Information on the first survey period in 2019 can be found here.

From September 2020 onwards, a representative phone survey of the population regarding the current political topics and media will be conducted at the Institute for Media and Communication Studies of Freie Universität Berlin in cooperation with the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society. This is a follow-up of the survey series consisting of multiple waves that was first conducted in 2019. Participants of the previous year as well as new, randomly selected persons throughout Germany will be surveyed.

Prof. Dr. Martin Emmer, Dr. Pablo Porten-Cheé, Laura Leißner and Nadja Schaetzscientifically guide the survey. The survey will be conducted in the CATI studio for survey research of Freie Universität Berlin in Berlin-Lankwitz under the technical supervision of Christian Strippel.

Information for Participants of the 2nd Survey Period

Should you have browsed our website, as we called you during the last few days, you will find more detailed information on this survey in the following. If you do not want to receive phone calls from us, please either send us an e-mail via umfrage@fu-berlin.de or please call us via 030 700-141044. Please do not forget to mention your phone number in this context. Otherwise, we will not be able to allocate your wish not to be called. Thank you very much!

“What is the issue of the survey?”

It is an objective of the survey to obtain a representative image of the political communication and participation in Germany. In detail, it will be analyzed how citizens inform themselves of political topics, how and where they discuss those topics and under which conditions they become active on a political level. Thereby, a specific focus is put on the role of the internet and social media.

“Why exactly have I been chosen for the call?”

This can have two possible reasons: Either you were surveyed last year and then you agreed upon our return call this year or your phone number has been randomly selected for this survey. For this purpose we operate with randomly generated phone numbers. This randomness is also important, as we would like to give representative statements on the German-speaking population in Germany – and this is only possible, if the persons called and surveyed, have been randomly selected. In order to be interviewed from us, it finally does not matter, if you are politically interested or well versed in politics. All persons are equally important for us. Otherwise, this survey would not be representative. 

“Where did you get my phone number from?”

All phone numbers that we call during the survey have been randomly put together by a computer (Details on this kind of procedure can be found here (in German language).) The numbers neither appear in a phone book nor in other address databases. Thus, we do not know anything about you – neither your name, nor your address, nor anything else. Your anonymity is guaranteed.

“What happens with my data?”

Data security and its protection is important to us. All your details will be treated as strictly confidential and are safely stored. The data are pseudonymized and aggregated, assembled and statistically evaluated. Thus, the results that we will report on in scientific publications and to the further expert audience do not allow for any conclusions about an individual person. Your data will not be forwarded to other persons or institutions for research purposes. Only researchers involved in the project will have access to the data given. Further information on data security regarding the project can be found here (PDF, in German language). 

“Is it possible to read about the results of the study?”

The results are expected to be published by mid-2021. As soon as the data have been evaluated, we will provide more information on the website of the Weizenbaum Institute. All interviewees have the opportunity to leave an e-mail address at the end of the survey. Via your e-mail address we could inform you as soon as the results have been published.