ESS Rounds

Round 1 (2001-2003)

The First Round of the ESS was completed with the deposit of survey data for almost all the 22 countries that participated.    These data are freely available through the ESS data website. more

A launch conference took place on 25-26 November 2003 at the European Commission where a range of papers about substantive and methodological findings were presented. more

Two rotating modules

  • Citizenship, Involvement and Democracy (60 items) led by Kenneth Newton (UK)

  • Immigration (60 items) led by Ian Preston (UK)

Participating Countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece , Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. 

Round 2 (2003-2005)

Following the success of the first round, 26 countries joined the second round of the survey. In addition to the core questionnaire, there were three rotating modules

  • Family, Work and Wellbeing (60 items), led by Robert Erikson (Sweden)

  • Economic Morality: Market Society and Citizenship (30 items) led by Susanne Karstedt (UK)

  • Health and Care-Seeking (30 items) led by Sjoerd Kooiker (Netherlands)

The data release has taken place.  2005 also saw the creation of the European Social Survey Education Net, or ESS EduNet, an Internet-based analysis-training programme aiming to facilitate and enrich access to and usage of empirical data in the social sciences. The resource is developed at Norwegian Social Science Data Services. go to website

Participating Countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece , Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

Round 3 (2005-2007)

The award of the  prestigious Descartes Prize in December 2005 - for an interview go to the ESF News Release - highlights the achievements of the ESS, as the first social science project having been awarded this prize, and shows the importance of continuing this time-series.  Currently, 25 countries have confirmed participation in this third round.

The two rotat

  • Personal and Social Well-being: creating indicators for a flourishing Europe (50 items)
    led by Felicia Huppert (United Kingdom)

  • The Timing of Life: The Organisation of the Life Course in Europe (50 items)
    led by Franceso C. Billari (Italy)

To see the data go to website

Participating countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

Round 4 (2007-2009)

Two Questionnaire Design Teams were selected for Round 4 following a Call for Proposal in December 2006:

  • Experiences and Expressions of Ageism, led by Dominic Abrams,  University of Kent, UK
  • Welfare attitudes in a changing Europe, led by Stefan Svallfors, Umeå University, Sweden

To see the data, go to website

Participating countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

Round 5 (2009-2011)

Two Questionnaire Design Teams were selected for Round 5 following a Call for Proposals made in November 2008:

  • Work, Family and Well-being: The Implications of Economic Recession, led by Duncan Gallie, Nuffield College, Oxford, UK
  • Trust in Criminal Justice: A Comparative European Analysis, led by Jonathan Jackson, London School of Economics, UK

Participating countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.

Round 6 (2011-2013)

The Call for QDTs for Round 6 of the European Social Survey was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), with a deadline for applications of 12 May 2010 (17.00 GMT). The Call was for both new and repeat rotating modules.
For more details see the call for proposals.

The successful Question Module Design Teams have been selected by the Scientific Advisory Board on 10 June 2010

The successful topics are:

  • Personal and social well-being led by Felicia Huppert from the University of Cambridge, UK. This is a repeat module from Round 3 of the ESS. For more information about the proposed module click here.
  • Europeans' understandings and evaluations of democracy led by Hanspeter Kriesi from the University of Zurich. This is a new module for the ESS. For more information about the proposed module click here.