The survey institute TNS Infratest, carrying out the fieldwork of the SOEP survey, is ISO-certified since 1995.
More information in German language at TNS Infratest
The British Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) commissioned a strategic review of panel and cohort (longitudinal) studies in order to help them choose investment policies for longitudinal data collection. This is why the SOEP Study has been reviewed by Longview, an independent think tank for promoting longitudinal study with a Board of Trustees formed of notable British scientists.
more information
report
appendices to the review
The quality of the SOEP data has been examined in numerous analyses. Below we present a selection of these publications sorted by topic.
Documentation of Sample Sizes and Panel Attrition in the German Socio Economic Panel (SOEP) (1984 until 2006).
DIW Data Documentation 27 (PDF, 220.88 KB), 2008. Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).
Spieß, Martin and Kroh, Martin
Item Non-Response and Imputation of Annual Labor Income in Panel Surveys from a Cross-National Perspective.
SOEPpapers No. 49 (PDF, 0.53 MB), Berlin: DIW Berlin, 2007.
Frick, Joachim R. and Grabka, Markus M.
Editing and Multiple Imputation of Item-Non-Response in the 2002 Wealth Module of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
SOEPpapers 18 (PDF, 0.76 MB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), SOEP, 2007.
Frick, Joachim R.; Grabka, Markus M. and Marcus, Jan
Also published 2007: DIW Data Documentation 18 (PDF, 0.57 MB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).
Survey item nonresponse and its treatment.
In: Allgemeines Statistisches Archiv (ASTA), Vol. 90 (1), 2006, 217-232.
Rässler, Susanne and Riphahn, Regina T.
Derivation of Design Weights: The Case of the German Socio Economic Panel (SOEP).
DIW Data Documentation 8 (PDF, 222.61 KB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2005.
Spiess, Martin
Analyse von Längsschnittdaten mit fehlenden Werten – Grundlagen, Verfahren und Anwendungen.
Habilitationsschrift. University of Bremen, 2005.
Spiess, Martin
Item nonresponse on income questions in panel surveys: Incidence, imputation and the impact on inequality and mobility.
In: Allgemeines Statistisches Archiv (AStA), Vol. 89 (1), 2005, pp. 49-61.
Frick, Joachim R. and Grabka, Markus M.
Published before 2003: Missing Income Data in the German SOEP: Incidence, Imputation and its Impact on the Income Distribution. DIW Discussion Paper No. 376 (PDF, 1.01 MB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).
Non-Sampling Errors in Large Panel Surveys. Income-Nonresponse, Mode effects and Fabricated Data – the case of the German Socio-economic Panel (SOEP).
Habilitation, Bochum: Ruhr-University Bochum, Faculty of Social Science, 2004.
Schräpler, Jörg-Peter
Respondent Behavior in Panel Studies. A Case Study for Income Nonresponse by Means of the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP).
In: Sociological Methods & Research, Vol. 33 (4), 2004, p. 118-156.
Schräpler, Jörg-Peter
Published before 2002: DIW Discussion Paper No. 299 (PDF, 463.64 KB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).
Gross Income Non-Response in the German Socio-Economic Panel - Refusal or Don't Know.
In: Schmollers Jahrbuch (Proceedings of the "5th International Conference of German Socio-Economic Panel Study Users", ed. by Holst, Elke; Hunt, Jennifer and Schupp, Jürgen), Vol. 123 (1), 2003, pp. 109-124.
Schräpler, Jörg-Peter
Nonresponseanalysen der Stichprobe F des SOEP
DIW Materialien 15. Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2002
Thomas Däubler
On the Treatment of Non-Original Sample Members in the German Household Panel Study (SOEP) – Tracing, Weighting, and Frequencies. SOEPpapers No. 98 (PDF, 420.09 KB) Berlin: DIW Berlin, 2008.
Spiess, Martin; Kroh, Martin; Pischner, Rainer and Wagner, Gert G.
Also published 2008: DIW Data Documentation 30 (PDF, 330.82 KB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).
Selection correction in panel data models: An application to the estimation of females' wage equations.
In: Econometrics Journal, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2007, pp. 263-293.
Dustmann, Christian and Rochina-Barrachina, María Engracia
A Study of Mode-Effects of a Change from PAPI to CAPI.
In: Schmollers Jahrbuch (Proceedings of the 7th International Socio-Economic Panel User Conference (SOEP2006), ed. by Ferrer-i-Carbonell, Ada; Grabka, Markus M. and Kroh, Martin), Vol. 127, No. 1, 2007, pp. 113-125.
Schräpler, Jörg-Peter
Entwicklung einer deutschen Kurzskala zur zweidimensionalen Messung von sozialer Erwünschtheit.
DIW Discussion Paper No. 579 (PDF, 320.12 KB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2006.
Winkler, Niels; Kroh, Martin und Spiess, Martin
On the Returns to Occupational Qualification in Terms of Subjective and Objective Variables: A GEE-type Approach to the Estimation of Two-Equation Panel Models.
DIW Discussion Paper No. 564 (PDF, 238.81 KB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2006.
Spiess, Martin
Automatic Identification of Faked and Fraudulent Interviews in the German SOEP.
In: Schmollers Jahrbuch (Proceedings of the 6th International Conference of German Socio-Economic Panel Study Users, ed. by Büchel, Felix; D'Ambrosio, Conchita and Frick, Joachim R.), Jg. 125, Heft 1, 2005, pp. 183-193.
Schäfer, Christin; Schräpler, Jörg-Peter; Müller, Klaus-Robert and Wagner, Gert G.
Published before 2004: Automatic Identification of Faked and Fraudulent Interviews in Surveys by Two Different Methods. DIW Discussion Paper No. 441 (PDF, 235.41 KB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).
Characteristics and impact of faked interviews in surveys - An analysis of genuine fakes in the raw data of SOEP.
In: Allgemeines Statistisches Archiv (AStA), Vol. 89 (1), 2005, pp. 7-20.
Schräpler, Jörg-Peter and Wagner, Gert G.
Published before 2003: IZA Discussion Paper No. 969, Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
Intervieweffekte bei der Erhebung des Körpergewichts in Bevölkerungsumfragen.
In: Das Gesundheitswesen, Vol. 67 (8/9), 2005, pp. 646-655.
Kroh, Martin
Published before 2004: DIW Discussion Paper No. 439 (PDF, 0.71 MB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).
Selection correction in panel data models: An application to the estimation of females' wage equations.
In: Econometrics Journal, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2007, pp. 263-293.
Dustmann, Christian and Rochina-Barrachina, María Engracia
Armutsmessungen im Zeitverlauf – Indirekte und direkte Armutsindikatoren im Vergleich.
In: Wirtschaftsdienst, Jg. 87, Heft 6, 2007, S. 397-403.
Groh-Samberg, Olaf and Goebel, Jan.
Comparing Economic Outcomes of Populations with Disabilities – A Method for Comparing the Economic Outcome of the Working-Age Population in Germany and the United States.
In: Schmollers Jahrbuch, Vol. 127, No. 2, 2007, pp. 227-258.
Burkhauser, Richard V. and Schroeder, Mathis
Estimating Income Poverty in the Presence of Measurement Error and Missing Data Problems.
ISER Working Papers No. 2007-15, Colchester: University of Essex, Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER), 2007.
Nicoletti, Cheti; Peracchi, Frano and Foliano, Francesca
New Directions in the Analysis of Inequality and Poverty.
ISER Working Papers No. 2007-11, Colchester: University of Essex, Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER), 2007.
Jenkins, Stephen P. and Micklewright, John
Also published 2007: IZA Discussion Paper No. 2814. Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA) and DIW Discussion Paper No. 700 (PDF, 335.5 KB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).
Best of Both Worlds: Preparatory Steps in Matching Survey Data with Administrative Pension Records; The Case of the German Socio-Economic Panel and the Scientific Use File Completed Insurance Biographies 2004.
DIW Data Documentation 24 (PDF, 2.83 MB), Berlin: DIW Berlin, 2007.
Anika Rasner, Ralf K. Himmelreicher, Markus M. Grabka, Joachim R. Frick
Zur Erfassung von Einkommen und Vermögen in Haushaltssurveys: Hocheinkommensstichprobe und Vermögensbilanz im SOEP.
DIW Data Documentation 19 (PDF, 1.01 MB). Berlin 2007: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).
Frick, Joachim R.; Goebel, Jan; Grabka, Markus M.; Groh-Samberg, Olaf and Wagner, Gert G.
Using Household Panel Data to Understand the Intergenerational Transmision of Poverty.
DIW Discussion Paper No. 694 (PDF, 328.93 KB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2007.
Jenkins, Stephen P. and Siedler, Thomas
Item Non-Response and Imputation of Annual Labor Income in Panel Surveys from a Cross-National Perspective.
SOEPpapers 49 (PDF, 0.53 MB), Berlin: DIW Berlin, 2007.
Frick, Joachim R. and Grabka, Markus M.
Editing and Multiple Imputation of Item-Non-Response in the 2002 Wealth Module of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
SOEPpapers 18 (PDF, 0.76 MB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), SOEP, 2007.
Frick, Joachim R.; Grabka, Markus M. and Marcus, Jan
Also published 2007: DIW Data Documentation 18 (PDF, 0.57 MB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).
Assessing the distributional impact of "imputed rent" and "non-cash employee income" in microdata: Case studies based on EU-SILC (2004) and SOEP (2002).
SOEPpapers 2 (PDF, 468.11 KB), Berlin: DIW Berlin, 2007.
Frick, Joachim R.; Goebel, Jan and Grabka, Markus M.
Using Analysis of Gini (ANoGI) for detecting whether two sub-samples represent the same universe.
In: Sociological Methods & Research, Vol. 34 (4), 2006, pp. 427-468.
Frick, Joachim R.; Goebel, Jan; Schechtman, Edna; Wagner, Gert G. and Yitzhaki, Shlomo
Published before 2004: 2004 Proceedings of the American Statistical Association, Section on Survey Research Methods (CD-ROM). Alexandria, VA, pp. 2279-2285; IZA Discussion Paper No. 1049. Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
Regional Income Stratification in Unified Germany Using a Gini Decomposition Approach.
IZA DP No. 1891, Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), 2005.
Frick, Joachim R. and Goebel, Jan
Also published 2005: DIW Discussion Paper No. 540 (PDF, 0.52 MB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin). ECINEQ Working Paper Series 2005-15. Palma de Mallorca: Society for the Study of Economic Inequality (ECINEQ).
Item nonresponse on income questions in panel surveys: Incidence, imputation and the impact on inequality and mobility.
In: Allgemeines Statistisches Archiv (AStA), Vol. 89 (1), 2005, pp. 49-61.
Frick, Joachim R. and Grabka, Markus M.
Published before 2003: Missing Income Data in the German SOEP: Incidence, Imputation and its Impact on the Income Distribution. DIW Discussion Paper No. 376 (PDF, 1.01 MB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).
On the effect of item nonresponse on the estimation of a two-panel-waves wage equation.
In: Allgemeines Statistisches Archiv (AStA), Vol. 89 (1), 2005, pp. 63-74.
Spiess, Martin and Goebel, Jan
Automatic Identification of Faked and Fraudulent Interviews in the German SOEP.
In: Schmollers Jahrbuch (Proceedings of the 6th International Conference of German Socio-Economic Panel Study Users, ed. by Büchel, Felix; D'Ambrosio, Conchita and Frick, Joachim R.), Jg. 125, Heft 1, 2005, pp. 183-193.
Schäfer, Christin; Schräpler, Jörg-Peter; Müller, Klaus-Robert and Wagner, Gert G.
Published before 2004: Automatic Identification of Faked and Fraudulent Interviews in Surveys by Two Different Methods. DIW Discussion Paper No. 441 (PDF, 235.41 KB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).
Characteristics and impact of faked interviews in surveys - An analysis of genuine fakes in the raw data of SOEP.
In: Allgemeines Statistisches Archiv (AStA), Vol. 89 (1), 2005, pp. 7-20.
Schräpler, Jörg-Peter and Wagner, Gert G.
Published before 2003: IZA Discussion Paper No. 969. Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
Intervieweffekte bei der Erhebung des Körpergewichts in Bevölkerungsumfragen.
In: Das Gesundheitswesen, Vol. 67 (8/9), 2005, pp. 646-655.
Kroh, Martin
Published before 2004: DIW Discussion Paper No. 439 (PDF, 0.71 MB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).
Respondent Behavior in Panel Studies – A Case Study for Income Nonresponse by Means of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
In: Sociological Methods & Research, Vol. 33(1), 2004, pp. 118-156
Schräpler, Jörg-Peter
Gross Income Non-Response in the German Socio-Economic Panel - Refusal or Don't Know.
In: Schmollers Jahrbuch (Proceedings of the "5th International Conference of German Socio-Economic Panel Study Users", ed. by Holst, Elke; Hunt, Jennifer and Schupp, Jürgen), Vol. 123 (1), 2003, pp. 109-124.
Schräpler, Jörg-Peter
Happiness: Revising Set Point Theory and Revising Set Point Theory and Dynamic Equilibrium Theory to Account for Long Term Change.
In: Schmollers Jahrbuch (Proceedings of the 7th International Socio-Economic Panel User Conference (SOEP 2006), ed. by Ferrer-i-Carbonell, Ada; Grabka, Markus M. and Kroh, Martin), Vol. 127, No. 1, 2007, pp. 85-94.
Headey, Bruce
Published before 2006: DIW Discussion Paper No. 607 (PDF, 394.12 KB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin)
Computation of Standard Values for Physical and Mental Health Scale Scores Using the SOEP Version of SF-12v2.
In: Schmollers Jahrbuch (Proceedings of the 7th International Socio-Economic Panel User Conference (SOEP2006), ed. by Ferrer-i-Carbonell, Ada; Grabka, Markus M. and Kroh, Martin), Vol. 127, No. 1, 2007, pp. 171-182.
Andersen Hanfried H.; Mühlbacher, Axel; Nübling, Matthias; Schupp, Jürgen and Wagner, Gert G.
Greifkraftmessung im Sozio-oekonomischen Panel (SOEP).
DIW Data Documentation 23 (PDF, 1.41 MB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2007.
Schupp, Jürgen
Die SOEP-Version des SF 12 als Instrument gesundheitsökonomischer Analysen.
SOEPpapers 6 (PDF, 382.54 KB), Berlin: DIW Berlin, 2007.
Andersen, Hanfried H.; Mühlbacher, Axel und Nübling, Matthias
An Almost Integration-free Approach to Ordered Response Models.
Discussion Paper TI 2006-047/3, Amsterdam: Tinbergen Institute, 2006.
van Praag, Bernard M. S. and Ferrer-i-Carbonell, Ada
An Experimental Evaluation of Popular Well-Being Measures.
DIW Discussion Paper No. 546 (PDF, 0.73 MB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2006.
Kroh, Martin
Intervieweffekte bei der Erhebung des Körpergewichts in Bevölkerungsumfragen.
In: Das Gesundheitswesen, Vol. 67 (8/9), 2005, pp. 646-655.
Kroh, Martin
Published before 2004: DIW Discussion Paper No. 439 (PDF, 0.71 MB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin)
Surveying the Left-Right Dimension: The Choice of a Response Format.
DIW Discussion Paper No. 491 (PDF, 1.86 MB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2005.
Kroh, Martin
International Experiences.
Presentation (PDF, 197.46 KB), for a conference about the development of the PSID (Panel Study of Income Dynamics) 11. December 2008 in Ann Arbor
John Hobcraft (University of York, UK)
Zwillings- und Adoptivkinder-Stichproben für soziologische Analysen?: Zum Ertrag verhaltensgenetischer Ansätze für sozialwissenschaftliche Fragestellungen und Erklärungen.
DIW Research Notes 27 (PDF, 335.59 KB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2008.
Diewald, Martin
Daten- und Datenbankstruktur der Längsschnittstudie Sozio-oekonomisches Panel (SOEP).
DIW Data Documentation 28 (PDF, 426.73 KB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2008.
Göbel, Jan; Krause, Peter; Pischner, Rainer; Sieber, Ingo and Wagner, Gert G.
Computation of Standard Values for Physical and Mental Health Scale Scores Using the SOEP Version of SF-12v2.
In: Schmollers Jahrbuch, Vol. 127, No. 1, 2007, pp. 171-182.
Andersen, Hanfried H.; Mühlbacher, Axel; Nübling, Matthias; Schupp, Jürgen and Wagner, Gert G.
Persönlichkeitsmerkmale im Sozio-oekonomischen Panel (SOEP) - Konzept, Umsetzung und empirische Eigenschaften.
DIW Research Notes 26 (PDF, 0.6 MB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2007.
Dehne, Max und Schupp, Jürgen
Entwicklung zweier Kurzskalen zur Messung von Machiavellismus und Egoismus: Dokumentation eines Instrumententests auf Basis des SOEP-Pretests 2006.
DIW Research Notes 22 (PDF, 0.51 MB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2007.
Shajek, Alexandra
Entwicklungsdiagnostik in den ersten drei Lebensjahren – Empfehlungen zum Ausbau des Erhebungsinstrumentariums über Kinder im Sozio-oekonomischen Panel (SOEP) (Expertise).
DIW Research Notes 21 (PDF, 394.42 KB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2007.
Pauen, Sabina und Vonderlin, Eva
Erfassung kognitiver Kompetenzen im Vorschul- bis Jugendalter: Intelligenz, Sprache und schulische Fertigkeiten - Empfehlungen zum Ausbau des Erhebungsinstrumentariums über Kinder im Sozio-oekonomischen Panel (SOEP) (Expertise).
DIW Research Notes 20 (PDF, 0.51 MB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2007.
Pauen, Sabina; Pahnke, Janna und Valentiner, Isa
Die Verknüpfung des SOEP mit MICROM-Indikatoren: Der MICROM-SOEP Datensatz.
DIW Data Documentation 26 (PDF, 371.63 KB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2007.
Goebel, Jan; Spieß, C. Katharina; Witte, Nils R.J. und Gerstenberg, Susanne
Child Care Center Quality: Measurement Issues and Links to Child Developmental Outcomes.
DIW Data Documentation 25 (PDF, 324.58 KB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2007.
McCabe, Lisa A. and Ackerman, Debra J.
Greifkraftmessung im Sozio-oekonomischen Panel (SOEP).
DIW Data Documentation 23 (PDF, 1.41 MB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2007.
Schupp, Jürgen
Expertise zur Erfassung von psychologischen Personmerkmalen bei Kindern im Alter von fünf Jahren im Rahmen des SOEP.
DIW Data Documentation 20 (PDF, 0.59 MB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2007.
Weinert, Sabine (Koord.) et al.
Die SOEP-Version des SF 12 als Instrument gesundheitsökonomischer Analysen.
SOEPpapers 6 (PDF, 382.54 KB). Berlin: DIW Berlin, 2007.
Andersen Hanfried H.; Mühlbacher, Axel und Nübling, Matthias
Entwicklung eines Verfahrens zur Berechnung der körperlichen und psychischen Summenskalen auf Basis der SOEP-Version des SF12 (Algorithmus).
DIW Data Documentation 16 (PDF, 351.42 KB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2006.
Nübling, Matthias; Andersen, Hanfried H. und Mühlbacher, Axel
The Value Added of Biomarkers in Household Panel Studies.
DIW Data Documentation 14 (PDF, 287.24 KB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2006.
Lillard, Dean R. and Wagner, Gert G.
Zur Erfassung der Vermögensbestände im Sozio-oekonomischen Panel (SOEP).
DIW Data Documentation 11 (PDF, 320.72 KB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research, 2006.
Schäfer, Andrea und Schupp, Jürgen
The Measurement and Importance of General Reasoning Potentials in Schools and Labor Markets: Pre-Test Report.
DIW Research Notes 10 (PDF, 278.93 KB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2005.
Solga, Heike; Stern, Elsbeth; Rosenbladt, Bernhard von; Schupp, Jürgen and Wagner, Gert G.
Erfassung des kognitiven Leistungspotenzials und der "Big Five" mit Computer-Assisted-Personal-Interviewing (CAPI): zur Reliabilität und Validität zweier ultrakurzer Tests und des BFI-S.
DIW Research Notes 9 (PDF, 429.97 KB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2005.
Lang, Frieder R. u.a.
Forschungsbericht über die prototypische Verknüpfung des SOEP mit ,Medien Tenor'-Daten.
DIW Research Notes 6 (PDF, 414.28 KB). Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2005.
Dittmann, Jörg
Zur Erhebung der Big-Five-basierten Persönlichkeitsmerkmale im SOEP.
DIW Research Notes 4 (PDF, 0.55 MB), Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), 2005.
Gerlitz, Jean-Yves und Schupp, Jürgen