Mode switch advisers appointed

Four experts have been appointed by the European Social Survey (ESS) to advise on the planned switch from in-person to self-completion data collection.

The four experts – Andrew Cleary (Ipsos International Social Research), Peter Lugtig (Utrecht University), Laura Wilson (Office for National Statistics, ONS) and Ranjit Singh (GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences) – will advise our core scientific team.

Andrew Cleary is responsible for methods delivery and innovation in the Ipsos International Social Research unit, where he leads a team of survey design and sampling experts.

Peter Lugtig is an associate professor at the department of Methodology and Statistics at Utrecht University, where he specializes in survey methodology.

Lugtig delivered one of our survey methods webinars – organised alongside City, University of London and NatCen Social Research – on collecting better social data via smartphones in June 2020.

Laura Wilson is the Principal Social Researcher in the Government Data Quality Hub (DQHub) at ONS, which aims to bring together government departments and organisations to ensure best practice in data quality.

Ranjit Singh is a postdoctoral scholar at GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, where he practices, researches, and consults on survey design and survey data harmonization.

Singh recently delivered one of our methods webinars on harmonizing survey data already collected using different modes.

Earlier this year, our General Assembly endorsed a plan to move data collection from face-to-face interviews to a ‘web first self-completion’ design.

The decision followed the successful implementation of self-completion modes in some countries during Round 10 (2020-22) data collection.

Up until Round 10 of the survey, our data has always been collected through face-to-face interviews in all participating countries.

Online and postal questionnaires were used in some countries during the latest wave of our survey, as a result of measures implemented to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.