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The ESS

General information about the ESS

The European Social Survey (ESS) is an academically driven cross-national survey that has been conducted every two years across Europe since 2001. The ESS was awarded European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) status in November 2013. It is directed by a Core Scientific Team led by Rory Fitzgerald from City, St George's University of London (UK) alongside six other partner institutions:

• Centerdata, Netherlands
• GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Germay
• Sikt - Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research, Norway
• The Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP), Netherlands
• University of Essex, UK 
• University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain

The ESS measures the attitudes, beliefs and behaviour patterns of diverse populations in more than thirty nations.

The main aims of the ESS are to:

• operate a Research Infrastructure providing high quality data measuring change (and stability) over time within and between European countries in their living conditions, social structure, public opinion and attitudes;
• practise and promote the highest scientific standards in cross-national comparative research in the social sciences;
• continue the development of ESS infrastructure through ongoing methodological research and innovation;
• facilitate training in the effective use of ESS data;
• ensure the visibility, accessibility and reach of ESS data among researchers in the social sciences and beyond, policy makers and the wider public, at both the national and international level.