The aim of the German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES) is to provide high-quality data for the analysis of federal elections in Germany. The GLES studies enable the analysis of the attitudes, opinions and political behavior of eligible voters and candidates.
A special feature of the GLES is that data from its studies can be linked to each other. In addition, all GLES studies are based on a common core of questions, supplemented by study-specific questions to meet the different analytical objectives of the studies.
In addition, some studies of the GLES are embedded in international survey programs. The Cross-Section Post-Election includes the German survey of the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES), and the GLES Candidate Study is included in the Comparative Candidates Survey (CCS).
Assessing the political attitudes, preferences, and behavior of German voters is one of the main goals of the GLES. For this reason, the GLES regularly conducts various surveys before and after German federal elections. Thus, questions of electoral research can be examined in a cross-sectional and longitudinal perspective. The GLES data can be used to analyze both short-term dynamics in the course of an election campaign as well as long-term processes of social change between elections.
Cross-sectional surveys are an essential part of election studies worldwide. For each German federal election, the GLES conducts cross-sectional surveys before and after the election. For the 2009, 2013, and 2017 elections, these were face-to-face surveys conducted as a “Computer Assisted Personal Interview“ (CAPI) with about 2,100 interviews each. These surveys are based on a multi-stage, stratified random sample and took about one hour to complete. Since the 2021 German federal election survey, the GLES Cross-Section has been conducted as a mixed-mode survey online (CAWI) and in writing (PAPI).
The GLES Cross-Section surveys can be used to analyze classical questions of electoral and voter research. In addition to a longitudinal and international comparative perspective, the GLES takes up innovative and current approaches in international electoral and attitudinal research by including new questionnaire elements such as scales on coalition preferences, emotions, and personality traits.
The Post-Election Questionnaire contains the current question module of the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) and thus allows the analysis of international comparative issues in electoral research. In addition, the German CSES studies from 1998 (ZA3073), 2002 (ZA4216) and 2005 (ZA4559) can be used to conduct comparative analyses of electoral behavior over time. Moreover, some questions are asked in both the GLES Cross-Section survey and the GLES Candidate Study. This makes it possible to compare the attitudes and behavior of voters and candidates and to examine the importance of local campaigns for voting behavior.
GLES Cross-Section surveys are available for the federal elections in 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021. In addition, GESIS has archived at least one election study for every federal election since 1949. The data can be accessed via the GESIS-Search or via the FDZ Wahlen.
For the 2021 federal election, a pre- and post-election cross-section will be conducted as a mixed-mode survey online (CAWI) and written (PAPI). Since 2018, GLES Cross-Section participants who are willing to be re-interviewed are surveyed as part of the GLES Panel.
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Rolling cross-sectional (RCS) studies are a standard tool for measuring short-term changes in the political attitudes and behavior of the eligible voters. In the GLES, RCS studies are conducted about 60 days before the election with a total sample of about 7,000 respondents, of whom about 100-120 are interviewed per day. The surveys are conducted as Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI) and last about 30 minutes.
The GLES also links the RCS pre-election studies to a post-election panel survey, which takes approximately 20 minutes and includes approximately 4,000 RCS pre-election respondents who agree to be interviewed again.
The Rolling Cross-Section allows the analysis of aggregated changes on a daily basis. Thus, the design enables to capture campaign-induced changes in public opinion. Voters' reactions to events during the campaign can be captured directly, and the decay or stability of these effects can be revealed. Since the GLES RCS studies are combined with a post-election panel survey, it is also possible to examine intra-individual changes between the two waves.
The GLES RCS studies can be directly linked to the Campaign Media Content Analyses (until 2017) on a daily basis.
GLES RCS studies are available for the federal elections in 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021. The previous study on the 2005 federal election (ZA4991) is also accessible via the GESIS search.
There are plans to conduct a GLES study using the RCS design at the next German federal election.
Participants in the 2017 GLES Campaign Panel and those willing to be re-interviewed in the 2017 and 2021 GLES Cross-Sections are interviewed up to twice a year between German federal election campaigns. Using a largely identical questionnaire, the former Campaign Panel sample continues to be interviewed online (CAWI), while the participants in the Pre- and Post-Election GLES Cross-Section samples are interviewed online (CAWI) and by mail (PAPI) in a mixed-mode design until 2019. Since spring 2020, the interviews have been conducted exclusively online (CAWI). In the fall of 2020, an additional refreshment sample was drawn from the online panels of respondi AG and GapFish GmbH for the analysis of the campaign for the 2021 federal election. In the 2021 election year, GLES panel members were interviewed up to five times before the beginning and during the election campaign and up to two times after the federal election, depending on the sample.
The GLES panel can be used to analyze intra-individual changes in political attitudes and behavior during election campaigns and between elections.
The waves of the GLES Panel conducted during the election campaign can be linked on a day-by-day basis to the Campaign Media Content Analysis (until 2017).
The GLES Panel has been conducted since 2016. The data from the current survey waves are added to the existing data corpus following a modular approach. The current version of the data set can be accessed via the GESIS search.
Outside of German federal election campaigns, up to two surveys are conducted each year. In an election year, GLES Panel members are surveyed up to five times before and during the election campaign and up to twice after the election, depending on the sample.
Since the 2009 German federal elections, short cross-sectional online surveys (CAWI) have been conducted up to four times a year. Each cross-sectional sample consists of about 1,000 respondents. In addition, surveys of around 500 respondents were conducted for many state elections between 2009 and 2017. They were conducted at the same time as the regular GLES Tracking, preferably before the respective state elections.
GLES Tracking aims to measure short-term aggregate changes between elections by conducting surveys at regular intervals with a constant core survey program. Until 2017, the GLES Tracking also included question modules with a thematic focus. Since 2018, only the core program has been surveyed, supplemented by a few topical items when necessary.
The GLES Tracking can be linked to the Long-term Media Content Analysis 2009-2017, which was collected in parallel.
Between 2009 and 2017, four surveys were typically conducted annually. Since 2018, three surveys have been conducted annually.
Currently, three surveys are conducted per year.
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The GLES surveys not only voters but also candidates in German federal elections. Occasionally, it also collects information on internal party nomination procedures for constituency candidacies for the German Bundestag. These data complement the data from the surveys of eligible voters. They allow, for example, comparisons of political attitudes and behavior between eligible voters and candidates, as well as analysis of campaign strategies and their effects on eligible voters.
For each German federal election, the approximately 2,500 constituency and party list candidates of all parties with parliamentary group status in the Bundestag prior to the election are invited to participate in a survey. The survey is conducted using a mixed-mode design, with interviews conducted online (CAWI) and written (PAPI).
The core of the study consists of questions on candidates' backgrounds, recruitment and selection, campaigns, political attitudes, and policy positions. Aggregate constituency characteristics from official statistics are added to the data, allowing the socio-structural context to be included in the analyses.
Due to the international cooperation with the Comparative Candidates Survey (CCS), the survey instrument of the Candidate Study contains the CCS core questionnaire of the respective current CCS module and thus allows international comparative analyses of the attitudes and behavior of candidates. Some questions are asked in both the GLES Candidate Study and the GLES Cross-Section. This makes it possible to compare the attitudes and behavior of voters and candidates and to examine the impact of local campaigns on voting behavior. In addition, the GLES Candidate Study can be linked to information on candidates' Twitter accounts in the German federal election (ZA7721).
The GLES Candidate Study is available for the federal elections in 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021. The GESIS-Search also provides access to previous studies from 2002 (ZA4225) and 2005 (ZA4923).
It is planned to conduct the GLES Candidate Survey again for the next federal election.
The Nomination Study systematically collects information on the nomination of constituency candidates of all parties with parliamentary group status represented in the German Bundestag prior to the general election. The study follows a mixed-mode approach consisting of web research and an online survey (CAWI).
Using the Nomination Study, it is possible to examine internal party nomination processes of constituency candidates for the German federal election. The core of the survey includes information on the nomination process, such as the vote shares of the nominees in each constituency and party. Additional information on political background and socio-demographics was also collected.
The Nomination Study can be linked to the GLES Candidate Study 2021 (ZA7704), and information on candidates' Twitter accounts for the 2021 German federal election (ZA7721).
The Nomination Study was conducted for the first time as part of the GLES for the 2021 German federal election.
Whether the Nomination Study will be conducted for future federal elections has not been decided yet.
For the 2009 and 2013 federal elections, a consistent sample of eligible voters was interviewed six times during the election campaign and once after the election. In 2009, 3,771 people were recruited from an online access panel by Respondi for the first wave, and 5,256 people were recruited in 2013. The first wave of the 2017 Campaign Panel started one year before the 2017 German federal election with a significantly larger sample size of around 18,000 people. The interviews of the Short-term Campaign Panel were conducted online (CAWI).
Some respondents in the 2013 and 2017 Short-term Campaign Panels had already participated in the Campaign Panel for the previous German federal election. Since the 2013 federal election, panelists have been invited to take part in annual interim surveys.
The Short-term Campaign Panel can be used to study intra-individual changes in political attitudes and behavior during campaigns and between elections.
The Short-term Campaign Panel waves can be linked on a daily basis to the Campaign Media Content Analyses (until 2017).
Short-term Campaign Panel surveys were conducted for the 2009, 2013, and 2017 German federal elections. Since 2014, participants have been invited to participate in annual interim surveys.
In 2018, the Short-term Campaign Panel merged into the GLES Panel.
A rolling three-wave panel design was used for the long-term panel. All respondents to the GLES Cross-Sections who agreed to participate in future surveys formed the population of a panel. Each panel included a total of three German federal elections. For panel maintenance, short surveys (by telephone, in writing and, from 2014, online) were also conducted annually starting in 2009.
The Long-term Panel makes it possible to analyze intra-individual changes in attitudes and political behavior between successive elections. Both the time span of the individual panels of two full legislative periods and the continuity of the rolling three-wave design, which has been continued since 1994 (ZA4301), represent a special feature also in international comparison.
As part of the GLES, the Long-term Panel was published for the 2002-2005-2009, 2005-2009-2013, 2009-2013, and 2013-2017 German federal elections.
Since 2018, participants from the GLES Cross-Section who are willing to be re-interviewed have been interviewed as part of the GLES Panel.
The study is a quantitative media content analysis of political reporting in TV news programs and print media during the election campaign. Five TV news programs and the coverage of six German daily newspapers were collected. The topics were coded using the GLES coding scheme, which was also used to code the open questions about the most important problems in Germany in the surveys of eligible voters until 2017.
The Campaign Media Content Analysis allows an analysis of the interplay between media coverage and voter perceptions during election campaigns.
The Campaign Media Content Analysis can be linked to the GLES Rolling Cross-Section study and the GLES Campaign Panel on a daily basis.
Campaign Media Content Analyses are available for the 2009, 2013 and 2017 German federal elections.
No further Campaign Media Content analyses are planned at this time.
The Long-term Media Agenda Analysis is a quantitative media content analysis of the most important weekly political magazines as well as national and regional daily newspapers. The topics were coded using the GLES coding scheme, which was also used to code the open-ended questions on the most important problems in Germany in the surveys of eligible voters until 2017.
The long-term record of key issue conjunctures in Germany can be used in combination with GLES Tracking survey data to examine the influence of relevant events on the political attitudes and voting behavior of the population.
The Long-term Media Agenda Analysis can be linked to the GLES Tracking.
The Long-term Media Agenda Analysis is available for the period from 2009 to 2013.
No further Long-term Media Agenda Analyses are planned at this time.
TV debates between the CDU/CSU and SPD candidates for chancellor have established themselves as the most important campaign events in German federal elections. Within the framework of the GLES, experiments were conducted to analyze these debates. Participants were interviewed before and after the TV debates, a few days after the debates, and immediately after the German federal elections. Using a voting machine, the experimental groups were able to express their opinions directly during the debate. This experimental design was complemented by a content analysis of the TV debate. In 2009, a content analysis of the media coverage of the debate was also conducted.
For the 2017 German federal election, an experiment was also conducted on the TV debate between the top candidates of the CSU, FDP, Greens, Left Party, and AfD ("TV Fünfkampf").
The purpose of this study is to examine the existence and persistence of TV debate effects on political attitudes and voting behavior.
The survey, real-time response data, and media content analysis can be analyzed jointly.
TV Debate Analyses are available for the 2009, 2013 and 2017 German federal elections.
No further TV Debate Analyses are planned at this time.
