Why do couples decide to have children and why is the desire to have children often unfulfilled? How are family structures changing and what does this mean for relationships, familial ties, or intergenerational solidarity? To gain a better understanding of these and further questions relating to the family and to demographic development, it is necessary to engage in research based on solid data and innovative methods.
ZPID director, Prof. Dr. Michael Bosnjak, has now been appointed to the advisory board, which is composed of the project’s funding agency, representatives from several public authorities, and six scientific advisors. The project directors have emphasized that they considered “interdisciplinarity to be important in addition to scientific excellence” when selecting the scientific members.
Bosnjak is the director of ZPID and a professor of psychological research methods at the University of Trier. He has more than 20 years of experience in data collection and survey methodology. He was instrumental insetting up the GESIS Panel, a large-scale survey infrastructure at GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, which is one of ZPID’s cooperative partners, and he has published numerous articles on issues of survey data collection in high-ranking journals such as Public Opinion Quarterly, Social Science Computer Review, Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology and Survey Research Methods.
“FReDA is a project that is unique in the international arena, in which the highest methodological standards are being applied to provide answers to socially relevant family demographic questions. I am extremely pleased to participate as a member of the advisory board,” says Bosnjak.
The study "FReDA - the Family Demographic Panel" is a joint effort of the Federal Institute of Population Research (BiB), GESIS - Leibniz Institute for Social Sciences, and the University of Cologne. At the core of this data collection are annual repeat surveys of a representative sample of 18- to 49-year-old women and men. These data will be available free of charge to the scientific community, the public, and to political stakeholders. The task of the BiB is to compile the findings for policymakers.
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (BMI) are both funding this major scientific project. The BMBF is contributing 12.5 million euros in start-up financing until 2024. Following the project’s positive evaluation, the BMI will be responsible for providing for its financial sustainability.