Initiated and seed-funded by the European Science Foundation (and now also by the European Commission and scientific bodies in the over 30 participating countries), the European Social Survey (ESS) provides bi-annual charts, data and surveys related to Europe’s changing institutions and behaviour patterns of its diverse populations. Managed by a professional team, the website provides several data files for each survey and a cumulative data file for the first five rounds of the ESS (last released on 28 March 2012), both as pdf and zipped files. In addition, the download areas hosts more than 220 pdf files, covering history & background, data archive documentation, training courses, and more. The top downloads are from the ESS Brochure (22,340) and Round 4 Questionnaire (15,880). To access the actual data files, however, a free registration is required. Other sections include ESS EduNet, a training resource mainly developed for use in higher education, includes small extracts from the complete ESS dataset on specific topics (Well-being, Country Level Data, Family, Gender and Work, etc.), and a bibliography with external publications based on ESS activities. With a simple and effective outline, the website has a keyword search in each page and more advanced features, as a news bullettin.
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