The International Social Survey Program 1984-2009: Charting the Globe

The social sciences rely more on the comparative method than on experimental data mainly because the latter is difficult to acquire amongst human populations. The International Social Survey Programme has played a pioneering role in creating and sustaining methodologically-sophisticated mass attitude surveys across the globe. Starting in 1984 with five nations, it now encompasses forty-five nations spread over five continents, each administering an identical annual survey to a random sample of their population. Analyses of the data or descriptions of the methodology already appear in over 3,000 publications. This book contains new contributions from three dozen eminent scholars who analyse and compare the perceptions and attitudes of citizens across all five continents, nations and over time. Subjects range from inequality and the role of the state; ethnic, national and global identities; the changing relevance of religion, beliefs and practices; gender roles, family values and work orientations; household and society. Some chapters focus on methodological issues; others focus on substantive findings. This book sets new standards for cross-cultural research.

Max Haller is Professor of Sociology at the University of Graz, Austria, and a member of the Austrian Academy of Science. He has been president of the Austrian Sociological Association and Vice-President of the European Sociological Association, and co-founded the International Social Survey Programme. He has published over 100 scientific articles and edited two dozen books; his most recent is European Integration as an Elite Process: The Failure of a Dream? (also published by Routledge).
Roger Jowell is a Research Professor at City University London, and founding director of its Centre for Comparative Social Surveys. He is one of the founders of the International Social Survey Programme, and chaired it for the first six years. He is an elected member of the International Statistical Institute, an Academician of the UK's Academy of Social Sciences, and has been a vice-president of the UK's Royal Statistical Society.
Tom W. Smith is an internationally recognized expert in survey research specializing in the study of social change and survey methodology. He is Director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Society at the National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago. Since 1980 he has been co-principal investigator of the National Data Program for the Social Sciences and director of its General Social Survey (GSS). Co-founder and former Secretary General of the International Social Survey Program, he has won numerous awards and prizes for his work.

Foreword - Max Haller, Roger Jowell and Tom W. Smith. Part I: The International Social Survey Programme. A new approach to macro-sociological comparative research. 1. The ISSP: History, organisation and members, working principles and outcomes. A historical-sociological account - Tom W. Smith. 2. A breakthrough in comparative social research. ISSP compared with the Eurobarometers, EVS and ESS surveys - Pierre Bréchon. Part II: Social and political attitudes: Class-related inequalities and the role of government. Introduction - Roger Jowell. 3. Economic Development Reduces Tolerance for Inequality: A Comparative Analysis of 30 Nations - Jonathan Kelley and MDR Evans. 4. Views about a just wage compensation. Comparing temporal changes in ex-communist and never-communist countries - Peter Robert. 5. Macro-inequalities and micro-justice - Michel Forsé. 6. Subjective Social Mobility: Data from 30 Nations - S.M.C. Kelley and C.G.E. Kelley. 7. What should be the responsibility of government - Attitudinal convergence or divergence? The role of modernization and political institutions - Jonas Edlund. 8. Facts and artifacts in cross-national research.The case of political efficacy and trust - Jörg Blasius and Victor Thiessen. Part III: Social, national and global attitudes and identities. Introduction - Max Haller. 9. Social Identities in the cross-cultural perspective - Bernadette Müller and Max Haller. 10. National pride in comparative perspective - Tom W. Smith. 11. National identity in comparative perspective - Max Haller, Gerd Kaup and Regina Ressler. 12. Shaping of National Identity in the Processes of Separation and Integration in Central and Eastern Europe - Magdalena Piscová and M. Tížik, M. Bahna. 13. Tangled paths to a world culture. Contradictory trends in attitudes to globalisation - Markus Hadler and John Meyer. Part IV: Religion, society and the state. Introduction - Max Haller. 14. Decline of persistence of religion? Trends in religiosity among Christian societies around the world - Franz Höllinger and Max Haller. 15. Religiosity: a comparison between Latin Europe and Latin America - Ianina Rossi and Máximo Rossi. 16. On the similarity of religiosity in different cultures - Wolfgang Jagodzinski and Kazufumi Manabe. 17. The measurement of religious beliefs in ISSP and EVS surveys - Pierre Brechon. Part V: Gender roles and civic participation in family, work and society. Introduction - Tom Smith. 18. Changing public views of gender roles in seven nations, 1988 – 2002 - Michael Braun and Jackie Scott. 19. Gender Empowerment, economic development and spouses’ housework in 34 countries - Knud Knudsen and Kari Waerness. 20. The role of cultural contexts in item interpretation. The example of gender roles - Michael Braun. 21. Participation in voluntary associations in Austria and Australia: How valid are the results of International Social Surveys? - Christine Brandl, Margit Gross and Max Haller. 22. Preferred working hours: Variations across time and space - Noah Lewin Epstein, Lior Kadish and Anat Oren. 23. Where's a Great Place to Work: A Global Analysis from the Perspective of a Labor Exporting Country - Linda Luz Guerrero, Gerardo Sandoval and Mahar Mangahas. About the Editors.