Contextual and event data Ineke Stoop and Jurjen Iedema

1. Contextual and event data Ineke Stoop and Jurjen Iedema The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

2. European Social Survey • Cross-national • Longitudinal • Changing values and opinions in a changing Europe • Collect information on national socio-demographics and socio-economics • Collect information on national systems • Electoral, education, health care, social security • Collect information on events • Influence fieldwork (extreme weather, privacy scandals, war) • Influence opinions The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

3. Contextual data • Difficult to collect • Difficult to update • Subset of socio-demographics at NSD • List of websites with contextual data • Coverage • Accessibility (costs, ease of use) • Updates • Reliability The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

4. Country data websites • General • EUROSTAT • OECD • UN/ECE • Country reports • Regional • EUROCITIES • Urban audit: assessing the quality of life of Europe’s cities • Politics • Comparative Study of Electoral Systems • Election Resources on the Internet: Europe • Education • UNESCO • International Bureau of Education • Eurybase: the information database on education systems The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

5. Existing websites with country data • Health • European observatory on health care systems • WHO • Social and economic issues • ILO • Worldbank • IMF • European industrial relations observatory • European Observatory on the social situation, demography and family • MISSOC, MISSCEEC: Information system on Social Protection in Europe • Culture • Compendium: Cultural Policies in Europe • UNESCO statistics • Education • UNESCO • International Bureau of Education • Eurybase: the information database on education systems The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

6. Collect events • International press agencies? • National impact • National press agencies? • Language/impact • National ESS coordinators • Major events • Headlines several days • Related to ESS questionnaire • Guidelines for reporting, to minimize individual differences The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

7. Event reporting • During fieldwork monthly reports on • Major national events that attract wide and long-lasting attention nationally and even in other countries • Major national events that make front page news for several subsequent days and give rise to widespread public discussion and/or to a substantive increase in media use • Elections, major issues under discussion, possible changes in the political landscape. The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

8. Guidelines: format • Name, keywords • Short description • Assessment of scope, impact (how much attention did it get in the press, how many persons are involved) • Names of relevant newspapers, dates of front page news, headlines • If possible, when did it start and when did it end? • Additional information (how could this affect the fieldwork?) • Assign the event to one or more categories International conflicts/Elections, plebiscite/Resignation, appointment, dismissal of politically significant person/Fall of cabinet, organization, reshuffle of new govern-ment/Organization of opposition party/ Significant change of laws/Strikes, demon-strations, riots/Events involving ethnic minorities, asylum seekers/Events concerning the national economy, labour market/Political, financial, economic scandal/National events (royal weddings, sports championships)/ Disasters (crashing financial markets, explosions, outbreaks foot and mouth/mad cow disease, extreme weather conditions) The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

9. The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

10. Problems in collecting • Monthly reporting: ‘long’ events, recurrent events • What is an event: Iraq crisis? • Sub-events • National ‘Iraq’-events • German elections • Stepping down Labour cabinet members in UK • Aznar, Bush, Blair meeting • Dutch government formation • Polish batallion • Protests and rallies • Multiple categories • What if events happen in between fieldwork periods? • Quality newspapers or gutter press (cross-national differences) • Large individual differences in reporting The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

11. Use event data • Avoid fishing expedition in explaining survey results: • Recorded before survey data available: this is what NCs considered important at the time • Complete European picture: get back and collect information in every country that at least some countries considered important in selecting events • Happy countries are all alike; every unhappy country is unhappy in its own way • Are countries with few events similarly quiet or are there individual differences in event reporting? The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

12. Analyzing events • Keywords provided by reporters • Categories • According to guidelines • Assign afterwards (specific instead of generic: David Kelly – political scandal) • Word count The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

13. Word count October 2002 The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

14. Events October 2002 The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

15. Events October 2002 The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

16. Events October 2002 The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

17. Attitudes and events • Did attitudes change over time? • Different fieldwork period participants • Differences early and late respondents • Is there a direct relationship between events and answers to the questionnaire? ESS-question fairly general The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

18. Attention politics/share media use The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

19. Attention politics/share media use The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

20. Trust parliament and EP The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

21. Trust UN and EP The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

22. Trust national governmentsept. 2002 – march 2003 The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

23. Trust politicianssept. 2002 – march 2003 The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

24. Trust EU governmentsept. 2002 – march 2003 The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

25. Trust UNsept. 2002 – march 2003 The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

26. Attitude immigrationsept. 2002 – march 2003 The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

27. Events and attitudes • Relationship not obvious • No general pattern response process and attitudes (late respondents more cynical?) • No similar pattern countries over time • Because • More general attitudes than opinion poll? • Complicated relationship between sample composition over time and attitudes? The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

28. Adaptions round 2 • Collect and report on information on international events centrally; national impact or offspring of international events locally • Weekly reports instead of monthly • No links • Base reports on at least one quality newspaper and one popular newspaper • Future addition: ask respondents about important (inter)national events • Feasibility test: automated selection and coding of events, using special dictionaries The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003

29. Event database • Even without a direct relationship with attitudes and despite the individual differences, the event database gives a fascinating overview of what occupied Europe and the participating countries during the ESS fieldwork The European Social Survey: the potential for research and teaching. Royal Statistical Society, London, 22 October 2003