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Surveys FAQ

Are the survey questionnaires available?

Yes, in most cases. The latest available questionnaires are:

• Second European Quality of Life Survey 2007 (EQLS)
• European Working Conditions Survey 2005 (EWCS)
• Company Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance 2004-2005
• First European Quality of Life Survey 2003 (EQLS)

Where are the survey datasets?

Eurofound has signed an agreement with the UK Data Archive (UKDA) for preservation and third party access of its European survey datasets (surveys). Copies of the datasets and accompanying material are stored with the UKDA in Essex, UK and promoted online via its centre for secondary use of quantitative and qualitative data in research, teaching and learning, the Economic and Social Data Service-international (ESDS).

It is Eurofound’s policy to make the datasets and accompanying documentation available for third party use following its own publication of the main analytical report(s). This would normally be one year, maximum two years following the completion of the survey fieldwork.

Which surveys have been archived so far?

• the first Company Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance 2004-2005 (ESWT)
• the first European Quality of Life Survey 2003 (EQLS)
• the European Working Conditions Surveys 1991, 1995, 2000, 2001, and 2005 (EWCS)

Who can access?

Anyone who would be interested in using Eurofound's surveys can proceed as follows:

1. Access the website of the ESDS
2. Locate the surveys by clicking on ‘Micro data’ on the left hand bar, then click on Eurofound
3. On Eurofound’s page, click on the name of the relevant survey for more information about the dataset
4. Click on ‘Download/order’ if you wish to use the survey.

Can anyone download the datasets?

Access is freely available to all registered users for not-for-profit purposes. When clicking on the button ‘Downloading/order’, one has to log-in on the basis of a username and password:

• if you are from a UK university or college, your institution should have provided you with a username and password,
• everyone else has to fill out the application form for a UK Data Archive username and password at http://www.esds.ac.uk/aandp/access/online_form.asp.

Eurofound will receive two reports a year detailing the usage of the surveys. Only requests for usage for commercial purposes will be forwarded to Eurofound for authorisation. This allows Eurofound to consider each of these requests on their own merits and to set any specific conditions for its usage.

Can the national data be broken down on a regional basis, e.g. Flanders/Wallonia in Belgium?

We do not provide such a breakdown of data. The sample size is generally 1,000 per country, and is too small for a regional breakdown.