Social survey

A social survey is commonly referred to as a quantitative- empirical study of the economic and social situation of a certain group of people. Particularly well-known in Germany is the study on the economic and social situation of students in Germany , which has been carried out regularly since 1951 on behalf of the German Student Union (DSW) . It is designed and implemented by the German Center for University and Science Research (DZHW) in Hanover and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The 21st social survey was carried out in the summer semester of 2016 and the results were published in the early summer of 2017.

A comparable study also exists in Austria with the student social survey. The first was carried out in 1973, further surveys followed at irregular intervals (1999, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2011). The current Austrian social survey was carried out in 2015 by the HER research group at the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) in Vienna on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Science, Research and Economy (BMWFW) and published in spring 2016.

Such a survey is also carried out irregularly in Switzerland. After a ten-year break, the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) again examined the social situation of students in Switzerland in 2005 .

At the European level, the international survey project EUROSTUDENT collects data on the social and economic conditions of students in Europe. The sixth round of EUROSTUDENT started in January 2016 .

Social survey by the German Student Union

The DSW's social survey is a long-term study that is unique in an (inter) national comparison. It was carried out for the first time in 1951 by the Association of German Student Services. From 1982 the social survey was carried out on behalf of the DSW and with the support of the BMBF by the HIS Hochschul-Informations-System GmbH, later by its successor, the HIS Institute for University Research (HIS-HF). Since then, the data has been collected approximately every three years for the summer semester . Since September 2013, the DZHW, which emerged from the HIS-HF, has continued this tradition of systematic permanent monitoring.

At its core, the DSW's social survey is about questions relating to the economic and social situation of students in Germany. In this regard, the DSW's social survey, with a total of over 1.5 million respondents, is the largest, regularly held student survey in Germany. More than 15,000 students from a total of 227 universities took part in the last social survey in summer 2012 .

On the basis of this representative sample , the data from the social survey supplement the official statistics for various heterogeneity and diversity dimensions (e.g. with data on students with children, with a migration background, with health problems or with study-related experience abroad). In addition, the relevant findings form a central basis for the design of state student funding (e.g. BAföG ) and are regularly incorporated into the federal government's educational and social reporting.

In addition, the social survey of the DSW is the German contribution to the international country comparison project Eurostudent - an important instrument for monitoring the study and living situation and the Bologna process in the countries of the European higher education area.

History of the social survey

The first study of the student body in West Germany and Berlin was carried out by the Association of German Student Services in April 1951. The aim of the study was "to direct attention to the question of the extent to which it is even possible to start a course of study and to carry out the course correctly, scientifically and effectively, based on the economic situation of the individual students". In view of the considerable number of expellees , war invalids , late returnees and war orphans among the student body at the time, the student unions saw one of their main tasks as “enabling academic youth to study free of need”.

This objective was specified u. a. by Gerhard Kath, the then managing director of the Studentenwerk Frankfurt am Main. As the initiator, organizer and researcher in one person for the first nine social surveys between 1951 and 1979, his name is still closely linked to the social survey today. During this period, under Kath's direction, the students were asked about their living conditions every two to four years in the summer semester. The only exception in this regard is the 6th social survey. It did not take place until the winter semester of 1967/68, which in all probability resulted from the political unrest at the universities in connection with the 68 student movement .

This was followed by three more social surveys under the direction of Kath, before the HIS Hochschul-Information System GmbH and later the HIS-HF carried out the 10th social survey in 1982 on behalf of the DSW. Since then, the data has been collected approximately every three years for the summer semester (from 1991 including the new federal states ). The DZHW, which emerged from the HIS-HF, has been continuing this task since September 2013.

The series of studies is funded by the BMBF. In the early years 1951 to 1963, the social survey was funded by the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) and later (1967 to 1991) by the Federal Ministry of Education and Science (BMBW).

Sampling - who is interviewed?

The population of the social survey includes all students enrolled in the survey semester at state and state-recognized universities in Germany (with the exception of distance learning universities , the armed forces and administration ). The universities participating in the social survey draw a random sample from their respective student directory according to the specifications of the DZHW and send their students invitations to the survey by e-mail. In this way, every sixth student in a bachelor's , master's or traditional degree program ( diploma , master's degree , state examination ) is asked to participate in the 21st social survey , with educational residents as well as students who are studying abroad at the time of the survey , receive a catalog of questions tailored to your needs .

Survey mode - how is the survey carried out?

Up to the 20th social survey , the series of studies was designed as a postal-written questionnaire : The students were sent a printed questionnaire, which they returned after filling in a postage-paid envelope. The 21st social survey was carried out for the first time as an online survey : Instead of a paper questionnaire, the students now received an email from their university inviting them to participate in the survey. This email contained a link to the online survey. The survey period extended over ten weeks of the 2016 summer semester.

privacy

The anonymity of the students participating in the social survey may be a. this ensures that the sampling and the invitation to the survey are carried out exclusively by the universities. The DZHW employees never find out who is taking part in the survey. For their part, the universities do not receive any information about what individual students have replied. The data are collected, processed, evaluated and published in compliance with the current legal data protection regulations and - moreover - in accordance with the standards of quality assurance for online surveys of the German Market and Social Research Institute. V. (ADM) , the working group of social science institutes e. V. (ASI), the professional association of German market and social researchers e. V. (BVM) and the German Society for Online Research e. V. (DGOF) . A conclusion to individuals is therefore impossible.

Meaning and content

The social survey is particularly important when assessing the social and economic situation of students in Germany and traces their development since the 1950s. The central themes of the study are

Education and experience before studying,
University entrance and course of studies,
social composition of the students,
Financing your studies and living expenses,
Time spent on various study activities,
student employment and the
Housing and living situation of students.

Together, they form the core of the social survey, which regularly provides a wealth of data, findings and information for evaluating current and future developments in higher education. Accordingly, the social survey has a large and diverse group of interested parties and users, e.g. B:

political actors and decision-makers at federal, state, regional and university-related level,
Parties, associations and initiatives from society, politics and business,
Associations and foundations,
university research and social reporting,
Teachers and lecturers at universities,
But also student advisers and representatives
Students, those entitled to study and their political interest groups.

The 21st social survey

The 21st social survey of the DSW by the DZHW is currently the most recent social survey and can be accessed at the link below. As a special feature, the 21st Social Survey includes the special report "Foreign Students in Germany 2016". In the months after the start of the project in October 2014, a. the catalog of questions was also partially redesigned as part of the review for topicality and target group adaptation. Many standard questions were modified in order to better reflect the diversity of the study and life situation of the students and to better meet the increasing need for more differentiated empirical data. Finally, the findings of the social survey contribute to current social and educational policy discourses, e. B. over

Equal opportunities , participation ,
the exhaustion of talent reserves ,
Ways to increase student success rates,
the individualization of the study as well
on the pluralization or opening of professional and (university) educational pathways.

literature

Gerhard Kath: The social image of the student body in West Germany and Berlin . Published by the Verband Deutscher Studentenwerke e. V., Frankfurt a. M. 1952.
Elke Middendorff: Social surveys by the German Student Union 1951–2016. A historical overview of actors, waves and topics . Hanover 2016. ( online version , PDF 750 kB)
Elke Middendorff (among others): The economic and social situation of students in Germany in 2012. 20th social survey by the German Student Union carried out by the German Center for University and Science Research (DZHW) . Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Berlin 2013. ( online version )

Web links

Individual evidence

^ Social Survey - Questions and Answers. In: www.sozialerammlung.de. Retrieved May 10, 2016 .
^ ^A ^b Gerhard Kath: The social image of the student body in West Germany and Berlin , published by the Association of German Student Services, Frankfurt a. M. 1952, p. 3.

[1] Social Survey - Questions and Answers. In: www.sozialerammlung.de. Retrieved May 10, 2016 .

[:0-2] A ^b Gerhard Kath: The social image of the student body in West Germany and Berlin , published by the Association of German Student Services, Frankfurt a. M. 1952, p. 3.