German Internet Panel, Wave 70 (March 2024)

The German Internet Panel (GIP) is a long-term study at the University of Mannheim. The GIP examines individual attitudes and preferences that are relevant in political and economic decision-making processes. To this end, more than 3,500 people throughout Germany have been regularly surveyed online every two months since 2012 on a wide range of topics. The GIP is based on a random sample of the general population in Germany between the ages of 16 and 75. The study started in 2012 and was supplemented by new participants in 2014 and 2018. The panel participants were recruited offline. The GIP questionnaires cover a variety of topics that deal with current events. The questionnaire contains numerous experimental variations in the survey instruments. Further information can be found in the study documentation. Meaning of life: searching for something that gives my life meaning, that makes my life meaningful, for a purpose or goal in my life; agreement with the following statements: My life has a clear meaning and purpose, I am aware of what makes my life meaningful, my life has no apparent meaning to me, I have found a fulfilling meaning in life. Experiment on free speech: Divided into five groups, group 1 receives questions on current politics, group 2 on the current government, group 3 on current migration policy, group 4 on current economic policy, and group 5 on current climate policy: Satisfaction with current politics (government, migration policy, economic policy, climate policy) in Germany; estimated percentage of the population that is satisfied with current politics (government, migration policy, economic policy, climate policy) in Germany; estimated lower limit of the percentage of the population that is satisfied (in percent); estimated upper limit of the percentage of the population that is satisfied (in percent); probability that the proportion that is satisfied is less than 20 percent; probability that the proportion that is satisfied is more than 80 percent; feeling of freedom of expression regarding current politics (government, migration policy, economic policy, climate policy) in public and in private; experiences based on expressing one´s own opinion on current politics (government, migration policy, economic policy, climate policy) in each case relating to the last twelve months (Self-censorship with regard to freedom of expression for fear of negative consequences, experiencing harsh criticism, being labeled as right-wing or extreme, losing friends, encountering professional problems, encountering legal problems); Personal reaction to another person´s free speech on current politics (government, migration policy, economic policy, climate policy) in each case relating to the last twelve months (threatened with negative consequences because of their expression of opinion, sharply criticized another person, labeled another person as right-wing or extreme, ended a friendship with another person, reported another person to their employer, reported another person to the authorities); estimated percentage of the population who have been labeled as right-wing or extreme in the last twelve months due to their expression of opinion on current politics (government, migration policy, economic policy, climate policy); estimated lower limit of the percentage of the population who have been labeled as right-wing or extreme; estimated upper limit of the percentage of the population who have been described as right-wing or extreme; probability that the percentage of those who have been described as right-wing or extreme is more than 50 percent; estimated percentage of the population who have experienced professional problems in the last twelve months due to expressing their opinion on current politics (government, migration policy, economic policy, climate policy); estimated lower limit of those who have experienced professional problems (in percent); estimated upper limit of those who have experienced professional problems (in percent); probability that the proportion of those who have experienced professional problems is more than five percent. Vignette experiment on the topic of trust: recovering a wallet lost on the street containing ID and papers from a fictional person who grew up near the respondent´s place of residence, and whose characteristics are composed of a combination of different attributes (name, gender, occupation, presumed ancestry or national origin, or religious affiliation). Discrimination: experience of discrimination (a stranger questioned whether the respondent was from Germany); feeling disturbed by the discriminatory situation; feeling disturbed by a hypothetical discriminatory situation; Anti-racism: agreement with various statements (in order to judge whether a statement is racist, I need to know whether anyone feels hurt by it; we live in a racist society; racist words are just as hurtful as racist actions); Anti-sexism: agreement with various statements (to judge whether a statement is sexist, I need to know whether anyone feels hurt by it; we live in a sexist society; sexist words are just as hurtful as sexist actions); Migration: willingness to participate in politics in order to support one´s own position on migration policy (participating in political discussions in everyday life, donating money to a party or organization, active membership in a party or organization, sharing opinions on social media, participating in a demonstration, convincing someone of one´s own positions, taking on a position in a party or organization, contacting members of the Bundestag, wearing a badge, voting for parties that agree with one´s own position on migration, none of the above); Distribution of a donation of 100 euros to one or more organizations that advocate for the following issues (use of fossil fuels, closed immigration policy, low taxes, gender equality, open immigration policy, green environmentally friendly technology, extensive social welfare programs, promotion of traditional family values); Experiment: approval of renting the local community center for an event involving different parties, communities, and groups (the AfD, the FDP, a Christian community, a Muslim community, an anti-Islam group, a neo-Nazi group, a group of Islamic fundamentalists), random division of respondents into seven groups. Visual mosque experiment: Approval of a proposal by a Muslim community in the state capital to build a new mosque, the characteristics of which are based on a combination of various attributes relating to the size, condition, and appearance of the old and new mosques. Demography: sex; age (year of birth, categorized); highest school qualification; highest vocational qualification; marital status; household size; employment status; German citizenship; frequency of private internet use; federal state. The following were also coded: respondent ID, GIP; household ID, GIP; personal ID (within the household); year of recruitment (2012, 2014, 2018); interview date; current online status; assignment to experimental groups; preload: expDZ66049 from wave 66 (July 2023). Questionnaire evaluation (interesting, varied, relevant, long, difficult, too personal); overall assessment of the survey; respondent made further comments on the questionnaire.