What methodology does the European Social Survey use?

Updated

The European Social Survey (ESS) builds its methodology around one central aim: implementing high-quality standards in cross-national survey research and improving those standards across the field more broadly. The methods used on the ESS are set out in its Survey Specification, and methodology information is accessible through a flow diagram or the site's main menu. The design prioritises comparability across participating countries, which is what makes cross-national comparisons of public attitudes, beliefs and behaviour possible.

Where the methodology is documented

The ESS website treats methodology as a first-class section rather than a footnote. According to the site, the methods are outlined in the Survey Specification, and further detail can be reached via a methodology flow diagram or the main menu. If you need to cite or replicate ESS procedures, the Survey Specification is the reference document to start from.

Comparability as the organising principle

Because the ESS measures public attitudes across many countries, the methodology has to solve a specific problem: making the same question mean the same thing in different languages and national contexts. The stated aim of improving standards in cross-national surveys reflects this. When you use ESS data, the comparability work is largely done upstream — but it is worth reading the methodology material before comparing countries, since it tells you what was held constant and how.

What the site currently points to

The homepage surfaces several methodology-adjacent resources that are useful for understanding how the survey is produced:

Resource What it covers
Survey Specification The methods used on the ESS
Methodology flow diagram / main menu Structured access to methodology information
Data Portal All ESS data and documentation, now the only access route
Topline Findings and report series Published results, including the human values scale and wellbeing

Note that all ESS data and documentation is now accessible only through the ESS Data Portal — the site states this access route has changed. If you are following older instructions that point elsewhere, use the Data Portal instead.

Rounds, panels and related projects

Methodology questions often come up alongside questions about what data exists. The site reports that Round 11 (2023/24) data and post-stratification weights are available for all 31 participating countries, and that initial Round 12 (2025/26) data is scheduled for first release in January 2027. Beyond the core survey, the ESS also publishes:

  • CRONOS-3 online panel data — collected via a web-first, cross-national, probability-based panel as part of the Infra4NextGen project.
  • ICOS Cities data — a three-wave online panel fielded in Munich and Paris during 2023 and 2024 as part of the ICOS Cities PAUL research project.

These use different data collection modes from the core face-to-face survey, so check the documentation for each before pooling them with main-round data.

Practical next step

If your task is to assess whether ESS data suits a comparison you want to make, read the Survey Specification first, then confirm the round and country coverage in the Data Portal. The methodology material tells you how comparability was pursued; the Data Portal tells you what is actually available to download.