Welcome to the website of the "German General Social Survey" (ALLBUS)

Social Change & Development Processes in Germany

In the study series of the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS), random samples of the German population have been surveyed on attitudes and behavior every two years since 1980 using a partly constant, partly variable survey program. The ALLBUS data can thus be used to track developments and changes in German society over four decades.

What makes the ALLBUS unique?
The ALLBUS provides a methodologically sophisticated, rich database that reflects the attitudes and behavior of the German population on the most important social science topics - both as a snapshot of the cross-sections and over long periods of time through the regular repetition of key topics.

With a duration of more than 40 years, a thematically wide-ranging program of questions and a methodologically sophisticated implementation, the ALLBUS represents a unique treasure trove of data for cross-sectional and time series analyses as well as for survey methodological analyses.

Who are the ALLBUS data suitable for?
The ALLBUS data is suitable for numerous analytical purposes in research and teaching:

The individual cross-sectional data sets, each of which has its own content focus, are used to examine the attitudes and behaviors of the German population.

The replication of question complexes from the ALLBUS and other studies enables the analysis of development processes and social change. For the analysis of trends, a cumulative data set is available that contains all characteristics that were surveyed at least twice in the ALLBUS.

Methodological questions can be examined partly with the ALLBUS surveys themselves (e.g. tests for sequence effects or effects of different question formulations through the use of split versions), partly on the basis of accompanying methodological studies for which separate data sets are available in the GESIS data archive (e.g. on interviewer effects, on test-retest reliability, on non-response problems).

Temporal and geographical scope
Since 1980, the German population (from 1991 including people without German citizenship) has been surveyed every two years. The ALLBUS program includes surveys from 22 different points in time with questions on 15 different topics.

Directly to ALLBUS data

Access to the data is free of charge. After registration, the data is available for research and teaching.

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To the ALLBUS Bibliography

Publications that use ALLBUS data can be found in the ALLBUS bibliography. This can be viewed in the GESIS search or is available as a PDF or BibTeX file.

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Overview

Here you will find thematically structured tables on the variables collected in the ALLBUS program and their survey dates as well as an overview of the available data products.

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Research with ALLBUS

Are you interested in research with ALLBUS data? Here you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions and gain insights into research with ALLBUS data.

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Contact

Do you have questions or want to stay informed? Here you can find our contact address, subscribe to our mailing list and follow discussions in the forum.

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