ESRA 2025 Preliminary Program

Monday 14 July    Tuesday 15 July    Wednesday 16 July    Thursday 17 July    Friday 18 July   

All time references are in CEST

The International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) – Methodological innovations and substantive research in comparative perspective 2
Session Organisers	Professor Stephanie Steinmetz (University of Lausaane) Dr René Bautista ( NORC at the University of Chicago) Dr Ricardo Gonzalez (Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez) Professor Ioannis Andreadis (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) Professor Markus Hadler (University of Graz) Professor Eglė Butkevičienė (Kaunas University of Technology)
Time	Tuesday 15 July, 15:30 - 17:00
Room	Ruppert paars - 0.44

In an increasingly interconnected world, understanding public attitudes and behaviours around the world is crucial. While many cross-national surveys are limited to specific topics or conducted sporadically, the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) stands out as a continuous, large-scale initiative that has provided high-quality cross-national data and long-term time series since 1985. The ISSP's unique organisational structure, based on democratic cooperation among equal partners, promotes adaptability and responsiveness to new challenges. As a result, the ISSP covers a wide range of topics and provides valuable insights into social science research.
A key strength of the ISSP is its rigorous methodological approach and a dedicated committee of experts that ensures that national sample designs meet the program's strict quality standards before they are approved, thus helping to maintain data comparability across countries. In addition, ISSP data, questionnaires, and related documentation - such as data collection and questionnaire development materials - are freely available to researchers. This makes the ISSP an invaluable resource for those seeking high-quality global survey data that meet rigorous methodological standards.
This session aims to facilitate the exchange of knowledge about the ISSP among data providers and researchers who already use or plan to use ISSP data in their work. The focus will be on methodological challenges related to the quality of cross-national survey data, although papers addressing substantive issues related to one or more ISSP modules are also welcome.

Keywords: ISSP, cross-cultural research, comparability, data quality, measurement, survey mode, questionnaire development, cognitive testing

Papers

The Role of Survey Mode in Item Non-Response: Evidence from the ISSP Health Module (2011–2021)

Dr Anja Eder (University of Graz) - Presenting Author
Mr Matthias Penker (University of Graz)
Professor Markus Hadler (University of Graz)

Declining response rates, rising costs, a shortage of interviewers, and other challenges have led many national and international surveys to transition from interviewer-administered modes to self-administered modes, particularly Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI). This growing prevalence of self-administered surveys in international studies notwithstanding, challenges such as higher rates of item non-response compared to interviewer-administered methods persist. Nonetheless, previous research has demonstrated that lower rates of nonresponse are observed in the absence of interviewers, particularly in cases of sensitive inquiries.

Accompanying research on item non-response has primarily focused on national or small-scale cross-country data, leaving cross-national heterogeneity in item non-response rates and survey mode differences insufficiently explored—especially from a longitudinal perspective. We address these gaps by analyzing data from 22 countries participating in waves one (2011) and two (2021) of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) Health Module. In the initial wave of the survey, only four of the 22 countries administered a web-based survey. However, in the subsequent wave, this figure rose to ten countries conducting CAWI (several of them combined with mail mode). Using descriptive analyses and multilevel modeling, we evaluate item non-response rates over time, across countries, and between survey modes.

Seeking Health Online Across Borders: Cross-Cultural Comparability in the ISSP

Dr Petra Raudenská (The Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Sociology, Prague) - Presenting Author

Background: Searching for health information online has become an integral aspect of personal health management and a proactive approach to well-being. Despite its popularity as a research topic in many disciplines, there remains a significant gap in examining the measurement tools used to study health information seeking and their comparability across different cultural and social contexts.
Objective: The aim of this study was to provide an overview of how online health information seeking is currently measured, to specify the instrument for measuring online health information seeking developed in the most recent health module of the ISSP, and to assess its cross-national measurement invariance across 19 countries.
Methods: This study used data from the health module of the ISSP, conducted in 2021-2023 in 19 countries (N = 27,276) in different regions. This study examines the cross-country measurement invariance of two constructs reflecting general health-related internet use and the perceived usefulness of searching for health information online. The latest Bayesian approximation approach was used.
Results: The general factor of health-related Internet use was found to be approximately metric and scalar non-invariant, with deviations in almost all countries. Conversely, the second factor reflecting the perceived usefulness of searching for health information online was observed to be approximately invariant across participating countries. The results highlight problems with frequently used single-item questions about the frequency of searching for health information online, which should not be used for cross-country comparisons in the International Social Survey Program. The study concludes by warning against double-barreled questions, which are problematic on both theoretical and methodological levels. The second factor, reflecting the perceived usefulness of searching for health information online, showed much better results, suggesting that its means and regression coefficients can be compared internationally.

Innovative methods for data collection and data quality in ISSP and DATIS

Professor Ioannis Andreadis (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) - Presenting Author

This paper explores how to improve the quality of survey data, focusing on new methods developed by the DATIS research project for collecting data for the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP). Regarding data collection, the project involved using text messages (SMS) as the primary mode of contact, which proved effective due to the near-universal access to mobile phones in Greece. This push-to-web method allowed for efficient data collection, reducing costs compared to traditional postal mail methods. To ensure data quality, the paper details several indicators used to measure and enhance response quality, such as assessing the speed of responses and checking for satisficing behavior (e.g., straight-lining), that are implemented in the R package, SurveyDataQuality. Overall, the paper highlights the importance of a comprehensive approach to data quality in surveys, combining innovative data collection methods with rigorous quality checks to ensure reliable results.

Response Styles in Cross-National Surveys: An Examination Using the ISSP 2018 Data

Dr Pei-shan Liao (Academia Sinica) - Presenting Author

Cross-national survey data offer valuable opportunities for comparative studies in the social and behavioral sciences. However, it is crucial to determine whether differences in sample estimates are influenced by response bias. Response bias refers to a systematic tendency to answer questionnaire items based on factors unrelated to the item content. For example, response style manifests when individuals consistently exhibit a bias across different times and situations. Response styles are commonly observed in attitudinal scales, which can lead to measurement errors and affect the accuracy of estimates. Previous research has identified various types of response styles using cross-national or cross-cultural surveys. However, many of these studies relied on non-probability samples, which limits the validity of their findings.

This study investigates response styles in cross-national surveys, with a particular focus on acquiescence response style (ARS) in East Asian countries and extreme response style (ERS) in European countries. Using data from the ISSP 2018 Religion module, the study compares ARS and ERS across these regions. Standardized questionnaires in cross-national survey projects, such as the ISSP, play a crucial role in minimizing the influence of survey design on response styles. The findings aim to improve researchers' understanding of how response styles affect the outcomes of comparative studies using cross-national survey data.