Danish Omnibus Survey, May 1984

The themes of this omnibus are: #Environmental conditions and environmental problems; knowledge of and attitudes to foreigners living in Denmark; spare time habits; information on additional incomes and moonlighting; housing conditions and heating expenses of pensioners; spare time habits of 10 to 15-year-olds; wishes in connection with births, maternity leave and child-minding; menstruation; sex instruction and contraception among 16 to 20-year-olds; and smoking habits of 16 to 20-year-olds. # The Danish National Institute of Social Research and Danmarks Statistik have carried out the so-called omnibus surveys regularly from January 1974 till the end of 1991 (from 1993 the Danish National Institute of Social Research has carried out its own omnibus surveys). The omnibus project was established as the Danish National Institute of Social Research, Danmarks Statistik, a number of other government institutions and researchers often experienced a need for examining major or minor problems without initiating independent surveys. The purpose of these surveys is to collect data on a variety of issues in the same interview. This means that the background information may be used in several surveys, thus reducing the costs of the data collection. The omnibus surveys are carried out each year at regular intervals. # A permanent part of the questionnaire in an omnibus survey is the so-called background questions, i.e. a number of questions which map out the respondent's personal and social situation. These background variables are described in the section 'Variables included'. # In addition to the background questions the questionnaire includes questions from external users - questions which form part of the Danish National Institute of Social Research's or Danmarks Statistik's part of the omnibus in question. These questions may deal with a variety of subjects. In principle all types of questions may be included in an omnibus, even if the questions deal with many different subjects, as the editors link the various series of questions. In this way abrupt and strange breaks are avoided, breaks which might distrub the interviewing. Technically it is also possible to ask a number of questions only to specific sub-groups of the sample, e.g. to women in a certain age group. # The data material filed at the DDA comprises the background questions asked jointly by the Danish National Institute and Danmarks Statistik as well as the questions asked by the Danish National Institute of Social Research