Call for Round 12 rotating modules

The European Social Survey (ESS) is inviting teams of researchers to propose a set of up to 30 questions to be included in Round 12 (2025) of the survey.

This open competition offers a unique chance to include a rotating module that focuses on a single academic area and/or policy concern within Europe.

The call, announced today (Monday 14 February), invites applications from those wishing to include questions in Round 12 of our survey, due to be fielded in 2025.

Proposals for new topics – or topics that have been included before – are invited from multi-national teams of 3-5 researchers based at institutions in at least three different ESS participating countries.

The deadline for stage 1 applications is 6 May 2022.

In each wave of our survey, teams of researchers are invited to apply to field around 30 questions on a single topic – the chosen proposals make up two rotating modules that are included in each round.

New modules may either cover a new topic to the ESS or cover a topic or module that has previously been included but using a different approach.

Repeat modules provide an opportunity to explore how attitudes and behaviour towards a given topic may have changed over time.

In Round 9 (2018/19) of our survey, the rotating modules were Timing of life – originally fielded in Round 3 (2006/07) – and a new module examining Justice and fairness, from an economic standpoint.

In Round 10 (2020/21) of the ESS, the subjects being covered are Europeans’ understandings and evaluations of democracy – repeated from Round 6 (2012/13) – and Digital social contacts in work and family life – fielded for the first time.

In Round 11 (2023), rotating modules are being included on Social inequalities in health and their determinants – repeated from Round 7 (2014-15) – and Gender in contemporary Europe: rethinking equality and the backlash, a new module.

As with the call for Round 11 (2023), there will be a two-stage application process for submitting Round 12 rotating module proposals.

Following Stage 2 applications, two proposals will be chosen by our Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) in November 2022, with the successful teams invited to work with our Core Scientific Team (CST) to develop the questions from January 2023.

Round 12 fieldwork will take place between February and December 2025 and the survey data that is collected will be made available for analysis in 2026 (more precise timings to be confirmed).

Visit our Source Questionnaire section to read successful proposals, module abstracts and question module design team compositions from previous rounds.

Call for Round 12 rotating modules