IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees

Study Description

The Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) at DIW Berlin, and the Research Centre on Migration, Integration, and Asylum of the Federal Office of Migration and Refugees (BAMF-FZ) are working together on a project to survey people who have come to Germany seeking protection from political persecution and violent conflicts. The influx of refugees to Germany, which rose sharply in the second half of 2015, poses challenges for public policy, administrative agencies, and society at large. Planning how to house and support these refugees and foster their long-term integration into the labor market, educational system, and other areas of society requires robust and reliable data that can be generalized and applied to the challenges at hand. Empirical social research is called upon to provide the data for these purposes.

Sampling

The random sample of refugees was drawn from the Central Register of Foreign Nationals (AZR) (for further details, see: Studiendesign der IAB-BAMF-SOEP Befragung Geflüchteter (PDF, 355.71 KB) (only in German).

The refreshment sample was drawn using a similar design documented here (PDF, 301.78 KB). 

The Survey

Based on a qualitative preliminary survey, a comprehensive standardized survey of refugees in Germany has been conducted by specially trained interviewers working for the survey institute annually since 2016.

Table 1: Development of case numbers in the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugeess

Questions on Living Situations and Overall Framework Conditions

To obtain reliable information about the living situations of people who have come to Germany seeking protection in recent years, the study gathers information on refugees’ schooling and vocational training, as well as the individuals’ current occupational situation. It also asks questions about their language use, living and family situation, social participation, and contact with both Germans and people of their own ethnic backgrounds. Other focal points of the study, which is conducted using standardized survey instruments, are the impacts of the legal and institutional frameworks and the effectiveness of various support programs.

The survey data are integrated into the SOEP data release. This makes it possible to conduct analyses comparing refugees with other migrant groups as well as with the non-migrant population.

Data Access

About the SOEP Research Data Center:

The dataset also provides supplementary samples to the SOEP-Core study and is integrated into every version of the SOEP data starting with v39 as Sample M3-M6. All SOEP users with a valid contract for data use either have already received the data with SOEP v39 or can order the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees data separately in the usual ways (SOEP Community Management). Data users receive a personal safe download link, allowing them to download the dataset free of charge.

To find out how you can order the data, see here.

About the FDZ IAB:
To find out how you can order the data, see here.

Record Linkage

Please note that data from the IAB-SOEP Survey of Refugees can be linked with administrative labor market and income data if the respondents in question provided explicit consent to record linkage. But since these linked datasets contains weakly anonymized social data, they can only be used on site at the Research Data Center of the German Federal Employment Agency at the IAB (FDZ IAB). Researchers can use FDZ IAB data on a guest visit to the IAB or through remote data processing, which can also be arranged with the IAB. Requests for data access should be directed to FDZ IAB, since a contract with IAB for data use is required (further information).

Dokumentationen

Alle Dokumente wie Methodenberichte, Fragebögen und Veröffentlichungen zur Studie finden sich unter Dokumentationen der SOEP Studien. Mit dem Filter „Dokumentationsart“ kann man die Suche nach Dokumenten einschränken.