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Session Details

Microdata from Official Statistics (e.g. the national and the EU-Labour Force Survey, Current Population Survey (CPS), national Censuses) are the basis for a wide range of economic and social research in Europe and beyond. Official data are very diverse and can be used in many ways. They exist at the local, regional, national and international level and differ, for example, in regard to design (e.g. cross-sectional and (rotational) panel design) and different main areas of content. Additionally, they are collected in different modes, some are sampled in private households, some use proxy interviewing, and in some official surveys, the participation is obliged by law. In contrast to research surveys, official data differ in that they are not primarily collected for scientific research. Against this background, official data provide a notable basis for methodological questions and substantive issues.

For this session, we welcome contributions on the following research topics (but not limited to):
- Measuring data quality of official data (e.g. mode-, interviewing-effects; effects of different sampling techniques; reliability and validity)
- Cross-country comparability
- Comparisons of official data with other surveys (for methodological and/or substantive research questions)
- Innovative applications with a) panel data, b) data linkage, c) geographically referenced data
- Developments of tools, which improve the handling of official data and/or implement official classifications or concepts of the social science.