European Social Survey (ESS ERIC)
The European Social Survey (ESS ERIC) is a researcher-led, cross-national survey that has been conducted every other year in a number of European countries since 2002, including Norway.
About the research project
The European Social Survey (ESS) (external link)measures attitudes, perceptions, and behavioral patterns in over 30 European countries. This provides access to comparative data on social conditions, values, and political attitudes. The survey aims to map stability and changes in social structures across Europe. ESS is conducted every two years and has included a total of 40 participating countries in its data collection.
All data are available for non-commercial use via the ESS Data Portal and have so far resulted in over 6,585 academic publications. With more than 230,000 registered users, of whom over 65% are students (figures from 2023), ESS is an important resource for academics, the media, businesses, and governments. Sikt (external link)serves as the data archive for ESS, contributing to the curation, dissemination, and archiving of the data.
ESS was granted the status of European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) in 2013.
- Received an invitation from the ESS? Click here to participate!
- Dissemination of ESS data and ESS Notes (in Norwegian)
- Learn to use ESS data through short introductory videos (in Norwegian)
- Topics, modules, and methodology in the ESS
- Organisation of the ESS in Norway and Europe
- Read more about the ESS on the official ESS website
The main objectives of the ESS ERIC are to:
- Map stability and changes in social structures, living conditions, and attitudes in Europe, and understand how Europe’s social, political, and moral systems are evolving.
- Implement and promote high standards that will elevate comparative social research to a higher scientific level, for example regarding questionnaire design and testing, sampling techniques, data collection, reduction of error sources, and strengthening the reliability of questions.
- Introduce well-considered indicators of national development based on citizens’ own experiences and assessments of important societal conditions.
- Contribute to and support the education of European social researchers in comparative quantitative measurement and analysis.
- Increase the visibility and dissemination of data on social change among researchers, policymakers, and other interested parties.
Featured
Publications
ESS Notes
We regularly publish short ESS Notes that communicate findings from the ESS and provide further insight into topics that have been covered in the media.
- What Are the Consequences of the Russian Invasion on Ukrainian Society? Individual-level Evidence from the European Social Survey (ESS) (Verdoes 2026)
- Why has the Ap persisted in Norway while the Dutch PvdA has been marginalized (Verdoes 2025)
- The Norwegian Progress Party in the European Context: Not Only Young Men Drive the Electoral Success of Right-Wing Populist Parties (Verdoes 2025)
People
Project manager
Sveinung Arnesen National coordinator
The Norwegian ESS- coordinator team
Erla Katrine Løvseth Research coordinator
Alexander Verdoes Researcher
Gjøri Marie Haugen Research Assistant
Contact
Questions about ESS norway can be sendt to Sveinung Arnesen who is Norways national coordinator.
- Phone number
- +47 55582558
- Emails
- sveinung.arnesen@uib.no
