GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences: Go to homepage

GESIS Scientific Series

Outstanding research results at GESIS are published in the GESIS series. They contain final reports of projects, doctoral dissertations, and the research status of major areas of activity.

In our publication archive you can find former GESIS research and conference reports, as well as publications of the former IZ, ZA, and ZUMA.

If you would like to buy a hard copy of our books please contact publications(at)gesis(dot)org.

GESIS Series Volume 29
André Ernst
The Action-Generating Mechanisms of Rule-Breaking
Overcoming Methodological Challenges in Empirical Tests of Situational Action Theory and the Code of the Street
Köln: GESIS 2022, 122 S.
ISSN 1869-2869 | Softcover ISBN 978-3-86819-050-2 | eBook ISBN 978-3-86819-049-6
Softcover 15,- Euro

Rule-breaking is an actor’s reaction to the behavioral setting to which they are exposed. Understanding this interplay between a person and their behavioral setting is significant for developing crime prevention measures and understanding crime as a social phenomenon. The action-generating mechanism explains rule-breaking via the interplay between actors’ criminal propensity and behavioral settings’ criminogeneity. It addresses what would have happened if a person’s criminal propensity and a setting’s criminogeneity had been different. Previous tests of the action-generating mechanism on observational data failed to control for actors’ exposure to different kinds of behavioral settings and, thus, also for selection. The selection mechanism precedes the action-generating mechanism and challenges previous findings while people are systematically exposed to different behavioral settings and also levels of criminogeneity. I control for selection and thus provide a more rigorous test by using fixed-effect estimation models and strategically using the school setting of the Friendship and Violence in Adolescent data. The research approach is applied to hypotheses derived from Anderson’s Code of the Street (study 1) and Wikström’s Situational Action Theory (study 2 and study 3). All-in-all, the results indicate that exposure matters net of the selection of kinds-of-people into kinds-of settings.

Free Download (pdf)

GESIS Series Volume 28
Alice Melchior
Neu, wertvoll, kreativ
Die Generierung und Bewertung von Ideen im kreativen Prozess pharmazeutischer F&E Projekte
Köln: GESIS 2021, 144 p. (german)
ISSN 1869-2869 | Softcover ISBN 978-3-86819-048-9 | eBook ISBN 978-3-86819-047-2
Softcover 15,- Euro

This work adds to the interdisciplinary debate about the possibility of organizing creative processes. Using the example of pharmaceutical research and development projects the significance of valuations in creative process and the gap between two disciplinary approaches are examined. While economic geography and organizational research focus primarily on the conditions for the emergence of novelty and thereby neglect the relevance of val­uation, the second approach, which is shaped by an economic sociological tradition, focuses on the valuation of novelty („Valuation Studies“), whereby valuations are rarely addressed in connection with creativity. Against this background, this work explores three related research questions: When in the creative process does what kind of valuation take place; how do negative and positive valuations interact in creative processes; and where, in which places, is valuation happening? Based on the qualitative data (25 expert interviews and 116.5h observations), three main findings are formulated. First, that creative processes always include an interplay of generation and valuation, whereby the valuation of novelty is as central as the generation of novelty, so that the two integral parts of creativity should be considered together more often. Second, that negative and positive valuations exhibit fundamentally different intrinsic logics. In particular, negative valuations provide indispensable impulses for reinterpretation and thus enable a successful course of the creative process – at least for pharmaceutical R&D projects. Third, that the generation and valuation of novelty does not only take place socially but also locally situated, whereby analytically clearly differentiable patterns of generation, valuation and testing were detected. This in turn shows that even in terms of the analytical knowledge base, knowledge production does not exclusively follow universally valid protocols, but also has a performative character, which is shaped by the composition of the group of actors, their personal idiosyncrasies, preferences and aversions.

Free Download (pdf)

GESIS Schriftenreihe Band 27
Dirk Betz
Das Ende von Rational Choice?
Zur Leistungsfähigkeit der Rational-Choice-Theorie
mit einem Vorwort von Hartmut Esser
Köln: GESIS 2021, 204 p. (german).
ISSN 1869-2869 | Softcover ISBN 978-3-86819-046-5 | eBook ISBN 978-3-86819-045-8
Softcover 15,- Euro

This book examines selected theories from political science, economics, sociology, and psychology in different fields of applications using methodological tools from experimental game theory and empirical social research. The leading research question is whether the assumption of the underlying rational choice theory (RCT), for instance the selection of the utility-maximizing option by a central executive, has sufficient explanatory power for human decision behavior. Some of the five studies in this book reveal significant empirical evidence that is inconsistent with the RCT. Here, the deviations from the results predicted by the RCT are not random but systematic. The findings contradict the predictions of RCT more significantly, the more comprehensive and detailed individuals in the social field are observed, the more ambiguous and distant the situation from the economic context is, the lower the individual (financial) costs are (low-cost hypothesis), and the more heuristic information processes are observable. Furthermore, self-interest-maximizing motives and rational action can be identified recurrently. In the economic context and at the aggregate level, the great power of RCT and the economic behavioral paradigm becomes apparent. Against this background, it is shown that framing theories and alternative selection mechanisms can resolve these initially seemingly contradictory findings in a new, higher unity. Overall, the methodological and theoretical range of this research work allows the conclusion to conceptualize RCT as a special case of framing theories and to continue to use it pragmatically as well as context-specific.

Free Download (pdf)

GESIS Series Volume 26
Sebastian E. Wenz
Discrimination in Education: Methodology, Theory, and Empirics of Teachers’ Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discriminatory Behavior
Köln: GESIS 2020, 252 p., engl.
ISSN 1869-2869 | Softcover ISBN 978-3-86819-044-1 | eBook ISBN 978-3-86819-043-4
Softcover 15,- Euro

In Discrimination in Education Sebastian E. Wenz makes methodological, theoretical, and empirical contributions to the study of discriminatory behavior by teachers towards students of different ethnicity, social class background, and gender. Wenz reviews different motivations to study discrimination in education and beyond, provides an in-depth discussion of numerous definitions of discrimination, and shows the potentials and limitations of theories from different disciplines to explain discrimination on the individual level and inequality between groups in the education system. In the empirical part of the book, Wenz examines the two major determinants of discrimination – prejudice and stereotypes – using data from the German General Social Survey (GGSS/ALLBUS) and the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). The major empirical contribution in Discrimination in Education is an experimental study with a random sample of over 200 elementary school teachers. In this study, Wenz addresses several shortcomings of prior research. After discussing the complex findings of his experiment, Wenz concludes by suggesting several routes future research should take to gather more evidence on discrimination in education, its determinants and consequences.

free Download (pdf)

GESIS Series Volume 25
Annette Korntheuer, Paul Pritchard, Débora B. Maehler & Lori Wilkinson (eds.)
Refugees in Canada and Germany: From Research to Policies and Practice
Köln: GESIS 2020, 244 p., engl.
ISSN 1869-2869 | Softcover ISBN 978-3-86819-042-7 | eBook ISBN 978-3-86819-041-0
Softcover 15,- Euro

This edited collection offers an in-depth look at the reactions of Germany and Canada – two countries that have responded to the 21st century ‘age of displacement’ in very different ways - and the creative solutions and often collaborative efforts these host societies have undertaken to support the sudden arrival of newcomers within their nation’s borders.

The migration of significantly high numbers of asylum seekers and refugees between 2015 and 2018 presented destination and resettlement societies both a sizable challenge and an opportunity to respond effectively to the imminent needs of this cohort. Germany and Canada emerged as leaders on the global stage for how they responded and the innovative ways they were able to bring together different social actors and stakeholders locally, nationally and globally. This volume is the result of an ongoing international, collaborative effort to monitor and evaluate these responses – from research to policies and practice. The objective is to mobilize knowledge produced through the latest research on key issues relating to the resettlement and integration of refugees in Germany and Canada in a timely and accessible manner.

The works presented here not only show evidence based results on resettlement and integration in Canada and Germany, they also provide valuable insights that can support government agencies, service providers and members of civic society to rapidly respond to factors that threaten the wellbeing of refugees and will be instrumental to the successful integration of future cohorts.

free Download (pdf)

Regionale Standards | Ausgabe 2019
3. überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage
herausgegeben von der Arbeitsgruppe Regionale Standards
Köln: GESIS 2019, 298 S.
ISSN 1869-2869 | Softcover ISBN 978-3-86819-038-0 | eBook ISBN 978-3-86819-037-3
Softcover 15,- EUR

Die „Regionalen Standards“ gehen zurück auf die Initiative eines gemeinsamen Arbeitskreises, bestehend aus Vertretern des Statistischen Bundesamtes, der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Sozialwissenschaftlicher Institute e.V. (ASI) und des ADM Arbeitskreis Deutscher Markt- und Sozialforschungsinstitute e.V. Sie stellen ein Angebot für die For­schung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland dar.

Die „Regionalen Standards“ beschreiben Gebietsabgrenzungen und Instrumente zur Typisierung von Regionen, wie sie in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland von der amtlichen Statistik und/oder der Markt- und Sozialforschung in gewisser Regelmäßigkeit eingesetzt werden. Zusätzlich werden Datensätze aus unterschiedlichen Quellen vor­gestellt, die für die Regionalisierung von Bevölkerungsumfragen genutzt werden können und für die Forschung (teils jedoch mit Einschränkungen) zur Verfügung stehen.

Kostenloser Download (pdf)


Neben dem kompletten Werk werden den interessierten Forschenden für einen einfachen Gebrauch die "Regionalen Standards, Ausgabe 2019" auch kapitelweise angeboten.

Zudem will sich die Arbeitsgruppe "Regionale Standards" mit dem kapitelweisen Angebot die Möglichkeit offen halten, auf aktuelle Entwicklungen bei Instrumenten, dem Datenangebot und dem Datenzugang vor einer kompletten Neuauflage durch entsprechende Ergänzungen in einzelnen Kapiteln reagieren zu können.

Weiterleitung "kapitelweise" (ASI e.V.)

GESIS Series Volume 24
Stefan Jünger
Using Georeferenced Data in Social Science Survey Research
The Method of Spatial Linking and Its Application with the German General Social Survey and the GESIS Panel
Köln: GESIS 2019, 208 p., engl.
ISSN 1869-2869 | Softcover ISBN 978-3-86819-040-3 | eBook ISBN 978-3-86819-039-7
Softcover 15,- Euro

This book demonstrates the use of georeferenced data for social science survey research which builds upon survey data enriched with geo-coordinates. It reviews the prerequisites and challenges of applying these data to different social science research questions, highlighting the different branches of an interdisciplinary effort. At the center of this presentation is the method of spatial linking: the combination of georeferenced survey data with information from auxiliary geospatial data sources. A collection of spatial linking methods is applied in this book’s empirical applications which underline these methods’ flexibility in different social science sub-disciplines, such as health and family, political attitudes, and environmental inequalities. For this purpose, georeferenced survey data from the German General Social Survey (GGSS) 2014 and the GESIS Panel are used. These empirical applications are part of an emerging field of research for social scientists, requiring new analytic skills from diverse and foreign disciplines, like ecology and engineering. Navigating the organizational and technical requirements for the analysis of georeferenced survey data enables researchers to answer new and innovative research questions.

free Download (pdf)

Regionale Standards | Ausgabe 2019
3. überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage
herausgegeben von der Arbeitsgruppe Regionale Standards
Köln: GESIS 2019, 298 p. (german)
ISSN 1869-2869 | Softcover ISBN 978-3-86819-038-0 | eBook ISBN 978-3-86819-037-3
Softcover 15,- EUR

Die „Regionalen Standards“ gehen zurück auf die Initiative eines gemeinsamen Arbeitskreises, bestehend aus Vertretern des Statistischen Bundesamtes, der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Sozialwissenschaftlicher Institute e.V. (ASI) und des ADM Arbeitskreis Deutscher Markt- und Sozialforschungsinstitute e.V. Sie stellen ein Angebot für die For­schung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland dar.

Die „Regionalen Standards“ beschreiben Gebietsabgrenzungen und Instrumente zur Typisierung von Regionen, wie sie in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland von der amtlichen Statistik und/oder der Markt- und Sozialforschung in gewisser Regelmäßigkeit eingesetzt werden. Zusätzlich werden Datensätze aus unterschiedlichen Quellen vor­gestellt, die für die Regionalisierung von Bevölkerungsumfragen genutzt werden können und für die Forschung (teils jedoch mit Einschränkungen) zur Verfügung stehen.

free Download (pdf)


Neben dem kompletten Werk werden den interessierten Forschenden für einen einfachen Gebrauch die "Regionalen Standards, Ausgabe 2019" auch kapitelweise angeboten.

Zudem will sich die Arbeitsgruppe "Regionale Standards" mit dem kapitelweisen Angebot die Möglichkeit offen halten, auf aktuelle Entwicklungen bei Instrumenten, dem Datenangebot und dem Datenzugang vor einer kompletten Neuauflage durch entsprechende Ergänzungen in einzelnen Kapiteln reagieren zu können.

zur ASI

GESIS Series Volume 22
Dominique Joye, Marlène Sapin & Christof Wolf
Measuring Social Networks and Social Resources
An Exploratory ISSP Survey around the World

Köln: GESIS 2019, 206 p., engl.
ISSN 1869-2869 | Softcover ISBN 978-3-86819-036-6 | eBook ISBN 978-3-86819-035-9
Softcover 15,- EUR

This publication documents the development of the ISSP module for the year 2017 titled “Social Networks and Social Resources”. The authors begin by discussing instruments that have been developed to measure social relationships and networks. Subsequently, the conceptual framework underlying the module is presented. For the assessment and selection of items for the final module the authors can draw on a rich set of comparative survey data from pretests in China, Taiwan, France, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, Great Britain, United States and Venezuela. Based on these data measures for all concepts of the theoretical model are derived and preliminary analysis of their validity, reliability and cross-national equivalence are performed. The publication ends with a description of items finally selected for the 2017 ISSP module and some suggestions for analyzing these data.

Dominique Joye is Professor of Sociology at the University of Lausanne, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Institute for Social Sciences since 2006 and one of the Swiss delegates to the ISSP since 2000. He has a strong interest in life-course analysis and survey methodology.

Marlène Sapin is Senior Researcher at the Swiss Center of Expertise in Social Sciences FORS and one of the Swiss delegates of the ISSP. She is also Senior Researcher in the NCCR LIVES – Overcoming Vulnerability: Life Course Perspectives. Her research focuses on social networks and the life course.

Christof Wolf is President of GESIS Leibniz-Institute for the Social Sciences and Professor of Sociology at Mannheim University. He is one of Germany’s delegates to and currently Secretary of the ISSP. He has a strong interest in social networks, health and survey methodology.

Free download (pdf)

GESIS Series Volume 21
Claudia Biniossek
Prosoziales Verhalten in großen Gruppen
mit einem Vorwort von Hartmut Esser
Köln: GESIS 2019, 122 p. (german)
ISSN 1869-2869 | Softcover ISBN 978-3-86819-034-2 | eBook ISBN 978-3-86819-033-5
Softcover 15,- EUR

Drawing on theories from economics, sociology and social psychology, this research on pro-social behavior addresses the perception, behavior and behavioral patterns of individuals in the context of large groups. It investigates whether the empirically observable behavior of individuals in large groups can be integrated into a unifying theoretical framework.

Free download (pdf)

GESIS Series Volume 20
Matthias Sand
Gewichtungsverfahren  in Dual-Frame-Telefonerhebungen bei Device-Specific Nonresponse
Köln: GESIS 2018, 274 p. (german)
ISSN 1869-2869 | Softcover ISBN 978-3-86819-031-1 | eBook ISBN 978-3-86819-032-8
Softcover 15,- EUR

The benefits of dual-frame telephone surveys in Germany have been extensively examined within both CELLA studies that GESIS, the Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, conducted in cooperation with the Dresden University of Technology in 2007/2008 and 2010/2011. Besides numerous insight regarding the population of only-households and the potentials of dual-frame surveys, a key-development has been a weighting approach that is nowadays commonly practised when weighting dual-frame surveys in Germany. The weighting approach adjusts for unequal inclusion probabilities by employing the Horvitz-Thompson-Estimator and for frame-independent nonresponse caused by socio-demographic characteristics using the GREG-Estimator.

However, this weighting approach does not consider nonresponse in dual-frame surveys that is frame-dependent. A further investigation of CELLA 2’s data suggests that there might be factors apart from socio-demographic characteristics that can affect individual response behavior. Since CELLA 2’s call-outcomes of the landline and mobile sample differ considerably, another source of nonresponse might be determined by varying usage-patterns of specific means of communications within the overlap domain of a dual-frame survey. Therefore, this book will introduce a weighting approach that takes such frame-dependent, device-specific Response behavior into account by subdividing the overlap domain into several, disjoint categories determined by usage-patterns and employing a composite design weighting approach. This newly introduced weighting approach will then be evaluated by application on appropriate dual-frame surveys.

Free Download (pdf)

GESIS Series Volume 19
Dorothée Behr (Ed.)
Surveying the Migrant Population
Consideration of Linguistic and Cultural Issues

Köln: GESIS 2018, 116 p., engl.
ISSN 1869-2869 | eBook ISBN 978-3-86819-030-4

Migration is a global phenomenon; the number of migrants and refugees worldwide has risen rapidly in recent decades – and especially in recent years. These developments come with the need to better understand the living conditions of migrants and refugees and the processes of integration in order to ensure peaceful and sustainable integration in societies. Surveys are an effective means of data collection in this regard. From a methodological point of view, however, a number of challenges are associated with surveys among migrants and refugees. These proceedings, which mainly draw on the contributions to an international symposium, focus on the survey questionnaire, its translation and adaptation as well as on cultural and linguistic challenges encountered during fieldwork. The goal of this publication is to draw attention to the methodological challenges in migration and refugee research in order to foster the collection of valid and reliable data.

Free Download (PDF)

GESIS Series Volume 18
Johannes N. Blumenberg
Parteistereotype
Struktur und emotionale und behaviourale Folgen

Köln: GESIS 2018, 206 p. (german)
ISSN 1869-2869 | Softcover ISBN 978-3-86819-028-1 | eBook ISBN 978-3-86819-029-8
Softcover 15,- €

The relationship between parties and citizens is central to the functioning of democracies. A strong link between citizens and parties has a positive effect on the stability of party systems and thus on overall government performance. The link between citizens and parties is the subject of this book. Based on the concept of party identification, the social identity approach and the BIAS map, a definition of party stereotypes is developed. Party stereotypes are the cognitive structures that contain the knowledge and ideas about political parties as a group. Along with party identification, which arises from stereotypes, party stereotypes are the most important long-term link between parties and voters. With the help of a cross-sectional study, it can be shown that party stereotypes can be described by the two dimensions warmth and competence and cause predictable emotional and behavioural tendencies. Furthermore, they are one of the most important predictors of political behaviour and of the perception of parties and party objects, even under control of party identification.

Free Download (PDF)

GESIS Series Volume 17
Jonas Edlund, Insa Bechert, Markus Quandt (eds.)
Social Inequality in the Eyes of the Public
A Collection of Analyses Based on ISSP Data 1987-2009

Köln: GESIS 2017, 138 pages
ISSN 1869-2869 | Softcover ISBN 978-3-86819-026-7  | eBook ISBN 978-3-86819-027-4

The annual survey of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) provides data on topics relevant to social science research. Chapters included in this volume, Social Inequality in the Eyes of the Public - A Collection of Analyses Based on ISSP Data 1987-2009, examine social inequality from a citizens’ perspective across countries, for periods encompassing up to 20 years and beyond. Contributions come from an international group of authors who have extensive knowledge of the ISSP database. The selected chapters offer a cross-national com-parative perspective on various issues related to inequality: social mobility; public perceptions of the mechanisms that generate social inequality; social constructs that indicate social inequality; and the effects of structural conditions (e.g., unemployment, income distribution) on attitudes connected with social inequality. In this book you will find critical input on questions related to the interplay between macro-structural conditions, citizens’ perceptions and attitudes towards social inequality.

Free Download (PDF)

GESIS Series Volume 16
Alexander Mack
Non-Marital Fertility in Europe. Development, Parents’ Socioeconomic Resources and Social Context
Köln: GESIS 2017, 208 S., 15,- €
ISSN 1869-2869 | Softcover ISBN 978-3-86819-025-0

Over the last 50 years the life courses of young people and their family formation behavior have undergone dramatic changes. Childbearing outside marriage, whether to single mothers or cohabiters, is one of the most prominent indicators of this process. This study outlines the development of childbearing outside of marriage in Europe since the 1960s. Changes in women‘s role in society are identified as the key factor driving this de-velopment. Utilizing the full potential of multi-level modeling the study finds that parents’ decision making is mediated by country specific welfare arrangements. In particular, the degree to which women can utilize their socioeconomic resources in the labor market plays a key role in the decision whether or not to marry the father of their child.

Free Download (PDF)

GESIS Series Volume 15
Annette Korntheuer, Paul Pritchard, Débora B. Maehler (eds.)

Structural Context of Refugee Integration in Canada and Germany
Köln: GESIS 2017, 144 pages
ISSN 1869-2869 | Softcover ISBN 978-3-86819-028-1 | eBook ISBN 978-3-86819-024-3

The massive increase of asylum seekers into Europe and considerable humanitarian commitments to resettle-ment in Canada leads to the urgent need to gather more knowledge and in particular scientific evidence on integration trajectories of refugee populations. Between 2006 and 2015, 260,000 refugees resettled in Canada, constituting on average around 10 percent of its total annual immigrants. Germany granted residence titles to 266,000 refugee claimants from 2006 to 2015 and accepted more than 40,000 refugees between 2012 and 2015 through resettlement and humanitarian admission programs. In 2015, more than 890,000 asylum seekers were registered in Germany. Canada and Germany are facing enormous challenges not only in terms of granting shelter and emergency supplies to the incoming refugee populations but also, importantly, in ensuring adequate and efficient access to central institutions and resources in their respective societies. In this situation scholars, service providers, and advocates in both national contexts would benefit from increased collaboration and sharing of knowledge; yet the void of comparative studies in the extant literature poses a significant gap in research. This publication hopes to support international research projects in this field and to spark ideas for further comparative research.

To better understand the context in which integration takes place, this publication outlines the institutional and environmental conditions for refugees in Canada and Germany. It offers a descriptive account of the respective refugee protection systems as well as the educational systems in both national contexts and addresses core domains of refugee integration, including: Access to housing, health services, education and the labour market. Furthermore, access to resettlement services and ethnic and religious communities are described. In addition, unaccompanied minors in the German context as well as refugee claimants in the Canadian context, each of which are subgroups with a distinct structural context for integration, are addressed in separate contributions. Finally, the manuscript offers narratives written by authors of refugee background, as well as civic society members involved in the integration process.

This volume is directed to researchers and students, especially those in the migration and integration field. Nevertheless, it also provides an introduction and broad overview to refugee integration in Canada and Germany for individuals with general interest in the topic.

[free download pdf]

GESIS Series Volume 14
Realisierungschancen egalitärer Erwerbsmodelle
Analysen zur Erwerbsbeteiligung in Partnerschaften mit Kindern auf Basis des Mikrozensus
Jeanette Bohr
Köln: GESIS 2014: ISBN 978-3-86819-023-6; ISSN 1869-2869

While childless partnerships are predominantly characterized by egalitarian gender roles, parenthood in Germany often leads to a more gendered division of labor with a reduction of women’s time spent in gainful employment. Using official statistics microdata, this study compares mothers on the basis of their working time preference and identifies the boundary conditions under which egalitarian employment arrangements among couples with children are realized. The study considers both the actual working hours of partners as well as the preferred hours in employment of part-time active mothers. The German Microcensus offers the possibility to study the employment behavior of women in East and West Germany, while considering both partners’ socioeconomic characteristics and accounting for family characteristics.

[free download via SSOAR]

ISSP Data Report
Religious Attitudes and Religious Change
Insa Bechert and Markus Quandt (Ed.)
Köln: GESIS 2013
ISBN 978-3-86819-022-9
ISSN 1869-2869

The annual survey of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) provides data on topics relevant in social research. This current ISSP Data Report – Religious Attitudes and Religious Change examines data collected at three different points over 17 years, from up to 42 ISSP member countries, covering various facets of respondents’ attitudes towards Church and Religion. Individual chapters were written by different members of the ISSP community thereby offering a cross-national, comparative perspective on particular aspects of religious attitudes and religious change via ISSP data. Overall, this report offers insights into the religious landscapes of various countries and in particular information about the factors influencing the process of religious change over the past two decades.

[free download via SSOAR]

Regionale Standards
Ausgabe 2013
2. vollständig überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage
Arbeitsgruppe Regionale Standards (Hg.)
Köln: GESIS 2013
ISBN 978-3-86819-021-2
ISSN 1869-2869

Die „Regionalen Standards“ gehen zurück auf die Initiative eines gemeinsamen Arbeitskreises, bestehend aus Vertretern des Statistischen Bundesamtes, der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Sozialwissenschaftlicher Institute e. V. (ASI) und des ADM Arbeitskreis Deutscher Markt- und Sozialforschungsinstitute e. V. Sie stellen ein Angebot für die Forschung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland dar. Die „Regionalen Standards“ beschreiben Gebietsabgrenzungen und Instrumente zur Typisierung von Regionen, wie sie in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland von der amtlichen Statistik und/oder der Markt- und Sozialforschung in gewisser Regelmäßigkeit eingesetzt werden. Zusätzlich werden Datensätze aus unterschiedlichen Quellen vorgestellt, die für die Regionalisierung von Bevölkerungsumfragen genutzt werden können und für die Forschung (teils jedoch mit Einschränkungen) zur Verfügung stehen. Ergänzt werden die „Regionalen Standards“ durch eine jährlich aktualisierte Tabellenanalyse aus dem Mikrozensus, zu beziehen über die Internetseiten www.destatis.de, www.gesis.org und www.adm-ev.de.

[free download via SSOAR]

femlogit
Implementation und Anwendung der multinominalen logistischen Regression mit „fixed effects“
Klaus Pforr
Köln: GESIS 2013
ISBN 978-3-86819-020-5
ISSN 1869-2869

Fixed effects models have become a prime tool for causal analysis, as they allow to control for unobserved heterogeneity. As of today, fixed effects models have been derived and implemented for many statistical software packages for continuous, dichotomous and count-data dependent variables. For multinomial categorical dependent variables such a model has been derived in a seminal paper by Chamberlain (1980), but no implementation is available. The dissertation on hand closes this research gap by delivering the first implementation of Chamberlain’s model in a widely available statistical package (Stata). Its applicability is shown by extending Schröder’s (2010) work in the sociology of the family and Kohler’s (2005) work in political sociology.

[free download via SSOAR]

Demographic Standards for Surveys and Polls in Germany and Poland.
National and European Dimension
Jürgen H.P. Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik, Uwe Warner (Hg.)
Köln: GESIS 2012
ISBN 978-3-86819-019-9
ISSN 1869-2869

The three countries Poland, Czech Republic and Slovenia have seen in recent decades, major political upheavals: the collapse of communism in the late 80s or the EU accession in 2004. These breaks are also reflected in the official statistics or in the collected data of market research. Thus, the importance of comparability and standardization of data increased. This development will be illustrated in detail in the publication

[free download via SSOAR]

The IE-4
Construction and Validation of a Short Scale for the Assessment of Locus of Control
Anastassiya Kovaleva
Köln: GESIS 2010
ISBN 978-3-86819-017-5
ISSN 1869-2869

Locus of control describes a generalized belief about whether outcomes of behavior are determined by one’s actions or by forces outside one’s control. Over decades, studies in sociology and psychology have reported that a sense of control is correlated with physical and mental well-being, vocational behavior, general health, healthy aging, and coping with unemployment.

In order to assess locus of control within strict time constraints, as often required in survey research, an efficient questionnaire the four-item scale for the assessment of internal and external locus of control (Internal External Locus of Control-4, IE-4) was developed and validated. The IE-4 was constructed and validated in three studies. The scale proved to have a stable factorial structure and sufficient construct validity. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the efficiency of the IE-4, i.e. its satisfactory psychometric properties and brevity.

[free download via SSOAR]

Umfrageforschung.
Entscheidungsgrundlage für Politik und Wissenschaft
Christian König, Matthias Stahl und Erich Wiegand (Hg.)
Köln: GESIS 2011: ISBN 978-3-86819-016-8
ISSN 1869-2869
19,- EUR 

Der vorliegende Tagungsband dokumentiert die Beiträge der wissenschaftlichen Tagung "Umfrageforschung - Entscheidungsgrundlage für Politik und Wissenschaft", die am 30. Juni und 1. Juli 2011 gemeinsam vom Statistischen Bundesamt, dem ADM Arbeitskreis Deutscher Markt- und Sozialforschungsinstitute e.V. und der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Sozialwissenschaftlicher Institute e.V. (ASI) in Wiesbaden durchgeführt wurde.

[Free download via SSOAR]

Measuring Occupation and Labour Status in Cross-National Comparative Surveys
Jürgen H.P. Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik, Uwe Warner
Bonn: GESIS 2011
ISBN 978-3-86819-015-1
ISSN 1869-2869

In the social sciences, the occupation variable is used to derive socio-economic status and/or occupational prestige. This book describes occupation as an indicator of social status, occupation as an indicator of prestige and labor status as an indicator of position in the life-cycle. First, we identify variables necessary to measure occupation, employment and the labour force concept from ILO (International Labour Organisation, Geneva). Second, we introduce strategies for harmonizing the underlying social concepts of the measurements in surveys across countries. Third, we present our own instruments for measuring occupation and labour status in cross-national comparative surveys.

[Free download via SSOAR]

ISSP Data Report
Attitudes towards the Role of Government
Insa Bechert and Markus Quandt
Bonn: GESIS 2010
ISBN 978-3-86819-013-7
ISSN 1869-2869

The International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) provides annual data on various topics relevant for social research. The current report deals with data collected at four different points of time over a 21 year span, from up to 36 ISSP member countries. The topics are broadly consolidated under the term “Role of Government”. Each chapter focuses on an individual topic area under this heading, shedding light on the ISSP data with their specific content and particularities. Overall, this report offers some insights into specific national situations. It also specifically takes a cross-national comparative perspective while simultaneously displaying selected core trends in political attitudes over the past two decades.

[Free download via SSOAR]

Information Retrieval- Mehrwertdienste für Digitale Bibliotheken Crosskonkordanzen und Bradfordizing
Philipp Mayr
Bonn: GESIS 2010
ISBN 978-3-86819-012-0
ISSN 1869-2869

This thesis proposes two value-added approaches for search systems which treat typical problems in searching scientific literature and seek to improve the retrieval situation on a measurable level. The two value-added services, semantic treatment of heterogeneity (the example of cross-concordances) and re-ranking on Bradfordizing, which are applied in different search phases, are described in detail and their effectiveness in typical subject-specific searches is evaluated in the empirical part of the thesis. We used topics and data from two evaluation projects (CLEF and KoMoHe) for the tests. The intellectually assessed documents come from seven academic abstracting and indexing databases representing social science, political science, economics, psychology and medicine. The results of this work will be integrated in the GESIS project IRM.

[free download via SSOAR]

Measuring Ethnicity in Cross-National Comparative Survey Research
Jürgen H.P. Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik, Uwe Warner
Bonn: GESIS 2010
ISBN 978-3-86819-011-3
ISSN 1869-2869

This book describes the development of an instrument for the measurement of ethnicity in cross-national comparative survey research. First, we identify the data that must to be collected on ethnicity as a core variable. Second, we examine the way in which the national statistics offices of the European Union member states and the major social surveys handle this theme. Third, we present our own instrument for the measurement of ethnicity as a background variable in cross-national comparative survey research.

[free download via SSOAR]

Design Effects: Model-based versus Design-based Approach
Matthias Ganninger
Bonn: GESIS 2009
ISBN 978-3-86819-010-6
ISSN 1869-2869

The design effect is receiving increased attention in multi-national sample survey projects like the European Social Survey (ESS). On the one hand, model-based methods are applied for the prediction of expected design effects in order to ex ante harmonize the effective sample size of different samples. On the other hand, also design-based estimators can be used for the ex post estimation of design effects from sample data. This thesis compares the design-based and the model-based approach to design effects and evaluates their quality and applicability in real-world situations. This evaluation is based on a large-scale Monte-Carlo simulation study and on data from selected countries of the ESS.

[free download via SSOAR]

Translationswissenschaft und international vergleichende Umfrageforschung:
Qualitätssicherung bei Fragebogenübersetzungen als Gegenstand einer Prozessanalyse
Dorothée Behr
Bonn: GESIS 2009
ISBN 978-3-86819-007-6
ISSN 1869-2869

High-quality questionnaire translations are crucial for data comparability in cross-national survey research. Special quality assurance methods are used to ensure translation quality. Based on a case study from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), this book analyses the team approach: Two independent translations were discussed in a team involving translators and survey experts. Recordings and transcription of the team discussion were available for translation process research. This research focused on problems and problem-solving strategies, on the assessment of the method and on the team’s understanding of translation quality. The book is addressed to translators and translation scholars as well as survey methodologists in cross-national survey research.

[free download via SSOAR]

Nicht-reaktive Erhebungsverfahren
Christian König, Matthias Stahl und Erich Wiegand
Bonn: GESIS 2009, ISSN 1869-2869, ISBN 978-3-86819-006-9, 10,- EUR

Der vorliegende Tagungsband dokumentiert die Beiträge der wissenschaftlichen Tagung „Nicht-reaktive Erhebungsverfahren”, die am 25. und 26. Juni 2009 gemeinsam vom Statistischen Bundesamt, dem ADM Arbeitskreis Deutscher Markt- und Sozialforschungsinstitute e.V. und der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Sozialwissenschaftlicher Institute e.V. (ASI) in Wiesbaden durchgeführt wurde.

[free download via SSOAR]