Methodology of the Mannheim Corona Study

On this page you will find the latest methodological analyses of the Mannheim Corona Study (MCS).

A methodological analysis of the MCS was published in the Survey Research Methods special issue on survey research methods during the COVID-19 crisis. The article and appendix tables can be found below.

Key methodological findings on the Mannheim Corona Study are regularly updated and can be found in the tables below.

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
1	62.8%	59.4%	64.5%	60.4%	56.8%	57.8%	59.5%	60.2%
2	68.7%	61.0%	67.6%	63.5%	60.8%	63.0%	66.1%	64.4%
3	66.2%	61.1%	66.1%	62.5%	60.2%	63.1%	65.9%	63.6%
4	67.0%	61.6%	66.0%	63.4%	59.3%	59.3%	63.1%	62.8%
5	66.7%	61.5%	64.3%	62.9%	61.2%	62.5%	65.9%	63.6%
6	66.2%	60.4%	65.5%	63.9%	57.6%	62.8%	65.3%	63.1%
7	64.8%	57.5%	61.8%	60.1%	58.8%	61.3%	64.1%	61.2%
8	65.0%	58.4%	64.4%	61.8%	57.8%	60.3%	66.4%	62.0%
9	64.2%	57.6%	60.0%	59.6%	60.5%	60.8%	63.6%	60.9%
10	65.7%	56.5%	62.8%	61.4%	60.2%	62.0%	62.9%	61.6%
11	60.2%	56.8%	63.0%	61.3%	56.1%	59.5%	60.1%	59.6%
12	61.3%	55.1%	62.4%	58.0%	59.4%	59.1%	62.0%	59.6%
13	61.3%	57.1%	63.5%	59.3%	56.8%	58.6%	64.6%	60.2%
14	61.7%	52.8%	60.6%	58.4%	58.4%	57.5%	60.4%	58.5%
15	62.2%	53.8%	58.9%	57.6%	54.4%	58.9%	62.0%	58.3%
16	61.1%	53.0%	59.8%	57.3%	54.7%	56.1%	61.3%	57.6%
Total	64.1%	57.7%	63.2%	60.7%	58.3%	60.1%	63.3%	61.1%

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
1	56.2%	52.1%	56.0%	52.6%	45.9%	45.9%	51.3%	50.9%
2	62.8%	54.8%	60.9%	57.5%	53.7%	50.3%	58.0%	56.8%
3	59.2%	55.5%	58.4%	55.4%	53.1%	51.6%	57.1%	55.8%
4	57.3%	55.4%	58.8%	55.5%	51.8%	47.9%	52.3%	54.1%
5	61.0%	53.6%	57.3%	54.3%	53.7%	50.0%	58.4%	55.4%
6	57.8%	53.5%	58.4%	57.6%	50.4%	51.5%	56.6%	55.1%
7	59.2%	49.8%	53.0%	51.5%	48.6%	50.4%	56.1%	52.6%
8	58.1%	52.0%	57.1%	56.3%	49.2%	47.5%	56.3%	53.8%
9	55.8%	51.6%	52.7%	48.1%	51.1%	48.9%	53.1%	51.6%
10	59.7%	49.9%	54.9%	54.5%	51.1%	49.9%	41.7%	51.7%
11	51.1%	48.0%	56.4%	55.5%	49.2%	46.6%	48.8%	50.8%
12	52.2%	48.4%	54.9%	50.6%	49.4%	44.6%	48.2%	49.8%
13	54.6%	50.4%	54.9%	50.5%	48.1%	46.3%	56.7%	51.6%
14	55.4%	46.4%	53.1%	51.2%	48.8%	43.9%	52.6%	50.2%
15	56.2%	48.2%	50.7%	50.2%	47.8%	45.5%	52.9%	50.2%
16	52.7%	44.6%	53.1%	50.2%	45.6%	42.3%	51.4%	48.6%
Total	56.8%	50.9%	55.7%	53.2%	49.8%	47.7%	53.2%	52.5%

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
1	89.4%	87.8%	86.8%	87.2%	80.8%	79.4%	86.1%	85.4%
2	91.4%	89.8%	90.0%	90.6%	88.3%	79.8%	87.7%	88.2%
3	89.4%	90.8%	88.3%	88.6%	88.1%	81.8%	86.7%	87.7%
4	85.6%	89.9%	89.0%	87.6%	87.3%	80.8%	82.8%	86.1%
5	91.4%	87.2%	89.1%	86.3%	87.7%	80.0%	88.6%	87.2%
6	87.3%	88.6%	89.1%	87.4%	87.6%	82.1%	86.8%	87.0%
7	91.3%	86.5%	85.8%	85.7%	82.6%	82.2%	87.5%	86.0%
8	89.4%	89.1%	88.7%	91.1%	85.1%	78.8%	84.7%	86.7%
9	86.9%	89.6%	87.9%	80.7%	84.5%	80.5%	83.5%	84.8%
10	90.9%	88.3%	87.5%	88.8%	84.8%	80.4%	66.4%	83.8%
11	84.8%	84.6%	89.5%	90.6%	87.7%	78.4%	81.1%	85.3%
12	85.1%	87.8%	88.0%	87.3%	83.2%	75.5%	77.8%	83.5%
13	89.0%	88.2%	86.4%	85.2%	84.6%	78.9%	87.8%	85.8%
14	89.9%	87.9%	87.6%	87.8%	83.5%	76.3%	87.2%	85.8%
15	90.3%	89.8%	86.2%	87.2%	87.8%	77.3%	85.3%	86.2%
16	86.3%	84.2%	88.9%	87.8%	83.3%	75.3%	83.9%	84.3%
Total	88.7%	88.1%	88.1%	87.7%	85.4%	79.2%	84.0%	85.9%

	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total	MZ
Gender
Male	49.6%	49.4%	49.8%	48.9%	51.1%	50.6%	50.6%	50.0%	50.4%
Female	50.4%	50.6%	50.2%	51.1%	48.9%	49.4	49.4%	50.0%	49.6%
Age
16–29	17.3%	16.9%	16.9%	20.0%	16.2%	18.5%	15.2%	17.3%	20.9%
30–39	17.3%	18.7%	17.4%	15.7%	19.1%	17.0%	17.9%	17.6%	16.9%
40–49	13.4%	12.7%	14.7%	14.9%	14.7%	16.2%	15.8%	14.6%	17.4%
50–59	25.0%	25.5%	24.6%	23.6%	25.3%	26.8%	23.3%	24.9%	21.5%
60–75	27.1%	26.2%	26.3%	25.8%	24.7%	21.5%	27.7%	25.6%	23.3%
Education
Low	23.9%	26.6%	26.6%	25.1%	27.2%	26.5%	28.1%	26.3%	31.0%
Medium	35.3%	32.0%	31.4%	30.4%	31.3%	32.8%	32.4%	32.2%	34.0%
High	40.8%	41.4%	42.0%	44.6%	41.5%	40.7%	39.5%	41.5%	35.1%
Household size
1	21.4%	19.7%	22.3%	22.3%	20.8%	20.0%	20.0%	20.9%	21.9%
2	36.4%	37.5%	37.5%	37.1%	35.3%	37.9%	39.3%	37.3%	36.1%
3	18.7%	21.9%	19.3%	18.7%	19.7%	18.6%	21.2%	19.7%	18.8%
4 or more	23.5%	20.9%	21.0%	22.0%	24.2%	23.6%	19.6%	22.1%	23.2%
Citizenship
German	95.0%	97.6%	96.9%	97.1%	97.7%	95.8%	98.6%	97.0%	87.2%
Non-German	5.0%	2.4%	3.1%	2.9%	2.3%	4.2%	1.4%	3.0%	12.8%
Marital status
Single	34.6%	34.5%	35.7%	35.3%	36.6%	36.6%	35.2%	35.5%	35.9%
Married	52.5%	52.4%	50.9%	52.2%	53.0%	52.7%	53.0%	52.4%	52.3%
Other	12.9%	13.1%	13.4%	12.4%	10.4%	10.7%	11.8%	12.1%	11.8%
Region
West	79.5%	80.3%	80.7%	80.3%	80.6%	81.6%	81.4%	80.6%	80.5%
East	20.5%	19.7%	19.3%	19.7%	19.4%	18.4%	18.6%	19.4%	19.5%

	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10	Week 11	Week 12	Week 13	Week 14	Week 15	Week 16	Total	MZ
Gender
Male	50.3%	49.6%	50.0%	49.7%	50.6%	49.4%	50.0%	50.0%	50.1%	49.9%	50.1%	50.1%	49.9%	50.5%	50.1%	49.6%	50.0%	50.4%
Female	49.7%	50.4%	50.0%	50.3%	49.4%	50.6%	50.0%	50.0%	49.9%	50.1%	49.9%	49.9%	50.1%	49.5%	49.9%	50.4%	50.0%	49.6%
Age
16–29	17.4%	17.0%	17.5%	16.8%	17.8%	17.0%	17.3%	17.5%	17.5%	17.3%	17.2%	17.8%	17.3%	17.1%	17.5%	17.1%	17.3%	20.9%
30–39	17.5%	17.8%	17.6%	17.7%	17.5%	17.4%	17.5%	18.0%	17.8%	17.7%	17.1%	17.4%	17.3%	17.9%	17.4%	17.5%	17.6%	16.9%
40–49	14.3%	14.9%	14.8%	14.7%	14.6%	14.8%	15.1%	14.3%	14.5%	14.6%	14.6%	14.4%	14.9%	14.6%	14.1%	14.5%	14.6%	17.4%
50–59	25.3%	24.7%	24.5%	24.8%	24.5%	24.5%	24.5%	24.7%	25.2%	25.0%	25.3%	24.7%	24.6%	24.8%	25.1%	25.1%	24.8%	21.5%
60–75	25.5%	25.6%	25.6%	25.9%	25.6%	26.4%	25.6%	25.5%	25.7%	25.4%	25.7%	25.7%	26.0%	25.6%	25.9%	25.8%	25.7%	23.3%
Education
Low	25.8%	26.5%	26.0%	26.4%	26.1%	26.0%	26.6%	26.1%	26.0%	26.6%	26.7%	26.2%	26.2%	26.5%	26.4%	26.0%	26.2%	31.0%
Medium	32.8%	31.8%	32.4%	32.4%	32.0%	32.7%	31.9%	32.3%	33.1%	31.7%	32.6%	32.2%	32.2%	32.2%	32.0%	32.6%	32.3%	34.0%
High	41.4%	41.7%	41.6%	41.2%	41.9%	41.4%	41.5%	41.6%	40.9%	41.7%	40.7%	41.6%	41.6%	41.4%	41.7%	41.5%	41.5%	35.1%
Household size
1	20.9%	21.2%	21.1%	21.0%	20.4%	21.1%	20.7%	20.7%	20.8%	20.5%	21.0%	21.1%	21.0%	21.3%	20.8%	21.2%	20.9%	21.9%
2	37.4%	37.1%	37.0%	37.5%	37.4%	37.6%	37.0%	37.2%	37.6%	37.3%	37.6%	37.1%	37.0%	36.9%	37.6%	37.2%	37.3%	36.1%
3	19.3%	19.4%	19.6%	19.3%	19.8%	19.2%	19.8%	20.1%	19.8%	20.1%	19.7%	19.7%	20.2%	19.9%	20.1%	19.9%	19.7%	18.8%
4 or more	22.4%	22.2%	22.4%	22.2%	22.4%	22.1%	22.5%	21.9%	21.8%	22.1%	21.7%	22.1%	21.8%	21.9%	21.4%	21.7%	22.0%	23.2%
Citizenship
German	96.9%	96.9%	96.6%	97.0%	97.1%	96.8%	97.1%	96.9%	96.8%	97.0%	97.0%	97.1%	97.0%	97.2%	96.8%	97.2%	96.9%	87.2%
Non-German	3.1%	3.1%	3.4%	3.0%	2.9%	3.2%	2.9%	3.1%	3.2%	3.0%	3.0%	2.9%	3.0%	2.8%	3.2%	2.8%	3.1%	12.8%
Marital status
Single	35.7%	35.5%	35.6%	35.2%	35.8%	35.4%	35.3%	35.6%	35.1%	35.6%	35.5%	35.5%	35.3%	35.5%	35.6%	35.1%	35.5%	35.9%
Married	52.3%	52.5%	52.4%	52.4%	52.3%	52.4%	52.6%	52.3%	52.8%	52.3%	52.4%	52.1%	52.4%	52.1%	52.3%	52.6%	52.4%	52.3%
Other	11.9%	12.0%	12.0%	12.4%	11.9%	12.2%	12.1%	12.2%	12.1%	12.2%	12.1%	12.4%	12.4%	12.4%	12.1%	12.4%	12.2%	11.8%
Region
West	80.4%	80.2%	80.6%	80.5%	80.5%	80.7%	80.8%	80.3%	81.0%	80.9%	80.7%	80.5%	80.7%	80.6%	80.4%	80.7%	80.6%	80.5%
East	19.6%	19.8%	19.4%	19.5%	19.5%	19.3%	19.2%	19.7%	19.0%	19.1%	19.3%	19.5%	19.3%	19.4%	19.6%	19.3%	19.4%	19.5%

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
1	10.9%	12.0%	11.4%	12.0%	13.2%	11.9%	12.4%	12.0%
2	10.7%	13.6%	11.0%	10.5%	11.5%	9.8%	11.5%	11.2%
3	10.0%	12.6%	10.8%	11.0%	10.9%	8.6%	13.1%	11.0%
4	10.9%	10.7%	10.7%	10.9%	13.1%	9.2%	12.6%	11.5%
5	9.9%	14.0%	10.8%	10.4%	13.7%	11.4%	12.7%	11.8%
6	10.6%	12.6%	12.1%	11.1%	10.8%	10.7%	11.3%	11.3%
7	10.6%	14.6%	10.4%	10.3%	11.4%	11.9%	13.5%	11.8%
8	11.7%	13.5%	11.7%	10.8%	10.2%	10.0%	12.3%	11.5%
9	11.6%	13.8%	12.1%	9.4%	12.4%	9.8%	13.1%	11.7%
10	9.3%	14.9%	11.0%	10.6%	12.7%	10.9%	13.3%	11.8%
11	10.6%	14.8%	10.6%	11.7%	12.7%	11.4%	12.1%	12.0%
12	12.0%	12.9%	10.6%	12.3%	11.8%	10.4%	10.1%	11.5%
13	11.2%	11.9%	11.5%	13.4%	13.1%	8.6%	13.1%	11.8%
14	10.3%	13.0%	13.0%	10.7%	11.9%	9.5%	12.7%	11.6%
15	11.0%	13.2%	13.0%	10.0%	12.3%	10.6%	12.4%	11.8%
16	12.4%	13.6%	11.2%	11.5%	13.0%	10.5%	12.1%	12.0%
Total	10.9%	13.4%	11.4%	11.0%	12.2%	10.3%	12.4%	11.7%

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
1	12.0%	12.0%	13.4%	11.2%	11.9%	14.8%	12.0%	12.5%
2	11.6%	13.3%	12.2%	10.3%	12.3%	10.7%	12.7%	11.9%
3	11.3%	13.2%	12.2%	9.9%	10.5%	9.6%	12.5%	11.3%
4	10.9%	14.0%	11.6%	11.0%	13.5%	11.2%	12.2%	12.1%
5	10.5%	15.1%	12.1%	11.6%	13.0%	11.8%	12.9%	12.4%
6	10.7%	14.3%	12.8%	12.1%	10.8%	10.7%	12.2%	11.9%
7	11.8%	14.7%	11.7%	11.3%	10.9%	12.7%	12.0%	12.2%
8	10.9%	14.3%	12.0%	11.0%	11.0%	10.4%	13.0%	11.8%
9	10.8%	14.8%	11.0%	11.5%	12.2%	10.9%	12.7%	12.0%
10	10.8%	15.0%	12.4%	11.6%	12.8%	11.3%	12.8%	12.4%
11	10.4%	13.6%	10.5%	12.3%	12.1%	11.6%	14.6%	12.2%
12	10.2%	16.3%	12.9%	10.7%	11.8%	10.5%	12.6%	12.1%
13	10.7%	12.3%	14.3%	12.3%	11.0%	10.4%	12.0%	11.9%
14	10.3%	15.3%	12.6%	11.5%	13.3%	10.8%	14.2%	12.6%
15	11.9%	13.4%	12.1%	11.5%	13.0%	10.3%	13.7%	12.3%
16	11.5%	14.7%	13.0%	11.7%	13.3%	9.7%	13.9%	12.6%
Total	11.0%	14.1%	12.3%	11.3%	12.1%	11.1%	12.9%	12.1%

Methodology of the Mannheim Corona Study

Weekly response rates

Weekly on the day of invitation response rates

Share of respondents who respond on the day they are invited (rather than the following day)

Socio-demographic composition of MCS respondents by day of the week (averaged across data collection weeks) compared to the German Mikrozensus (weighted data, all characteristics measured in the GIP in September 2019)

Socio-demographic composition of MCS respondents at each week of data collection compared to the German Mikrozensus (weighted data, all characteristics measured in the GIP in September 2019)

AARBs by participation day across data collection days and weeks

AARBs by invitation day across data collection days and weeks

German Internet Panel

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