• Within the framework of the additional programmes the following variables in the 2013 Microcensus are new: Type of building, number of dwellings in the building (EF489 - EF490, EF588, EF635), types of central heating and hot water supply (EF497, EF503, EF636, EF1000u2 - EF1001u11, EF1014-EF1017), total area, date of moving in and year of construction of the dwelling, Details of the condominium (EF491 - EF495, EF986), details of rent and utilities (EF499 - EF501, EF504, EF1004 - EF1013) and details of rent expense (EF638 - EF640, EF643, EF646 - EF649).
• The comparison of the ad hoc module "Labour market conditions of immigrants and their direct descendants" (EF1012 - EF1115) with the 2008 module (EF1012 - EF1115) showed changes both in the target population (15-64 year olds; 2008: 15-74 year olds) and in questions and answer categories, thus limiting comparability; see Eurostat (2015).
• In order to improve the measurement of ILO labour status, in particular, the fieldwork and a number of questions have undergone changes. Although no significant changes have taken place since 2011, some deviations between the results of the Microcensus and other labour market statistics are still to be found in 2013. This applies, for example, to small and marginal jobs. In particular, changes due to methodological factors must be taken into account when comparing with previous surveys of the Microcensus (see Körner/Puch 2009; Körner/Marder-Puch 2015).

• For cross-sectional evaluations for the survey year, records are not needed that are coded with -7 "Selection area without surveyed household" and -8 "No vacant flat, private households and collective accommodations which failed to respond in EF30 and other variables”.

• The regional details federal state (Bundesland) and a rough classification of the community size classes (Gemeindegrößenklassen) – the latter is not shown for the small federal states Bremen and Saarland – are included in the Scientific Use File (SUF). With the help of a special code of the variable community size class, it is possible to distinguish between West and East Berlin (EF563 = 9 Berlin-East).
• The other variables in the SUF are also coarsened if necessary, so that each value in the univariate distributions comprises at least 5,000 persons from the target population.
• The values of the variable nationality are aggregated in such a way that each group of nationalities in the target population comprises at least 50,000 inhabitants. In cases where variables are coarsened, the most strongly populated category is shown in the SUF.
• The SUF is a de-facto anonymised 70% sample. Until 2011, the sampling units were households or apartments where all persons in a selected household or apartment were included in the sub-sample. From 2012 onwards, the sampling districts within a rotational quarter will be used as sampling units for the subsample. This, together with longitudinal consistent identifiers, makes it possible to generate panel data sets with the Scientific Use Files.
• For details, see “Zur Abgrenzung der Bevölkerungs- und Erwerbskonzepte" [The demarcation of the population and labour force concepts]

Statistisches Bundesamt / GESIS (2018): Wichtige Informationen zur Nutzung des Mikrozensus Scientific Use Files 2014. [.pdf].

This document contains the information on this website as well as further details on the Microcensus SUF 2014.

• Persons (in private households and collective dwellings)
• Households
• Dwellings

• Persons
• Living arrangements
• Families
• Households
• Dwellings

01-01-2014

31-12-2014

Yes

• 67 % CAPI
• 10 % CATI
• 23 % Self-administered

ca. 24 %

The Microcensus is a single-stage, stratified cluster sample with a uniform sampling fraction for all strata. As a rule, the sampling fraction is 1%; it applies to all sampling units (dwellings, households, persons).
Because the selection probability of the Scientific Use File (SUF) basically remains constant at 70%, design weights can be created on the basis of the inverse of the sampling fraction of the Microcensus (1%) and the Scientific Use File (70%): w = 1 / (0.01 * 0.7).

• For the final weight a two-stage procedure is employed: in a first step the net sample of the successfully interviewed households is adjusted to the gross sample of all households to be interviewed (compensation). In a second step this gross sample is benchmarked to the update of the current population figures (adjustment). (The extrapolation is based on the results of the current population update, as updated by the Census in 2011.)

• The final weights of the Microcensus result from a combination of this two-stage procedure of compensation and adjustment.

Methodological Notes Weighting ( Year Specific)

• The standard extrapolation factors of the full Microcensus (EF951 and EF952) are adjusted quarterly at different regional levels. In order to achieve an even better adjustment of the SUF distributions to the published results, the SUF results were subsequently adjusted to the distributions of the weighted original data weighted with the extrapolation factors of the original data (EF951, EF952) according to gender, age groups (under 15 years, 15 to under 45 years, 45 to under 65 years, 65 years or older) and employment status (gainfully employed, inactive) within each federal state. These poststratified extrapolation factors of the SUF were then modified to be the same for all persons within a household.
• For the extrapolation factor of the additional program Housing Situation (EF960), only the reference person of the dwelling receives an extrapolation factor greater than 0.
• Data on the housing situation of households can be analyzed using the standard extrapolation factors (EF951, EF952). It should be noted that not all households have information on their housing situation.
• With regard to the comparability of 2014 with the supplementary programme Housing Situation 2010, it should be noted that in 2010 the extrapolation is based on the updated results of the 1987 building and housing census and in the new Länder and Berlin East on the updated results of the 1995 censuses conducted there. Furthermore, in 2014, due to the recording of dwellings in dormitories with own household management, these can be extrapolated for the first time in the building and dwelling census. (Siehe zu Details Fachserie 5, Heft 1: Bauen und Wohnen. Mikrozensus – Zusatzerhebung 2014. Bestand und Struktur der Wohneinheiten. Wohnsituation der Haushalte, S. 5 f.)
• The extrapolation factor for the ad hoc module (EF956) has been adjusted at the personal level because (1) analyses in the household context are of secondary importance to the ad hoc module and (2) personal factors improve the quality of the extrapolation. In the construction of the extrapolation factor EF956 used for the characteristics of the ad hoc module, the survey method (EF7), the type of employment (EF29) differentiated by gender (EF46) and age groups (EF44) at the federal level, the type of employment (EF29) differentiated by gender (EF46) at the state level, age groups (EF44) also at the state level and the two nationality groups German/foreigners in the East/West regions were used in 2013 for estimating the probabilities of answers. The target population are employed persons and persons with previous employment.
  The final weights of the Microcensus result from a combination of this two-stage procedure of compensation and adjustment.