Religious Denominations for survey research

Context

Religious denomination is a crucial attribute that provides the background for studying individual attitudes and values. However, the use of this variable posits a range of measurement challenges. Respondents can give vague information during the data-gathering stage which makes it difficult to allocate the respondents to consistent religious affiliations in the post-coding phase and there is no feedback loop (the researcher cannot go back to verify whether the answer is correct). At the same time changes in the social structure require continuous updates of the existing classification systems which increase the survey research costs in terms of knowledge expertise, questionnaire amendments, and interviewers’ training. Along with that, the migration to web-administered surveys requires innovative tools to deliver high-quality survey outputs. 

Database

This database is an instrument that maps religious denominations across 211 countries and 81 languages. From broad categories, the classification drills down to country-specific denominations translated into the languages spoken in that country. The tool can be implemented by using look-up tables, dynamic tree-structures, or direct classification approach.

Advantages

It aims at facilitating the input and ex-ante output survey harmonisation which, in turn, will reduce the workload costs during the survey design and post-coding phases. Moreover, it can foster collaboration between survey infrastructures and enhance a more sustainable and efficient survey research endeavour.

Target users

Public opinion surveys, social science projects, data archives, individual researchers, and any other interested parties.