11-12-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-en 46) Pre-teen (11-12-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Mother and Child (Newborns, PAPI) 2018: 48) Mother and Child (Newborns, PAPI) 2018 Field-de 50) Mother and Child (Newborns, PAPI) 2018 Var-de 52) Mother and Child (Newborns, PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Mother and Child (2-3-year-olds, PAPI) 2018: 54) Mother and Child (2-3-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Field-de 56) Mother and Child (2-3-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-de 58) Mother and Child (2-3-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Mother and Child (5-6-year-olds, PAPI) 2018: 60) Mother and Child (5-6-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Field-de 62) Mother and Child (5-6-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-de 64) Mother and Child (5-6-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Parents and Child (7-8-year-olds, PAPI) 2018: 66) Parents and Child (7-8-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Field-de 68) Parents and Child (7-8-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-de 70) Parents and Child (7-8-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Mother and Child (9-10-year-olds, PAPI) 2018: 72) Mother and Child (9-10-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Field-de 74) Mother and Child (9-10-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-de 76) Mother and Child (9-10-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Deceased Individual (PAPI) 2018: 78) Deceased Individual (PAPI) 2018 Field-de 80) Deceased Individual (PAPI) 2018 Var-de 82) Deceased Individual (PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Grip Strength 2018: 84) Grip Strength 2018 Field-de

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

1) SOEP-Core v35 – Documentation of Sample Sizes and Panel Attrition in the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP)(1984 until 2018)

2) SOEP-Core – 2018: Sampling, Nonresponse, and Weighting in the Sample O

3) SOEP-Core v35 – PPATHL: Person-Related Meta-Dataset

4) SOEP-Core v35 – Biographical Information in the Meta File PPATH (Month of Birth, Immigration Variables, Living in East or West Germany in 1989)

5) SOEP-Core v35 – HPATHL: Household-Related Meta-Dataset

6) SOEP-Core v35 – PBRUTTO: Person-Related Gross File

7) SOEP-Core v35 – HBRUTTO: Household-Related Gross File

8) SOEP-Core v35 – PGEN: Person-Related Status and Generated Variables

9) SOEP-Core v35 – HGEN: Household-Related Status and Generated Variables

10) SOEP-Core v35 – Codebook for the $PEQUIV File 1984-2018: CNEF Variables with Extended Income Information for the SOEP

11) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOIMMIG

12) SOEP-Core v35 – HEALTH

13) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOPAREN: Biography Information for the Parents of SOEP-Respondents

14) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOAGEL & BIOPUPIL: Generated Variables from the "Mother & Child", "Parent", "Pre-Teen", and "Early Youth" Questionnaires

15) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOSIB: Information on Siblings in the SOEP

16) SOEP-Core v35 – The Couple History Files BIOCOUPLM and BIOCOUPLY, and Marital History Files BIOMARSM and BIOMARSY

17) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOAGE17: The Youth Questionnaire

18) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOSOC: Retrospective Data on Youth and Socialization

19) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOJOB: Detailed Information on First and Last Job

20) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOEDU: Data on Educational Participation and Transitions

21) SOEP-Core v35 – BIORESID: Variables on Occupancy and Second Residence

22) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOBIRTH: A Data Set on the Birth Biography of Male and Female Respondents

23) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOTWIN: TWINS in the SOEP

24) SOEP-Core v35 – PFLEGE: Documentation of Generated Person-level Long-term Care Variables

25) SOEP-Core – 2018: Documentation of the Interviewer Dataset (1984 until 2018)

26) SOEP-Core v35 – INTERVIEWER

27) SOEP-Core v35 – LIFESPELL: Information on the Pre- and Post-Survey History of SOEP-Respondents

28) SOEP-Core v35 – MIGSPELL and REFUGSPELL: The Migration-Biographies

29) SOEP-Core v35 – Activity Biography in the Files PBIOSPE and ARTKALEN

30) SOEP-Core v35: Codebook for the EU-SILC-Like Panel for Germany Based on the SOEP

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-Core – 2018: Report of Survey Methodology and Fieldwork

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