EVS 1981 (ZA4438)

The first EVS wave was carried out 1981 with the aim of explore the basic human values underlying European social and political institutions. The surveys were conducted in the then EU Member States, as well as the USA and Canada. Nationally representative samples were selected. The target number of interviews in each country was set at 1000, with an additional booster quota sample of 200 young adults aged 18-24. Personal interviews with standardized questionnaires were conducted between 1981 and 1984. The national datasets were combined into an international dataset including a total of 16 countries. There is also an overview of participating countries in the several EVS waves provided.

Latest news on this wave

Current dataset version: Release v3.0.0 as of November 2011, doi:10.4232/1.10791.
For further information on data download, see Data Access.

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Documentation related to the Integrated Dataset

Study description: Information on origin and content of data, version history and errata, and direct access to the data.

Variable Report: Documentation of the Integrated Dataset with question texts of the English Master Questionnaire and frequency counts by country.

Master Questionnaire : EVS basic questionnaire.

Measuring and Comparing Values in 16 Countries of the Western World: Documentation of the European Values Study 1981-1990 in Europe and North America, Loek Halman and Astrid Vloet, WORC report 94.11.001, November 1994. (PDF file can be downloaded here).

The Common EVS/WVS Dictionary – EVS Trend provides an overview of all variables used in the five EVS waves and their correspondence in terms of comparability. Further, the EVS variable catalogue in the GESIS Search contains the variable documentation and enables the search for variables and questions as well as their comparison.

Documentation related to the national datasets

Field questionnaires (FQ) in all languages fielded in the respective country, including Show Cards.
EVS 1981-2008 Method Overview: Summarized information for all participating countries on origin and content of data.

Country	Field work period	Sample size	Questionnaire
Belgium	01-03-1981 - 31-05-1981	1145	FQ
Canada	1982	1254	FQ
Denmark	01-03-1981 - 31-05-1981	1182	FQ
France	01-03-1981 - 31-05-1981	1200	FQ
Germany West	01-03-1981 - 31-05-1981	1305	FQ
Great Britain	01-03-1981 - 31-05-1981	1167	FQ
Iceland	1984	927	FQ
Ireland	01-03-1981 - 31-05-1981	1217	FQ
Italy	01-03-1981 - 31-05-1981	1348	FQ
Malta	11-1983 - 02-1984	467	FQ
Netherlands	01-03-1981 - 31-05-1981	1221	FQ
Northern Ireland	01-03-1981 - 31-05-1981	312	FQ
Norway	11-1982 - 12-1982	1051
Spain	01-03-1981 - 31-05-1981	2303	FQ
Sweden	1982	954	FQ
USA	01-03-1982 - 31-03-1982	2325	FQ