While surveying measured weight is widely unpractical in national samples, self-reported weight is a simple and inexpensive method of collecting data. This paper deals with data quality of reported body weight in the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP). Previous research shows that data on...

Incomplete data is a common problem of survey research. Recent work on multiple imputation techniques has increased analysts' awareness of the biasing effects of missing data and has also provided a convenient solution. Imputation methods replace non-response with estimates of the unobserved...

Using a research design that traces siblings' preferences for postmaterialistic values in Germany over two decades, this paper provides new evidence on the origins of value preferences. Focusing on Inglehart's thesis of value change, we test the combined socialization and scarcity hypothesis...

Although left-right items are a standard tool of public opinion research, there remains some difference of opinion on the optimal response format. Two disputes can be identified in the literature: (a) whether to provide respondents with a small or large number of answer categories and (b)...

While some scholars interpret the frequently documented association between age and the strength of party identification as evidence of accumulated political learning, others stress the importance of critical life stages. Germany's turbulent last century, with its suspensions of democratic...

Motivations to participate in the labour market as well as to invest in labour market skills are crucial for the successful integration of refugees. In this paper we use a unique dataset - the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Refugee Survey, which is a representative longitudinal study of all refugees reported on...

Drawing on data from the twenty year long German Socioeconomic Panel Study, we show that partisanship is bounded. Almost every West German, East German, and immigrant never supports one or both of the major parties and most people vary support for their party by claiming no partisan preference....

Soziale Erwünschtheit kann als Tendenz verstanden werden, scheinbar gesellschaftlich akzeptierte Antworten bei einer Befragung zu geben. Basierend auf den Analysen von Paulhus (1984) wird zwischen zwei Dimensionen unterschieden, der Selbst- und Fremdtäuschung. In Deutschland gibt es in der...

Drawing on data from two multitrait multimethod experiments carried out in the context of the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), this paper identifies questionnaire designs that minimize measurement error in reports of subjective well-being. Among the survey instruments most often used to...