The International Social Survey Program (ISSP) is a standardized survey cooperation project that presently is without parallel within the area of attitude research concerning the scope of social issues covered, the extent of countries involved, and the availability of time-series data. The ISSP started in the early 1980s and involves more than 40 countries distributed on six continents including all large Western OECD countries. The comparative ISSP database is in many ways truly unique:
- Data covering a substantial number of attitudinal areas has been collected annually since the start back in 1985
- Time series data covering 20-30 years are available for a substantial number of topics
- At present, 44 countries are members of the ISSP
- For the scientific community, ISSP data is available with open access
- Each survey has a clear framework of a general character covering different topics which are theoretically grounded
The ISSP was founded with the intention to conduct surveys on topics relevant to social sciences. The list of modules currently comprises of:
- Role of Government
- Social Networks
- Social Inequality
- Family and Changing Gender Roles
- Work Orientations
- Religion
- Environment
- National Identity
- Citizenship
- Leisure Time and Sports
- Health and Health Care
- Digital Societies
As shown above, attitudes towards a variety of topics have been surveyed since 1985. Since 1990, replications of specific topic-surveys (i.e., modules) have been performed, which means that comparisons between countries, as well as over time are possible. Some specific data series span over almost thirty years (Role of Government 1985-2016; Social Networks 1986-2017 and Social Inequality 1987-2019). Currently, there are seven time-series data sets where attitude change can be followed over a period of approximately twenty years or more.
Access to data from the ISSP
How can I get access to data and documentation from the International Social Survey Programme?
You can find all the information you need about how to access data and documentation at ISSP:s website.
Contact Us
Whether you have a question or need support concerning ISSP, we would be happy to help you!
Who is working with ISSP in Sweden?
The Swedish node ISSP-S is located at Umeå University. National coordinator is Jonas Edlund, Professor at the Department of Sociology, together with Ida Öun, Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology.