The Central and Eastern Eurobarometer (CEEB) survey series has been carried out on behalf of the European Commission between 1990 and 1997 under the direction of Karlheinz Reif (until 1995) and George Cunningham, in total eight surveys. Once a year the CEEB surveys have been monitoring economic and political changes, and attitudes towards Europe and the European Union in up to 20 countries of the region. The regular CEEB sample size is about 1000 respondents per country. The samples are drawn among the citizens of the respective country, of 15 years and over. Respondents are interviewed face-to-face, in their private residences. Starting with Central and Eastern Eurobarometer 2 a multi-stage random probability sample design has been applied for all countries (except Hungary which adopted a quota sampling technique for survey 2). Starting with CEEB 5 (1994) the fieldwork and data integration was coordinated by GfK EUROPE Ad hoc Research together with regional partners, thereby replacing GALLUP UK. The main survey results are published in the European Commission’s CEEB reports; they can be consulted in the ZA library. The raw data are made available for social science research purposes by the ZA data service in SPSS format. Participating countries and number of respondents overview: http://www.gesis.org/en/data_service/eurobarometer/ceeb/countries.htm.
In October 2001, the European Commission has launched a new series of surveys in the 13 countries that are applying for European Union membership under the heading Candidate Eurobarometer (initially named “Applicant Countries Eurobarometer), ordered and co-ordinated by the Directorate-General for Press and Communication (Public Opinion Analysis). The first CCEB survey was carried out in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey and in the southern part of Cyprus.

The Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) is a collaborative programme of cross-national research among election studies conducted in over fifty consolidated and emerging democracies. The goals of this unique program of research are threefold: illuminate how electoral institutions constrain the beliefs and behaviors of citizens to condition the nature and quality of democratic choice as expressed through popular elections; understand the nature of political and social cleavages and alignments; and shed light on how citizens, living under diverse political arrangements, evaluate democratic institutions and processes. By coordinating the collection of electoral data across polities, the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems strives to advance the understanding of enduring and fundamental debates about electoral behavior in a way not possible through the secondary analysis of existing data (http://www.cses.org).

The standard Eurobarometer was established in 1973 under European Community Commission sponsorship. Since Slovenia entered the EU, it has been conducted three times. Survey is coordinated by The Directorate General Press and Communication of the European Commission. These surveys are the products of a unique program of crossnational and crosstemporal social science research. These surveys were designed to measure public awareness of, and attitudes toward the Common Market and other European Community institutions in complementary fashion. They also probed the goals that were given top priority for one’s own nation. These concerns have remained a central part of the European Community’s research efforts — which were carried forward in the summer of 1971 with another six-nation survey that gave special attention to agricultural problems. These themes were of central interest again in a survey of the publics of the European Community countries — then nine in number — carried out in September 1973. After 1973, the surveys took on a somewhat broader scope in content as well as in geographical coverage, with measures of subjective satisfaction and the perceived quality of life becoming standard features of the European Community public opinion surveys. In 1974, the Commission of the European Community launched the Eurobarometer series, designed to provide a regular monitoring of the social and political attitudes of the publics of the nine member nations: France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, and Luxembourg. These Eurobarometers are carried out in the spring and fall of each year. In addition to obtaining regular readings of support for European integration and the perceived quality of life, each of the Eurobarometers has explored a variety of special topics. Also, attitudes toward the organization and role of the European Parliament have been explored in many Eurobarometers, beginning with Eurobarometer 7 in spring 1977. The Eurobarometer surveys have included Greece since fall 1980 (Number 14), Portugal and Spain since fall 1985 (Number 24), the former German Democratic Republic since fall 1990 (Number 34), Finland since spring 1993 (Number 39), and Sweden and Austria since fall 1994 (Number 42). In addition, Norway has occasionally been included since fall 1991 (Number 36). The “Flash” Eurobarometer surveys represent a variant of the Eurobarometer surveys. They differ from the regular Eurobarometers in that they measure public opinion in the European Community regarding a single topic.

The European Social Survey (ESS) is a multi-country survey which covers over 30 nations. Its aim is to chart and explain the interaction between Europe’s changing institutions and the attitudes, beliefs and behaviour patterns of its diverse populations. The project functions as a European Research Infrastructure unit (ERIC), mostly funded by the financial sources of individual participating countries. The one hour-long face-to-face interviews include a block of questions about general social and political attitudes, which has stayed unchanged over the years, and one time modules, dedicated to particular topics, selected in public tenders to form research groups.

The European Values Study (EVS) is a large-scale, cross-national, repeated cross-sectional survey research programme on basic human values. It was initiated by the European Value Systems Study Group (EVSSG) in the late 1970s, at that time an informal grouping of academics. The EVS, as it is known today, started in 1981 when a thousand citizens in the European Member States of that time were interviewed using standardized questionnaires. Every nine years, the survey is repeated in a variable number of countries. It provides insights into the ideas, beliefs, preferences, attitudes, values and opinions of citizens all over Europe. The main topics concern family, work, environment, perceptions of life, politics and society, religion, morality and national identity.

The International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) is a continuing annual programme of cross-national collaboration on surveys covering topics important for social science research. It brings together pre-existing social science projects and co-ordinates research goals, thereby adding a cross-national, cross-cultural perspective to the individual national studies. Every survey includes questions about general attitudes toward various social issues such as the legal system, sex, and the economy. Special topics have included the environment, the role of government, social inequality, social support, family and gender issues, work orientation, the impact of religious background, behavior, and beliefs on social and political preferences, and national identity. Participating countries vary for each topical module. The first ISSP survey was administered in 1985/86 in six countries. At present, the ISSP has about 40 member countries all over the world.

Survey series Attitudes toward corruption explores attitudes towards corruption in the public sector in Slovenia. In the first part respondents are asked about comprehension of corruption, their opinion about the range of corruption, acceptance of bribes in the public sector, influence of information sources on their opinion about corruption, causes for corruption, experience with it, readiness to report corruption and successfulness of institutions in the struggle against corruption. Respondent readiness to accept corruption as a means of achieving goals was measured directly (how would respondent act in a hypothetical case) and indirectly (estimation of likelihood of corruption in a particular field). Second part of the survey consists of explanatory variables meant for analysing opinion on corruption. Respondents are asked about their satisfaction with democracy, regular income, economic situation, and trust in institutions, news media and party preference. In the last part of the questionnaire socio-demographic type of questions are included, such as sex, age, type of settlement etc.

The Ljubljana Area Study survey focuses on different aspects of everyday life in urban areas. On the whole, the project resembles general principles of empirical social research with a proviso that it is limited on specific (i.e. city) population. Topics addressed in the survey includes, among other, management of the city, communal infrastructure, problem of housing, and other topics concerning city development.

The survey aims to identify and assess the quality of life in Slovenia. The first wave of the survey LOL84 covered Slovenia only, the second LOL87 and the third LOL91 contain data for the whole of Yugoslavia at that time, and the series concludes with LOL94. The design of the survey is based on similar surveys of social situation reports carried out abroad, which help to form the basis of social policy and to improve the well-being of the population. Some of the questions are taken from the questionnaire “The Level of Living Survey”, Swedish Institute for Social Research, many questions are repeated or adapted from previous years’ surveys. Demographic data on the father and mother of the respondent are included, i. e. occupation, ethnicity and education, suitable for analysing social origin, social stratification and mobility, migration data. Housing furnishing and standard, ownership and characteristics of living conditions are described, and satisfaction with housing conditions is assessed.

The study of media literacy is the first of its kind in Slovenia. The research work draws on a number of already existing studies and analysis of primary and secondary data. The data is collected within the Infrastructural programme of the Faculty of Media and is the basis for the analysis of media literacy and media use in Slovenia. The research began in 2014, covering fields of media use, online security, media education, use of social networks, media exposure and use of electronic devices, the impact of media on people’s daily lives, the importance of privacy and the security of sharing personal information online. Within the media research, different age groups are included – general representative population of Slovenia and individual groups such as primary school children, high school students, preschool children, the unemployed and hearing impaired and visually impaired or partially sighted.

The research on media history in Slovenia in the 20th century examines how (especially electronic) media developed and how it was accepted and used by consumers. It focuses primarily on everyday media use and examines media users and their “old” media uses. The data are collected with in-depth interviews, with the aim of obtaining as much information as possible about how people used the media in the past. It is a multi-year research, conducted by students at the subject of Media History at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, and over the years collects data on various media in everyday life. Covered topics are: radio, television, telephone, cinema, VCR, Walkman, and early computer use. It is a cultural history of the media, which includes information about the media consumers’ memories of their early use of media.

The economic migration of Slovenian workers abroad (mainly to Germany) was a widespread phenomenon in the late 1960s and 1970s. Sociologists set out to investigate this phenomenon with a comprehensive study, the design and preparation of which dates back to 1972, with field phases carried out in 1974 and 1976. The first field study, called “Zdomci”, took place between June and October 1974. The respondents were Slovenian workers at work abroad, and field interviewers (FSPN students and the researchers themselves) visited the respondents at their place of residence in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).  Using a comprehensive questionnaire, the researchers collected information on the reasons for going abroad, possible career and educational progression, language skills, how much the returnees earn in Germany and where they intend to invest the money they save, how they rate specific migration attractants and repellents, whether they intend to return to their home country, what their housing and family situation is and what it was like before they left. A study among partners or other relatives of the returnees who remained in Slovenia was planned at the same time, but was not carried out. In 1976, two more studies were carried out, Returnees (in August and September) and Couples (between September and November). The Returnees study surveyed workers who had returned to their home country after working abroad. The researchers collected comparative data from a group of returnees who had been surveyed previously, so the questions are largely the same as those used in the Returnees survey. The aim of the study was to investigate the reasons for going abroad and returning, the characteristics of the Slovenes who worked in the FRG, their integration into the German working and living environment, such as career and educational progression, language skills, how much the returnees earned in Germany and where they invested the money they saved, their habits. Returnees also reported difficulties after their return to Slovenia. As part of the Couples study, a survey was conducted among Slovenians who were not working abroad and were couples, or a control group for the “Zdomci” respondents from the previous phase. Based on the characteristics of the individual surveyed emigrant in the FRG, the researchers searched for an adequate person in Slovenia who matched the surveyed emigrant in terms of the place of his/her permanent residence in Slovenia, the person should be employed in the same work organisation as the emigrant before going abroad, should be of the same gender, at least approximately the same age and at approximately the same level in terms of stratification dimensions. Using the Pairs Questionnaire, the researchers collected comparative data from a group of returnees and returnees who had been interviewed previously, and the questionnaire therefore contains most of the questions also found in the Returnees and Returnees Questionnaire, with the exception of those relating to specific experiences of living in Germany. The main topics are: work and job satisfaction, occupation and earnings, career progression, material situation, housing status and living and family situation.

The research covers a similar topic and is therefore grouped into the Migration series. Topics covered by the research are: cross-border cooperation, cross-border ties, the impact of Schengen, the border regime, state borders, immigration and emigration, multiculturalism, ethnically mixed families, socio-cultural connection, employment or work in neighbouring countries, tourism, and monitoring foreign media.

The Youth Series surveys are designed to follow the youth population longitudinally, with a focus on changing values and lifestyles. Youth 85 was the first in a series of surveys, and in addition to Slovenia, there are parallel data for the other republics of the SFR Yugoslavia for 1985. Some of the questions from Youth 1985 are repeated in Youth 1993 (secondary school population), Youth 1995 (student population), Youth 1998 and Youth 2000.

TV Response is a series of public opinion polls covering topical themes, which are presented on TV News, on Television Slovenia, on Sundays.

ORGU series examines organizational learning in enterprises and includes Croatia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Macedonia and Turkey. Topics covered in the series are: organizational learning, business performance, performance and organizational culture. The first survey in this series was carried out in 2003 in Slovenia and was repeated in 2004, it dealt with the impact of ICT on organizational learning and business performance. One year later, two surveys were carried out in Croatia and Malaysia. They were focused on the impact of organizational learning and process orientation on business performance in enterprises. In 2007 it was repeated in Macedonia. Two surveys from this series were carried out in 2008 in South Korea and Spain. They dealt with the impact of organizational learning and innovation in successful enterprises. Last survey from the series was carried out in 2009 in Turkey.

The telephone survey Politbarometer has been taken continuously and is designed for measuring views on the situation in society and evaluating government and state institutions through the lens of public opinion. The major part of questionnaires is unchanged in every Politbarometer survey. The minor part of the questions is survey specific, evaluating time specific events.

The purpose of collecting census data is to provide information about migration, demographic, economic, educational and housing characteristics of the whole population. Census data are the most reliable source for comparisons in time and between countries. At the same time they enable the most detailed smallest geographical units’ description. Therefore it forms a permanent base for policy and legislative decisions. First modern census which encompassed Slovenian territory was conducted in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1857. It was followed by 1869, 1880, 1900 and 1910 Censuses. Two interwar period Censuses, conducted in 1921 and 1931, were followed by reduced in content Census of 1948, which was meant to gauge the situation of population after World War II. After that, censuses 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2002 and completely register-based ones, 2011 and 2015, were applied. Censuses were slightly changed from one period to another by selection of variables and exact methodological approach, which need to be taken into account when making comparisons.

RIS is an academic non-profit project of the Center for Methodology and Informatics at Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana. It is partially funded by the state’s finances (Ministry of Science, Education and Sport; Ministry for information society) and partially by sponsors. Focuses of interest are social changes as a consequence of the spread of the Internet and related information/communication technology. Data relevant for the field of Internet are collected and Internet and information society indicators are developed. Project has started in 1996 and within its sub-projects the research of Internet use in different segments of society such as households, companies, school institutions and Internet users, is covered. RIS provides longitudinal data and assure their international comparability. Special attention – with emphasis on collection of survey data – is devoted to methodology of research by the means of the Internet. All the results are public and most of them are published on RIS’s home page (http://www.ris.org). Likewise the income and expenses are public; eventually surplus is used for project development in the frame of its mission.

The Slovenian Public Opinion (SJM) survey series closely resembles the type of General Social Surveys, well known in other countries. The aim is to provide the scientific community with relevant data about changes in subjective perceptions and attitudes of the general population. The topics, which are repeated each year, beginning with 1968, are evaluations of general and economic situation in society, interethnic relations in Slovenia and Yugoslavia, politics, ecology and religion. Since 1989, SJM surveys have been involved in cross-national comparative perspectives by adopting and replicating some of the most well-known international comparative surveys, regional Central and East European as well as global ones. SJM is occasionally carried out as a project, dedicated to a specific concrete topic.

Empirical research in the social sciences presupposes data of certain quality; data have, at least, to be valid and reliable. Measurement quality analysis of interpersonal ego-centred network surveys are quite rare, owing to the complex “nested design” where each respondent reports about her/his connections with several other individuals. Analyses of complete network data quality are even less frequent since the measurement result of each relationship is a matrix. Present studies avoid the problem of “nested design” with usage of typical questions for identifying personal ego-centred networks members – so called name generators. Matrices which are the result of the complete network measurement can be transformed into variables by vectorization. Measurement quality of those variables can be evaluated by classical evaluation of measurement quality. Social networks series includes studies covering networks of social support themes. Studies SOCOM92, SOCOM98, SOCOM00, SOCOM01, SOCO_93, SOCO_01, SOCO_02 and SOCO_05 are conducted on complete social networks, study SOCOM92 was made among members of student government, SOCOM98 and SOCOM01 were made among high school students of Gimnazija Bežigrad, SOCOM00 was made among high school students of Gimnazija Poljane and SOCO_93, SOCO_01, SOCO_02 and SOCO_05 were made among students of Social informatics. In this series ADP also preserves three other studies: EGOOMR00, SOCOP02 and SOCOP07. Survey EGOOMR00 was conducted among Ljubljana citizens but two years later on the basis of the same questionnaire SOCOP02 was carried out on the entire population of Slovenia. SOCOP07 survey was carried out on 80 students of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana. Surveys SOCOP which have been carried out for several years now and are based on quota samples are meant for testing the measurement instrument.

Study circle is a form of basic education based on voluntary teaching of adults. The process is not hierarchical. It consists of 5 to 12 people meeting at least five times in order to learn. Usually, more than ten meetings take place; the average amount of time spent exceeds 35 hours and is distributed throughout more than three and a half months. The circle is led by the mentor who is specifically trained for leading the study circle. Upon the conclusion of a study circle, the newly acquired knowledge is presented in a form of a lecture, exhibition, excursion, literary evening, they produce a booklet or even continually releasing bulletins, they prepare a play or any other performance. Circles have been taking place since 1993. Systematic monitoring has been designed for the purpose of annual reports that after ten years evolved in survey-based analysis. The purpose of monitoring and researching study circles is to determine characteristics of informal learning in small groups taking place across Slovenia throughout the year. There are two databases created each year; one with study circles as a unit of analysis, and other for the study circle participants.

Survey Social Profile of Maribor University students is a series of five opinion polls. They were performed mainly as a background for implementing student policy at the Students Organisation at the University of Maribor. Survey is done on a yearly basis. Ground purpose of the survey is to define the state of all the most important indicators of a student’s life within the University of Maribor.

Slovenian Pulse is a series of short studies which have been conducted by the School of Advanced Social Studies in Nova Gorica since 2009. Data collecting is done by using a telephone interview mode. A representative sample of at least 900 respondents is used. Every year approximately 10 surveys are carried out for the purpose of analyzing the relation of public opinion to knowledge, identity, democracy, material welfare, Europe, political orientations, mass media, intercultural contacts, gambling and social development. The information on political party preferences and attitude towards chosen topical subjects are also collected. Some of the basic questions within the key topical fields have been included in all questionnaires throughout the years to enable comparability over time.

The World Values Survey (WVS) is a worldwide network of social scientists studying changing values and their impact on social and political life. This series began as a set of surveys conducted in ten West European societies by the European Value Systems Study Group (EVSSG). The World Values Survey (WVS) grew out of those surveys and was initiated in 1981 to study the values and attitudes of mass publics across nations of different economic, educational, and cultural backgrounds. The WVS in collaboration with EVS (European Values Study) carried out representative national surveys in 97 societies containing almost 90 percent of the world’s population. These surveys show pervasive changes in what people want out of life and what they believe. In order to monitor these changes, the EVS/WVS has executed five waves of surveys, from 1981 to 2007. Thanks to the efforts of the Slovene Public Opinion project Slovenia has provided data since 1991.