
The 12th International Conference of Panel Data Users in Switzerland will take place on June 14-15, 2023 at the University of Lausanne.
This edition will include thematic sessions covering a wide variety of topics, such as health and well-being, education and labour market, families, gender, ethnic minorities and migration, politics and attitudes, survey methodology, and longitudinal methods. The program also includes a session on TREE data and one on health literacy using SHARE data.
Consult the preliminary programme and register here:
https://forscenter.ch/12th-international-conference-of-panel-data-users-in-switzerland/
This edition includes sessions covering topics, such as health and well-being, education and labour market, families, gender, ethnic minorities and migration, politics and attitudes, survey methodology, and longitudinal methods.


After a very successful 2022 edition, we are happy to publish the 27th Summer School programme.
The Summer School in Social Science Methods has been conceived for those who feel the need to refresh, deepen and widen their methodological knowledge and skills, whatever their professional situation: student, researcher or practitioner.
Registration for the 27th edition of the Summer School is OPEN NOW and will remain open until all places are filled or until the 14th of July – whichever is sooner.
This year, once again, we are looking forward to welcoming you for two weeks of learning in August at the beautiful campus of Università della Svizzera italiana in Lugano!
Organised by USI and FORS.
The programme of the 27th Summer School in Social Science Methods in Lugano is out now. Registration is open.


Past events

The next SSP-FORS Methods and Research Seminar will take place on Tuesday 30th of May 2023 (room 5799, Geopolis 12:15 to 13:30).
Dino Carpentras, from the Computational Social Science Group, ETH Zürich will give a presentation on the following topic:
ResIN: A method for analyzing attitude networks and attitude positioning on a latent space
Attitudes are often analyzed using scales, as in the left-right political spectrum. Recently, multiple methods challenged this approach by providing a network representation of attitudes. The most diffused method, namely “Belief network analysis,” allows to explore the complex relationship between different items. However, these methods usually impose stringent conditions, such as ratio properties of scales and symmetricity of groups (e.g. the more left-wingers like something, the more right-wingers should dislike it).
In this presentation, I will introduce ResIN, a method which naturally combines both network and latent space placement. This allows to study attitudes and attitude-related groups with minimal hypotheses. Indeed, it does not require nor impose interval properties of data, nor symmetry in groups; thus allowing for richer output data.
In a first stage, the method can be used to visualize the data, to perform a visual and qualitative assessment. Later, data properties (such as clustering values and latent distances) can be quantitatively estimated and their differences can be statistically tested.
By applying ResIN to different datasets surprising and scientifically interesting results have been found. For example, it has been used to explore the opinion space related to vaccination finding a gap between very positive and neutral people. Furthermore, this gap has been showed (both in theory and in real data) to predict lower social influence, and consequent lower vaccination rate. Similarly, when applied to political opinions, it has been used to identify three different types of political polarization. Recent works even apply ResIN to social media data.
We look forward to your participation.
The organizing committee:
Jacques-Antoine Gauthier
Oliver Lipps
Davide Morselli
Stephanie Steinmetz
https://forscenter.ch/events-training/methods-and-research-meetings/
The title of the presentation: ResIN: A method for analyzing attitude networks and attitude positioning on a latent space.


On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the law on advance directives (ADs) in the Swiss Civil Code (2013), the Advance Care Planning (ACP) Dialogue Workshop aims to examine the development, implementation, and use of ACP and ADs in Switzerland over the last ten years by adopting a public health approach. Academic experts from different fields (e.g., medicine, ethics, sociology, psychology, law, economics), professionals involved in ACP promotion and completion, and policy and public health stakeholders are invited to engage in a multidisciplinary exchange of views on the uptake of ACP and ADs in Switzerland, as well as their vision for the future. The workshop will result in a multidisciplinary, holistic, and multilevel picture of the past and current situation of ACP and ADs in Switzerland and the related challenges and recommendations for the future advancement of ACP practice and research. We organize the ACP Dialogue Workshop in collaboration with ACP-Swiss.
Workshop program
Concept
Register for the workshop
This is a public event but the number of places available is limited. Attendees are, therefore, asked to register for the event here:
10 years of advance directives in Switzerland: an interdisciplinary public health perspective on advance care planning


Dear colleagues,
The next FORS Lunch Seminar will take place on Tuesday, March 14, from 12:45 to 13:45 in Room 5899.
During the seminar the winners of the FORS Data Re-use Award 2022 Rita Schmutz (first prize) and Mengling Cheng (second prize) will present their work and receive their awards.
Rita Schmutz (LIVES, University of Lausanne) will present the following project:
Inequality of Educational Opportunity in Switzerland: Exploring Regional Differences and Institutional Factors
Abstract
This study provides estimates of inequality of educational opportunity (IEOp) in compulsory education in Switzerland using the 2016 Swiss large-scale assessments of basic competencies (ÜGK – COFO – VeCoF) dataset. IEOp measures the share of inequality in the distribution of educational performance that can only be attributed to students‘ characteristics beyond their control (circumstances), such as their family socioeconomic status (SES), parental education, gender, and immigrant status. By employing a parametric ex-ante estimation approach, I estimate that IEOp in Switzerland is 21%, with considerable heterogeneity across cantons and the German-speaking region showing higher levels of unfair educational inequalities. The IEOp estimates are decomposed to identify the contributions of different circumstances and to develop a better understanding of the observed inequality. Socioeconomic status, parental education, and occupation are the most relevant circumstances in most cantons. Inequality of educational opportunity is associated with the institutional structure of cantonal education systems. Educational inputs in primary school explained most of the cross-canton variation in IEOp, followed by the level of stratification in secondary school.
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Mengling Cheng (LIVES, University of Lausanne) will present the following project:
Evolution of the income-related gap in health with old age: Evidence from 20 countries in European and Chinese panel datasets
(joint work with Nicolas Sommet, Daniela Jopp and Dario Spini)
Abstract
Background: Some studies show that the protective effect of higher income on health weakens with old age (the age-as-leveler pattern), whereas others show that it strengthens with old age (the cumulative advantage/disadvantage pattern). Existing studies are limited in that they use single-country and/or single-timepoint designs. To overcome these limitations, we used cross-national and longitudinal data to clarify how the income-related gap in health evolves with old age.
Methods: We used the longest-running European and Chinese panel datasets, namely, SHARE (2004-2019, 73,407 European participants from 19 countries) and CHARLS (2011-2018, 10,067 Chinese participants). We operationalised health using multimorbidity and three alternative indicators (functional disability, mobility disability, and memory). We performed Poisson growth curve modeling to capture the between-participant effects of age and the within-participant effects of aging.
Results: We obtained three consistent findings for both Europe (the effect was observed in most countries) and China. First, the protective effect of higher income on multimorbidity, functional disability, and mobility disability was weaker for older than for younger adults (between-participant age-as-leveler effects). Second, only the protective effect of higher income on mobility disability weakened over the later life course (within-participant age-as-leveler effects). Third, the protective effect of higher income on memory was stronger for older than for younger adults and strengthened over the later life course of the individual (both between-participant and within-participant cumulative advantage/disadvantage effects).
Conclusion: Our results suggest that the income-related gap in physical health (i.e., multimorbidity, functional disability, and mobility disability)—but not in cognitive health (i.e., memory)—narrows in old age for both Europe and China.
There will be coffee and tea as well as a little dessert. Please bring your cup and join us a few minutes before the start of the seminar to get your drink!
Presentations of the projects of the winners, notably Rita Schmutz (LIVES, University of Lausanne) and Mengling Cheng (LIVES, University of Lausanne)



The next FORS Lunch Seminar will take place on Tuesday February 14, 2023 from 12:45 to 13:45 in Room 5899.
Presenters:
Jonathan Jubina, Emilie Antilleb, Vladimir Jolidonb, Léonard Rothb and Isabelle Peytremann Bridevauxb will present the following project:
a La Source School of Nursing, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, 1004 Lausanne
b Epidemiology and Health Systems, Center for Primary Care and Public Health, 1010 Lausanne
The Swiss COhort of Healthcare Professionals and Informal CAregivers (SCOHPICA): Career trajectories, intent to stay/leave the profession, wellbeing, and their determinants
Abstract
To address the shortage of qualified personnel and prepare for the future, the Swiss healthcare system needs reliable data on its professionals, their employment trajectory and the reasons why they leave or stay in their profession. However, such data is scarce in Switzerland. Therefore, the SCOHPICA open cohort has started surveying in autumn 2022 professionals working with patients from all sectors of healthcare regardless of their status and practice settings. The longitudinal study design is mixed, consisting of a yearly online questionnaire and biennial focus groups. Additionally, SCOHPICA aims to launch in 2024 a cohort of informal caregivers, who are key yet often forgotten actors of the health system. Raw data and results will be made available to decision-makers and researchers through a repository and an interactive online platform.
There will be coffee and tea as well as a little dessert. Please bring your cup and join us a few minutes before the start of the seminar to get your drink!
To stay up to date concerning the FORS Lunch Seminars, check our website: https://forscenter.ch/events-training/fors-lunch-seminars/
Join us for this seminar on the Swiss COhort of Healthcare Professionals and Informal CAregivers (SCOHPICA): Career trajectories, intent to stay/leave the profession, wellbeing, and their determinants.


Register for the free online webinar
Introduction to LaRS-SWISSUbase for the Linguistics Community“, that takes place on February 14, 2023 from 15:00-16:00 (CET).
In this webinar, you will learn about the SWISSUbase archiving platform for the linguistics community and the services provided to researchers including data curation, archiving and publishing of your linguistics data.
The session will include a demonstration of the platform and time for questions and answers.
https://newsletter.forscenter.ch/newsletter/index.php/lists/bl638lk4r7ce7/subscribe
Register now for this free online webinar that explains how you can deposit and share your research data in linguistics.


The meeting will take place on Tuesday January, 31, 2023, Room 5799, Géopolis, UNIL, 12:15-13:30.
Who is minding the children? Gender equity in the first two years of the Pandemic



The „Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) Research Infrastructures in Switzerland“ initiative is piloted by a coordination group consisting of the directors of national research infrastructures (RIs) in the SSH, the national coordinators of international SSH RIs with Swiss participation (CESSDA, CLARIN, DARIAH, ESS, SHARE, GGP) and one representative of the Swiss Academy for the Swiss Academy for Social and Human Sciences (SAGW).
As a follow up to the first event (31 May 2022) and of the position paper (November 2022), the coordination group of this initiative invites the members of the Swiss SSH scientific community interested in research infrastructures to a second event on 18 January 2023.
This meeting has three main objectives.
- First, to raise awareness on the importance of research infrastructure in the SSH domain and how prioritisation and funding works (national and ESFRI roadmap process).
- Second, to share experiences from other countries and the European level on how collaborations between projects and infrastructures work.
- Third, to give a platform to potential new Swiss RIs in the SSH domain in order to reflect on needs of the SSH community and how to create synergies and join forces.
To reach these objectives, we will welcome four invited speakers from abroad (see the updated Programme), who will share their experience of how collaboration and clustering happened successfully in other countries and at the European level. In addition, the floor will also be given to several Swiss projects of RIs in the SSH field with the aim to reflect on user needs and possible synergies. Finally, the day will end with a Round Table with an open discussion, in which invited guests from the SNSF, the SERI, swissuniversities, the SAGW and all members of the audience will have the opportunity to express themselves.
Organizing committee
Prof. Dr. Georg Lutz (FORS)
Dr. Cristina Grisot (DARIAH-CH & CLARIN-CH)
Dr. Elena Chestnova (USI)
Dr. Claire Clivaz (SIB)
Dr. Beat Immenhauser (SAGW)
Further information and registration: https://www.dariah.ch/post/ssh-research-infrastructures-in-switzerland-initiative
The registration for this event is now closed.
The event „Paving the way for the future“ will take place at the University of Bern on January 18, 2023.


The workshop “Cognition, decisions and wellbeing in later life” aims to assemble cross-disciplinary perspectives on cognition, decisions and wellbeing and their interplay in later life with invited speakers, contributed talks, and posters.
During this 1.5-day event, we will particularly give emphasis to works using data from the international family of health and retirement studies such as the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) and other sister surveys.
Programme
Full programme in PDF version, with all 22 oral and poster presentations.
On this occasion, we will be delighted to welcome three keynote speakers:
- Prof. Kenneth Langa from the University of Michigan (US)
Expert in epidemiology and costs of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias
Associate Director of the HRS, Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) Network Co-Principal Investigator - Prof. David Richter from the Freie Universität Berlin (Germany)
Expert in survey research, aging and wellbeing
International coordinator of the SHARE - Dr. Dorina Cadar from the University of Sussex (UK)
Expert in cognitive epidemiology and dementia
Involved in the implementation of the HCAP in the ELSA
There is no registration fee for this event, but places are limited.
Registrations are open until December 8, 2022.
Practical information
- Dates: December 15 and 16 (until 2:00 pm)
- Location: University of Lausanne, Géopolis building – rooms 2137 and 1620
- Contact: maud.wieczorek@unil.ch
- This is a free event, yet registration is mandatory.
With oral presentations from FORS collaborators: Valérie-Anne Ryser, Clément Meier and Sarah Vilpert.


The next FORS Lunch Seminar will take place on Thursday, December 8, from 12:45 to 13:45 in room 2879 (Géopolis).
The BUNAVIA-team (Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, UZH) will present the following project:
BUNAVIA: Development and Learning in Context
Presenters: Prof. Dr. Laura Bernardi, Prof. Dr. Moritz Daum, Dr. Doris Hanappi, Dr. Martin Kindschi, Prof. Dr. Michael Shanahan
Abstract
Rising social inequality and diminishing returns to education make early investment in children’s different living environments (contexte de vie) – their learning, leisure, and school – increasingly important for their development and well-being. BUNAVIA, a project funded by the Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development (UZH), and conducted in collaboration with University of Lausanne and the Department of Education Planning of the Canton of Zurich, investigates the impact of context on child development by studying social networks and the development of identity. It pays particular attention to the perception of autonomy, self-efficacy, and self-regulation during transitional phases, for example, starting school, changes within and between schools. Since Spring 2022, BUNAVIA is part of the Zurich Learning Progress Study (Zürcher Lernverlaufserhebung). Data will be collected via web-based surveys from parents and in-class assessments from the focal child (age 4-5 entering premier cycle primaire/kindergarten,) in the Canton Zurich in Fall 2023. As BUNAVIA plans to propose a parallel study in the canton Vaud, the presentation will give an overview of the project and a summary of its main concepts, research priorities, and data collection design.
Important: There will be coffee and tea as well as a little dessert. Please bring your cup and join us a few minutes before the start of the seminar to get your drink!
Kind regards,
Marieke
The BUNAVIA-team (Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, UZH) investigates the impact of context on child development by studying social networks and the development of identity.


Défis éthiques de la numérisation des données – Cours public
Quels sont les enjeux éthiques et légaux de la collecte des données personnelles ?
Ce cours public aborde les enjeux de la protection de la personne et des données personnelles, ainsi que les impacts qui en résultent pour la recherche en sciences sociales.
Plus d’informations :
Ce cours est gratuit et sans inscriptions.
Mercredi 7 décembre 2022, 18h – 19h30 | Pôle Sud, Lausanne
Ce cours public aborde les enjeux de la protection de la personne et des données personnelles, ainsi que les impacts qui en résultent pour la recherche en sciences sociales. Le cours est gratuit et sans inscriptions.


Dear all,
We are pleased to invite you to the next Methods and Research Meeting organized by FORS and SSP/UNIL. It will take place in room 5779 at Géopolis building, University of Lausanne on Tuesday 29th of November 2022 from 12:15 to 13:30.
We welcome Marc Asensio Manjon from the University of Lausanne.
He will give a presentation on the following topic:
The feasibility of using data donations to measure mobile media usage
Abstract
Self-reports collected from survey responses have been the most common method to measure online behaviors. However, self-reports on online behaviors, and especially, when such behaviors are fragmented across situations, devices and platforms, are known to contain error due to its cognitively challenging nature. A proposed alternative to these self-reports is the use of direct observations of individuals’ online behaviors. We focus on the ‘Data donations’ approach, a process in which respondents willingly share with researchers data that already has been collected by their devices or platforms they use. Thereby, establishing a transparent and self-administrable dynamic that tracking software procedures do not have.
In this study, we asked members of an online panel (N = 872) to take part in a data donation process by using their own smartphones to access their ‘Digital Wellbeing (Android) / Screentime (IOS)’ tool and share that information with us. The tool allows respondents to check the amount of time they have spent using their smartphone on a daily basis and more specifically, in which apps. Moreover, the tool also displays information on the amount of times the device has been unlocked and the number of notifications received – total and by app. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of the three treatment groups; in each of them, we asked respondents to share the same information from their ‘Digital Wellbeing / Screentime’ tool through a different method: 1) taking screenshots; (2) recording a screen video and; (3) checking and reporting the information. We present the challenges associated with the measures’ comparability across devices and operating systems and the preliminary results on task completion and engagement.
We look forward to your participation.
The organizing committee:
Stephanie Steinmetz
Jacques-Antoine Gauthier
Oliver Lipps
Davide Morselli
We welcome Marc Asensio Manjon from the University of Lausanne. The title of his presentation is: The feasibility of using data donations to measure mobile media usage. The seminar will take place at Géopolis at the University of Lausanne on November 29th 2022.


The one-day workshop „Safe Access to Sensitive Research Data“, organised by FORS and the University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons (FHGR), took place in Bern and assembled relevant actors and stakeholders in Switzerland concerned by the dissemination of sensitive data for research purposes. The goal was to identify interesting models, key issues, and barriers regarding the building of national infrastructure for sensitive data, and to discuss and initiate forms of collaboration and concerted action.
The programme and all the presentations can be consulted on the workshop’s dedicated webpage: https://forscenter.ch/workshop-safe-access-to-sensitive-research-data/
Co-organised by:
The one-day workshop „Safe Access to Sensitive Research Data“ assembled relevant actors and stakeholders in Switzerland concerned by the dissemination of sensitive data for research purposes.


The webinar on qualitative data anonymisation is given by Alexandra Stam. It will introduce you to the key principles of qualitative data anonymization and guide you through the different techniques for anonymising your data, as well as file handling procedures. It will also address some common concerns expressed by researchers, and how to possibly overcome them.
This webinar is part of the FORS Data Management Webinar series. All webinars are given by experts in the field at FORS. The participation is free, yet registration is required.
They all last an hour from 1 to 2 pm.
Further information and registration: https://forscenter.ch/data-management-webinar-series/
This webinar introduces you to the key principles of qualitative data anonymization & guide you through the different techniques for anonymising your data, as well as file handling procedures. It will also address some common concerns expressed by researchers, and how to possibly overcome them.


The next FORS Lunch Seminar will take place on Tuesday, November 15, from 12:45 to 13:45 in Room 5899.
Robert Reinecke (FORS) will present the following project:
Cognitive Abilities and Attitudes/Behaviors towards End-of-Life Care
Robert Reinecke1, Sarah Vilpert1,2, Gian Domenico Borasio3, Jürgen Maurer2
1Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences (FORS), University of Lausanne, Switzerland
2Faculty of Business and Economics (HEC), University of Lausanne, Switzerland
3Palliative and Supportive Care Service, Geriatric Palliative Care, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Abstract
Individuals tend to wait until the last moment to plan their end-of-life (EOL) care. Yet decision-making abilities and understanding of medical situations decrease with age, which could compromise the writing of advance directives (ADs). Little is known concerning the association between cognitive competence and attitudes/behaviors towards end-of-life (EOL) care planning in older adults. The present study aims to better understand the association of cognitive competence – measured via verbal fluency, immediate and delayed memory, basic calculation skills, and temporal orientation – with attitudes and behaviors towards EOL care planning in a nationally representative sample of older adults in Switzerland. We analyzed data of 1’936 respondents aged 55+ from a paper-and-pencil self-completion questionnaire that was administered as part of wave 6 (2015) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in Switzerland using logistic regression models. Respondents with reduced global cognitive competence are less likely (i) to have discussed their EOL preferences with others and (ii) to have a living will. Impairment in verbal fluency is negatively associated to attitudes and behaviors towards EOL care planning. Our findings highlight that intact cognitive abilities have a positive impact on EOL care planning.
Important: There will be coffee and tea as well as a little dessert. Please bring your cup and join us a few minutes before the start of the seminar to get your drink!
Robert Reinecke from FORS will present his project during a FORS lunch seminar. It will take place at Géopolis/UNIL between 12:45 and 13:45.


Summary
The availability of research data underlying articles published in journals is becoming a common practice in scientific communication. The European Commission and other funders of scientific research have set high expectations for scientists towards openness and availability of scientific work and results. Scientific publishers, through journals and scholarly publications are the main point of realising open science in practice.
Description
The availability of research data underlying articles published in journals is becoming a common practice in scientific communication. The European Commission and other funders of scientific research have set high expectations for scientists towards openness and availability of scientific work and results. Scientific publishers, through journals and scholarly publications are the main point of realising open science in practice.
This event is part of the continuous Journals Outreach initiative (https://www.cessda.eu/Training/Journals-outreach), bringing together CESSDA service providers (SPs) with Social Science & Humanities Journals. The target audience is publishers, editors, researchers, and CESSDA Service providers. The event will also be an opportunity for publishers/journals to highlight new initiatives in research data services linked to scientific publications.
Programme
14:00-14:20 Activities of the CESSDA Journals Outreach group; Profiles of CESSDA Service Providers related to accepting data linked to journals
14:20-14:40 Data showcases: the data journal in a multimodal world / Peter Doorn
14:40-15:00 An Introduction to Open Research Europe / Amy Doffegnies
15:00-15:10 Break
15:10-15:30 FAIRsharing platform / Allyson Lister
15:30-15:50 Data Journal for the Humanities and Social Sciences / Ulbe Bosma
15:50-16:10 CURE consortium / Limor Peer
16:10-16:30 General discussion
This free online forum covers topics around research data underlying published journal articles. Publishers, editors, researchers & CESSDA Service providers are free to join.


Summer School in Social Science Methods
Established in 1997, the Swiss Summer School is open to all who need to use Social Science methods, both quantitative and qualitative, for their work. It has been conceived for those who feel the need to refresh, deepen and widen their methodological knowledge and skills, whatever their professional situation: student, researcher or practitioner.
27th Summer School 2023 (August 10-25):
The programme for the 27th Summer School is now available and online registration is now open!
Methods and research meetings
The methods and research meetings offer researchers a plattform to present and discuss their substantive or methodological research raising interesting methodological questions or coming up with new methodological approaches.
The 2022/2023 programme will be published shortly.
The current and past meetings can be viewed here.
FORS Lunch seminar
The FORS lunch seminars are held to foster scholarly exchange between FORS researchers and related researchers to profit from their diverse scientific and cultural backgrounds. Occasionnally researchers from outside of FORS are invited to present their research findings. Currently, all meetings are held online.
The current programme and past meetings
FORS Data management webinar series
Does your research involve data collection in a social science discipline or involve human participants? Do you want to learn more about key data management practices throughout the research process?
Check out the videos and presentation slides of the following domains:
- Data management planning
- Data protection
- Data security
- Archiving and data sharing
- Informed consent
- Data documentation
- Quantitative data anonymisation
- Qualitative data anonymisation