Ask questions in the GIP

The GIP is a social science research infrastructure at the University of Mannheim that allows researchers from the fields of political science, sociology, economics, psychology and related research areas to collect survey data. In particular, this involves surveying the individual attitudes and preferences of the population in Germany.

The topics covered by the GIP are diverse and include attitudes towards reform policy, the welfare state, German and EU policy, satisfaction and well-being, migration, social inequality, education and employment.

The GIP also regards itself as a methodological research project that aims to develop new methods and improve existing methods in the research field of data science. To this end, we regularly carry out operational experiments in the GIP and research methodological correlations with existing data.

The GIP only implements research projects with exclusively scientific interests. We do not conduct market research or other research that serves commercial purposes.

To collect data with the GIP, you must cover the costs of the data collection. The costs depend on the length of the questionnaire and the number of participating respondents. For researchers of the University of Mannheim, special terms and conditions apply. A cost calculation for your planned project is available on request. Please contact gip@uni-mannheim.de with a detailed description of your planned project.

The maximum survey duration per wave is 25 minutes. Around 5 minutes of this is reserved for GIP's own longitudinal modules. The remaining survey time can be used for submitted topic modules. A single module can be between 3 and 20 minutes long (including 1 minute for mandatory GIP evaluation questions).

We calculate approximately three “simple” survey items per minute; the length of complex tasks or longer texts is decided on a case-by-case basis.

The GIP can be used to collect both cross-sectional and longitudinal data. Even complex experimental designs, such as the experimental allocation of different questions or treatments, randomized question sequences and response options, vignette studies, etc. are possible due to the online survey mode.

As of May 2024, over 3,500 people are actively participating in the bi-monthly surveys. It is generally possible to survey only a subsample or subpopulation. We would be happy to discuss the feasibility of your project with you.

The GIP team will support you throughout the entire process – from questionnaire development to the citable data set.

The GIP team provides support in the development of the questionnaires and advises in particular on feasibility, wording, scientific standards, filter guidance etc.

The finished questionnaire is handed over to a service provider for programming. Once the programming is complete, the online questionnaire is made available for testing by the researchers who asked the questions. At the same time, the GIP team also carries out a detailed test.

During the field period, the GIP team regularly checks that the survey is running smoothly and can respond promptly to any technical problems or feedback from participants.

The data collected is checked by the GIP team (completeness, coding, data protection concerns, etc.), processed. It will be made available in anonymized form to the researchers conducting the survey approximately one month after the end of the field period, including a documentation of the questionnaire. Each GIP dataset is also provided with the latest available status of a standard repertoire of socio-demographic variables (age, gender, household size, federal state, school and professional qualifications, employment status, etc.).

For sensitive information that may not be suitable for publication in Scientific Use Files, the University of Mannheim also offers on-site data access in the University Library's Data Cube.

In addition, you will receive an evaluation report for your questionnaire.

Generally, the first contact with a planned project should take place at least 3 to 4 months before the planned survey start date. Questionnaires usually go into programming 2 months before the start of the fieldwork, allowing enough time for tests and corrections. Researchers will receive the first data approximately one month after the end of the field period and the scientific use files will be published in the GESIS data archive after 6 to 12 months.

However, the GIP also offers researchers the opportunity to quickly react to events in current politics, the economy and society and to collect research data in the context of a so-called “emergency module”.

The data collected is checked by the GIP team (completeness, coding, data protection concerns, etc.), processed. It will be made available in anonymized form to the researchers conducting the survey approximately one month after the end of the field period, including a documentation of the questionnaire. After signing a data usage agreement, the researchers receive access to the data.

In addition, all GIP survey waves are usually made available 6–12 months after the field period as scientific use files including documentation via the data archive at the GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences in a retrievable and citable form for secondary scientific use. Publication requirements of scientific journals for replication datasets are thus usually already fulfilled. For researchers asking questions, the GESIS data archive does not charge any fees.

All GIP waves available in the GESIS data archive also have freely accessible documentation on paneldata.org.

For sensitive information that may not be suitable for publication in Scientific Use Files, the University of Mannheim also offers on-site use at the researcher's workstation in the University Library's Data Cube.

A wealth of background information is available from all participants, such as the annually reviewed or refreshed information on socio-demographics (age, gender, federal state, school and professional qualifications, employment status), household composition, party preferences/voting intention, etc. as well as linkable survey data from – depending on the sample and after publication – up to 70 survey waves over approx. 5 to 11 years of regular surveys.

In addition to the survey data collected, researchers will receive access to all survey data from the GIP already published there for use in the planned project as part of a separate data usage agreement with the GESIS data archive.

There is also the possibility of on-site data access at the researchers' workstations in the Library area. There you can work with particularly sensitive and sensitive data such as small-scale information, the exact year of birth, open information, ECSP-collected paradata and other data coarsened upon publication in the Scientific Use Files.

The latest available version of a standard set of socio-demographic variables (age, gender, household size, federal state, educational and professional qualifications, employment status, etc.) is added to each GIP dataset.

Before the data is published as scientific use files, the data is checked for data protection-relevant characteristics. In addition, identifying characteristics are aggregated, pseudonymized or completely removed from the datasets.

Some detailed information and paradata cannot be published in the GESIS data archive for data protection reasons. The GIP therefore enables on-site data access, where the data can be used in a specially protected environment.

The GIP is the longest-running online panel in Germany based on a random sample of the general population.

For research purposes, the GIP is ideally suited to provide the most accurate possible representation of the German population. The panel participants were recruited offline using rigorous statistical procedures. This distinguishes the GIP from other online panels, where panel members can often register themselves, for example.

The GIP offers scientists the opportunity to generate high-quality scientific data for their research. The online panel methodology in combination with the random sample of the general population enables scientists to conduct sophisticated research in both cross-sectional and longitudinal research as well as randomized experiments. In addition, the GIP offers scientists the opportunity to react to events in current politics, the economy and society at short notice and to collect data to research them.

Due to the long duration, a wide range of background information is also available from all participants, such as the annually reviewed or refreshed information on socio-demographics (age, gender, federal state, school and professional qualifications, employment status), household composition, party preferences/voting intention etc. as well as linkable survey data from – depending on the sample and after its publication – up to 70 survey waves over approx. 5 to 11 years of regular surveys.

The GIP complies with Open Science standards. All GIP survey waves are made available as scientific use files including documentation via the data archive at the GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences in a findable and citable form for secondary scientific use. Publication requirements of scientific journals for replication datasets are therefore usually already met and researchers do not need to arrange publication in a repository themselves.

The GIP offers researchers a research infrastructure with established processes that has been in place since 2012 and can provide the desired high-quality data for your research project efficiently and at short notice. Due to the fact that the GIP is located within the university, survey projects by researchers at the University of Mannheim do not have to go through an administrative procedure or similar if they are realized with the GIP.