ESRA 2027 sessions by theme
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Understanding the Switch. Experimental insights into replacing face-to-face with self-completion data collection in high quality cross-national and general social surveys |
| Coordinator 1 | Professor Rory Fitzgerald (European Social Survey HQ (City St George's, University of London)) |
| Coordinator 2 | Dr René Bautista (NORC) |
| Coordinator 3 | Dr Michael Bergmann (SHARE Berlin Institute) |
| Coordinator 4 | Ms Beatrice dhombres (Survey Methods and Analysis Centre (SMAC) Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission) |
| Coordinator 5 | Mr Tim Hanson (European Social Survey HQ (City St George's, University of London)) |
| Coordinator 6 | Mr Nathan Reece (European Social Survey HQ (City St George's, University of London)) |
| Coordinator 7 | Mr Gijs Vanhouten (Eurofound) |
Session Details
An increasing number of high-quality cross-national and national general social surveys are using less face-to-face interviewing or moving away from it completely. Instead, they are adopting more or exclusively using self-completion data collection. Understanding the implications of the switch on survey quality, the time series and cross-national comparability is essential for survey methodologists and data users alike. Too often such changes are made without a clear knowledge of the implications. This session aims to address that gap.
The European Social Survey (ESS) has included a parallel run experiment in its Round 12 (2025-6) in over 25 countries where face-to-face and self-completion data collection (web and paper) have been fielded side by side in a large, controlled experiment. Similarly, the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) carried out a self-completion study in six countries focusing on its panellists aged 50 and over. Eurofound are conducting the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) online in the Autumn 2026, including a parallel run in four countries. The European Values Study (EVS) meanwhile has allowed countries to choose between face-to-face and self-completion modes or to use an existing online probability panel, provided that it meets high standards. Many national general social surveys like the German ALLBUS and GSS in the USA have recently switched modes in full or in part.
This session welcomes papers which address the impact of fully or partially switching mode on representativeness, data quality, measurement (including opportunities for improvement through the adoption of AI and LLM), mode effects, cross-national comparability, costs and efficiency. Papers should include experimental evidence to support robust conclusions. Those proposing a paper should indicate which elements they plan to cover so papers can be arranged into clusters.
