This page introduces the Eurobarometer series and highlights some of the
explanatory materials that are maintained by the GESIS, the German Social
Science Infrastructure Service, and the Central Archive for Empirical
Social Research, University of Cologne.
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Standard Eurobarometer
Standard Eurobarometer public opinion surveys are conducted on behalf of
the European Commission at least two times a year in all member states
of the European Union. Since the early seventies they have provided
regular monitoring of social and political attitudes in Europe.
The links below contain information about the surveys. You
cannot download Eurobarometer data from these links. All the data
studies that have been released can be downloaded from
DataGate as described below in
Obtaining and Working with the Data.
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Eurobarometer Study Profiles
Complete list of available Eurobarometers with each title linked to a
description.
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Eurobarometer Search Page
Search across the codebooks, questionnaires, ISSP codebooks or the
Eurobarometer bibliography. Questions still under embargo are not
included in the search database.
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Trend Questions
A large number of questions asked in standard Eurobarometer surveys
have been repeated more or less regularly over time and are useful
for doing time series analysis or comparisons over time. This link
provides subject access to the topics covered in the trend
questions. Also refer to the
Mannheim Eurobarometer which is a cumulative file of trend
questions asked between 1970 and 2002. Variables have been
harmonized.
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Special Topics
By using a keyword selection mechanism, this page highlights special
topics or populations that have at one time been studied.
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Central and Eastern European Eurobarometer (Candidate Countries)
The Central and Eastern Eurobarometer (CEEB) survey series has been
monitoring economic and political changes, and attitudes towards Europe
and the European Union in up to 20 countries of the region. In October
2001, a new series of surveys was launched covering
the 13 countries that were applying for European Union membership under
the heading Candidate Eurobarometer (CCEB), initially named "Applicant
Countries Eurobarometer."
- Obtaining and Working with the Data
All the Eurobarometer data studies are available from
DataGate. To see
a list of studies, simply search the word, Eurobarometer. You can
search for a specific study, for example number 31, by searching the
phrase "eurobarometer 31" (quotes are needed for a phrase search).
Searching for a Eurobarometer using keywords or with topics in mind can
best be done using the other links on this page as DataGate searching is
limited to only a
brief abstract and title. DataGate does not have the ZA source number
that is assigned to studies at the GESIS site.
In addition to using the study descriptions and codebooks found in
DataGate, general information about using the data is given in the
Eurobarometer Data Service Guide. Below are some highlights from this
guide.
- Participating Countries and Samples
The participation of countries over time and the variations from the
standard sample size of 1000 respondents per country are described for
both the
Standard Eurobarometer
and the
Central and Eastern Eurobarometer (CEEB).
- Weight Variables
The surveys have been designed to allow for analysis across EU
countries and within any one country. Weight variables are
provided for different types of analysis, both for the
Standard Eurobarometer
and the
Central and Eastern Eurobarometer (CEEB).
- Embargoed Variables
When the first release of data is made for a study,
some data may be not approved for public distribution and
will be masked in the file. Refer to the
embargo provisions page for a list of such variables. The values
are masked with 9,999,999 etc. As the embargo expires new releases
of the study replace the earlier one.
- Study Releases
The data for standard and trend questions are released when the full
official Eurobarometer report has been published.
For the Initial Release Collection, ICPSR studies contain:
- study technical documentation and standard ICPSR study
description,
- pdf codebook plus the questionnaire,
- ASCII data file (any embargoed data is masked),
- SPSS data definition statements.
As embargoes expire, these data and accompanying meta-data are
re-released.
Some time after all embargoes have ended, the final Codebook
Edition is released. The study then includes all the elements of
the initial edition plus:
- documentation about sampling and fieldwork,
- ASCII codebook,
- SAS data definition statements,
- standardized value/variable labels and missing value codes,
- recodes for nation variables (allows for
different configurations countries as nations), region codes (allows
for different configurations of EU), and left/right code (based on
political party variable).
- Eurobarometer Publications
-
European Commission Reports
The results of these surveys are published in the European
Commission's bi-annual Eurobarometer Report and the Trend Report and
other special topic reports.
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Bibliography - Eurobarometer Related Publications
This links to a bibliography that includes EU reports and other
research based on the surveys. The compilation started in 1990 and has
been
updated through 1999. (click on the image of the cover page to
reach the publication). Since works have been published since 1999,
also refer to the "Related Publications" entry in the DataGate
description for each study in which you are interested.
