German Internet Panel, Wave 2 (November 2012)

The German Internet Panel (GIP) is an infrastructure project. The GIP serves to collect data about individual attitudes and preferences which are relevant for political and economic decision-making processes.

Experimental variations in the instruments were used.

Topics: 1. political topics and parties in Germany: satisfaction with the Federal Government and the parties CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and die Linke in the Bundestag; party preference (Sunday question); knowledge test: classification of the above-mentioned parties as part of the federal government or opposition; assessment of selected policy areas with regard to their significance for the federal government (labour market, foreign policy, education and research, civic participation, energy supply, European integration, family, health system, equality, internal security, personal rights, pension system, national debt, tax system, environment and climate protection, transport, defence, currency, economy as well as immigration and integration); personal significance of the above-mentioned policy areas; expected change in the personal economic situation and the economic situation in Germany; perception of the Federal Government and the parties CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and Die Linke as divided or closed (11-point scale); perceived disagreement of the above-mentioned parties on the issues of pensions, rescue package for Greece, childcare subsidy and candidates; main responsible for political standstill (Federal Chancellor, coalition parties, opposition parties, federal states in the Bundesrat, Federal Constitutional Court); problem-solving competence of the parties in selected policy areas; opinion on data preservation; presumed position of the parties CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP, Bündnis90/Die Grünen and Die Linke on data preservation (save versus not save); preferred retirement age; presumed position of the parties CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP, Bündnis90/Die Grünen and Die Linke on retirement age.

2. Stage events: preferred state subsidised amount per inhabitant per year for stage events; number of nationally attended stage events in the last year; expenses per stage event; importance of selected types of stage events for the respondent; willingness to pay a culture card and maximum amount; presumed interest of public authorities in the results of the survey on stage events; numeracy skills; important educational objectives for children (tolerance and respect, unselfishness, willingness to perform, determination and perseverance, sense of responsibility, imagination, thrift, obedience, faith and independence).

Demography: sex; citizenship; year of birth (categorised); highest school leaving certificate; highest professional qualification; marital status; household size; employment status; private Internet use; federal state.

Additionally coded was: interview date; questionnaire evaluation; overall assessment of the survey; experimental variables; unique ID, household identifier and person identifier within the household.