General Social Surveys

Afrobarometer

Afrobarometer is non-partisan, pan-African research institution conducting public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, the economy and society in 30+ countries repeated on a regular cycle. We are the world’s leading source of high-quality data on what Africans are thinking.

Hu Fu Centre for East Asia Democratic Studies

The Hu Fu Centre for East Asia Democratic Studies is major undertaking in international political science research. The Asia Barometer is the first cross-national survey focused on democratization in East Asia, and is also the first cross-national survey led by East Asian scholars. As well as producing English language books and articles in leading journals, the Program will continue to provide valuable empirical data for social science researchers.

Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP)

Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) is the premier academic institution carrying out surveys of public opinion in the Americas. As a centre for excellence in survey research, LAPOP uses ‘gold standard’ approaches and innovative methods to carry out targeted national surveys; conduct impact evaluation studies; and produce reports on individual attitudes, evaluations, and experiences. The Americas Barometer survey is the only scientifically rigorous comparative survey that covers 34 nations including all of North, Central, and South America, as well as a significant number of countries in the Caribbean.

European Social Survey (ESS)

The European Social Survey (ESS) is an academically driven cross-national survey that has been conducted across Europe since its establishment in 2001. Every two years, face-to-face interviews are conducted with newly selected, cross-sectional samples. The survey measures the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviour patterns of diverse populations in more than thirty nations. The main aims of the ESS are:

  • to chart stability and change in social structure, conditions, and attitudes in Europe and to interpret how Europe’s social, political, and moral fabric is changing;
  • to achieve and spread higher standards of rigour in cross-national research in the social sciences, including, for example, questionnaire design and pre-testing, sampling, data collection, reduction of bias, and the reliability of questions;
  • to introduce soundly-based indicators of national progress, based on citizens’ perceptions and judgements of key aspects of their societies;
  • to undertake and facilitate the training of European social researchers in comparative quantitative measurement and analysis;
  • to improve the visibility and outreach of data on social change among academics, policy makers and the wider public.

International Social Survey Programme

The International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) is a cross-national collaboration programme conducting annual surveys on diverse topics relevant to social sciences. Established in 1984 by its founding members Australia, Germany, Great Britain, and the US, the ISSP has since included members covering various cultures around the globe.