Report on the use of sampling frames in European studies

Content This report addresses the quality of the population registers which are currently being used as sampling frames in countries participating in the four cross-European surveys cooperating in SERISS: the European Social Survey (ESS), the European Values Study (EVS), the Gender and Generations Program (GGP), and the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). It summarizes what efforts have been undertaken by register authorities to improve and update the registers and presents an inventory of the main problems encountered in the field by survey sampling experts. In addition, it discusses the quality of alternative methods of sampling and possible improvements. Finally, the report reflects on how the major problems in sampling frames affect survey research and how they could be tackled to jointly improve sampling practices.