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German Social Cohesion Panel (SCP) of the Research Institute for Social Cohesion (RISC)

Current Project

Department

German Socio-Economic Panel study

Project Management

Dr. Julian B. Axenfeld (DIW/SOEP),
Prof. Dr. Olaf Groh-Samberg (Universität Bremen)

Project Period

August 1, 2021 - May 31, 2027

Funded by

Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
University of Bremen

In Cooperation With

University of Bremen

The Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) at DIW Berlin and the University of Bremen are working together to develop a household panel study on the topic of social cohesion. The survey is being conducted by the infas Institute for Applied Social Science under the name “Zusammenleben in Deutschland,” or “Living Together in Germany.”

The University of Bremen is taking part in the project as a participant in the BMBF-funded “Research Institute for Social Cohesion” (RISC), which also includes ten other research institutions in Germany. The Research Data Centre is also located at the University of Bremen.

DIW Team

External Associates

Former members

Design and aim of the study

The Social Cohesion Panel is a SOEP-related study: It is designed around the SOEP Innovation Sample (SOEP-IS) and includes key content from the regular SOEP surveys. For the Social Cohesion Panel, a representative sample of the adult German population was obtained from Germany’s official registration offices. All adult household members are interviewed (individual questionnaire) in addition to one member of each household who provides information on the household as a whole and on the children living in it (household questionnaire). The survey was launched in summer 2021 and will initially consist of six annual survey waves. The questionnaire contains core questions from SOEP-IS on the household’s socio-economic situation and individual attitudes towards issues of social cohesion, which will be repeated annually. In addition, it contains different thematic modules each year.  

 

The Social Cohesion Panel creates a database for systematic analysis of the relationship between socio-economic living conditions, individual lifestyles, values and attitudes toward specific groups and society, and people’s political orientations and behaviors. This will provide the basis for studying questions of social cohesion at the levels of individuals, groups, and networks and for explaining finding through parameters of structural situations and cultural dispositions.

 

To conduct research on social practices and interactions, the project will test innovations in content and methodology that can be used in further developing the content and methodologies used in main SOEP surveys (SOEP-Core) and the SOEP Innovation Sample (SOEP-IS) in the areas of social and political attitudes as well as personality and satisfaction.

 

The project’s scientific objectives:

  1. To develop innovative survey instruments and research designs for longitudinal household surveys to capture attitudes, values, and social practices,
  2. To conduct methodological analyses to improve the survey instruments in the SCP, which can also be implemented in the regular SOEP surveys,
  3. To provide high-quality research data to enhance the research potential of SOEP-CORE and SOEP-IS,
  4. To conduct collaborative substantive research on social cohesion issues based on longitudinal household and individual data and to publish this work,
  5. To promote skill development in the preparation and analysis of longitudinal household and individual data,
  6. To provide user-friendly data as well as training for capacity building in the analysis of longitudinal household and individual data.

Topics: Inequality

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