SOEP-Transfer: Research Data for Journalists and Contemporary Historians

The Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) is the largest and longest-running longitudinal survey of households in Germany. Every year as part of the annual SOEP survey, around 30,000 individuals in 15,000 households provide comprehensive data on their social and economic conditions. The survey data are used by researchers worldwide.

The project SOEP-Transfer (scientific project name: “Sharing knowledge and creating new formats for communication and knowledge transfer between science and society based on the Socio-Economic Panel Study”) is making the treasure trove of SOEP data accessible to (data) journalists and contemporary historians for the first time. The project will create a new interface offering a variety of models for data transfer and analysis:

1. Evaluation Model: SOEP experts will analyze data for journalists and historians,
2. Tandem Model: SOEP experts will work together with journalists and historians to analyze SOEP data,
3. Platform Model: A web-based data platform will be made available to journalists and historians, and
4. Training Model: SOEP researchers will provide training to enable journalists and historians to evaluate and analyze SOEP data themselves.

The data transfer interface will be developed in close cooperation with the target groups. It will be based on needs analyses using guided interviews, workshops, and discussions.
Funding for the project has been provided in the amount of €544,000.