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Survey design
CDSP has developed expertise in the production of surveys through the creation of two large-scale instruments, ELIPSS at national level and ESS at European level. It is careful to apply the most rigorous scientific standards in the production of these surveys.
Questionnaire design
CDSP’s “Quantitative data” team designs the questionnaires that it produces with the ELIPSS panel or advises the research team on formulating the questions in their surveys. The questions must match the concept being measured and be equally understandable to all respondents. In addition, the appropriate design must be adopted for each question (question type, handling of nonresponse, filters, etc.).
In the European Social survey (ESS), translation of the questions from English to French is a crucial step. It follows a rigorous method in order to maintain the equivalence between questions in the participating countries.
Once the design phase is finished, tests are carried out. These tests are used to check that the questions are understood as intended, that they are correctly formulated and consistent and, where applicable, that the questionnaire programme meets the specifications set in the design phase. These tests generally involve asking a small sample of people to complete the questionnaire in advance of the full collection process. The questionnaire is then adjusted to take account of the findings from these tests. Qualitative methods can be employed in these tests, notably for new questions.
Data Collection
CDSP has expertise in collecting data both by both face-to-face and online methods. In face-to-face collection, the questionnaire is administered by an interviewer at the respondent’s home (ESS) and online, and respondents answer on their own (on a tablet in the case of ELIPSS).
For ESS, face-to-face collection is conducted by a polling agency selected by competitive tender, whereas with ELIPSS the whole collection procedure is carried out by CDSP’s “Quantitative data” team. In order to achieve a satisfactory response rate, specific procedures have to be set for contacting respondents and prompting people who do not respond. In the case of ESS, CDSP ensures that the polling agency applies the protocols set at European level, in particular through the face-to-face training of interviewers. The target response rate for ESS in France is 50%. In the case of ELIPSS, the contact protocol is partially automated (with text messages and emails) but also relies extensively on personal reminders by telephone and post. These different procedures produce response rates that are generally above 80% for the monthly surveys.
