The MOSAiCH survey offers researchers and the public comprehensive data on social attitudes, behaviors, and living conditions in Switzerland. Launched in 2005, MOSAiCH has been shedding light on key social issues for 20 years, making it a unique resource for analyzing social change in Switzerland.
Topics Covered
MOSAiCH aligns its survey topics with the annual theme of the International Social Survey Programme, covering 12 topics crucial for the social sciences:
  • Role of Government
  • Social Inequality
  • Social Networks and Social Resources
  • Family and Changing Gender Roles
  • Work Orientations
  • Religion
  • Environment
  • National Identity
  • Citizenship
  • Leisure Time and Sports
  • Health and Health Care
  • Digital Societies
Methodology and Survey Administration
MOSAiCH is an annual, self-administered survey (online/paper) with respondents drawn from a probabilistic sample representing the Swiss population aged 18 and over. The survey is conducted in two parts: the first part includes the current module of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) and is supplemented with socio-demographic questions, while the second part consists of one or two follow-up surveys featuring Switzerland-specific questions determined through a public call.
Research Opportunities:

  • Critical Social Issues: MOSAiCH data covers a wide spectrum of social issues, including government responsibilities, civil rights and duties, health care experiences, religious practices, environmental attitudes and concerns, work-life balance, social inequalities, national identification, and many more.
  • Analysis of Social Change: Researchers can analyze changes in social attitudes and behaviors over time.
  • Cross-Country Comparisons: Enables comparisons with other ISSP country datasets.

Accessibility:

  • Free Access: Data is available free of charge, accessible to researchers and the public.
  • Research Tool for Scholars: The annual call for question contributions provides researchers with a valuable tool for collecting representative data for their research projects. This data is also freely accessible to the wider scientific public.
The following chapters provide a detailed overview of the MOSAiCH survey and its extensive datasets.

MOSAiCH stands for Measurement and Observation of Social Attitudes in Switzerland (CH)

Funding and Organization

MOSAiCH is financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The survey is organized and coordinated by FORS, the Swiss Center of Expertise in the Social Sciences.

Under the scientific direction of Michèle Ernst Staehli, the International Surveys team at FORS plans and executes the following steps of the survey process:

  • Overall planning and organization of the survey
  • Sample drawing for Switzerland
  • Development of specific survey methods
  • Translation of the ISSP questionnaire module from English into Swiss national languages (French, German, and Italian)
  • Development of the Swiss section of the questionnaire
  • Cleaning, documenting, and processing MOSAiCH data for use by researchers and other interested parties

Coordination of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP)

The ISSP is a cross-national collaboration programme that coordinates and conducts annual surveys on relevant social science topics. Established in 1984 by its founding members Australia, Germany, Great Britain and the US, the ISSP (www.issp.org) now counts more than 40 member countries. Since its foundation, over one million respondents from all around the globe have participated in ISSP surveys.

The ISSP is organised mainly by a rotating Secretariat, a Drafting group for modules that decides on the annual topics and a Methodology Committee that is responsible for quality specifications and assurance. The General Meeting – consisting of all the member states – develops the source questionnaire, appoints the members of the working groups and makes strategic decisions.

In the past years, FORS (representing Switzerland) has been strongly involved in various ISSP working groups. At present, FORS is in charge of the ISSP Secretariat (2021-2027) and is actively represented in several ISSP research groups (non-response, mixed-mode, translation, weighting, demographics). Additionally, FORS was a member of the Drafting Group that prepared the “Social Networks and Social Resources” module for the 2017 edition of the ISSP, and will be a member of the Drafting Group again for the 2027 edition of the same module.

Methods
Sample:

The respondents are drawn from a probabilistic sample representing the countries’ population from the age of 18. A net sample size of at least 1,000 respondents is required. Since 2010, MOSAiCH is considered a survey of national importance to Switzerland, which means that a sample of individuals can be drawn randomly from the sampling register of the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, in accordance with Art. 13c, para. 2, lett. d, of the Ordinance on the Execution of Federal Statistical Surveys dated 30 June 1993.

Sample design:

Until 2009: Random sampling in three stages:

  • Sample of postal codes representing all regions of Switzerland
  • Selection of a specified number of households from each of the sampled postal codes
  • Random drawing of one person from each household

Since 2010: Random sampling in one stage:

  • The MOSAiCH survey sample design is, since 2010, based on a simple random selection of individuals on national level, without stratification.

Data collection:

  • Until 2017, MOSAiCH was conducted every two years as a face-to-face survey.
  • Since 2018, data collection has been carried out once a year through self-administered questionnaires (web/paper).
  • The survey consists of a main questionnaire followed by one or two shorter follow-up surveys (study2 and study3).
  • Target net sample size for the follow-up interviews: 1000 respondents.

In order to enhance the quality of the data, the methodical procedure is constantly adapted and improved. Among other things, these measures include a rigorous translation procedure for the questionnaire (TRAPD), optimised random sampling and extensive measures to increase the response rate.

Topics / editions

Since 2018, the MOSAiCH questionnaire basically consists of two parts: the main survey, which incorporates the current module of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) along with selected socio-demographic questions, and one or two follow-up surveys featuring Switzerland-specific questions.

Main survey: The ISSP-module
Each year, the ISSP Drafting Group presents a jointly developed questionnaire module focusing on a specific topic. To ensure international comparability of results, the questionnaire is designed to be applicable across a diverse array of countries and cultures. The ISSP topics are periodically repeated, with most questions remaining consistent across rounds. This approach allows for the observation of changes over time, as illustrated in the table below.

In each round of the survey, general information about the person, such as age, gender, marital status or employment, is collected.

Follow-up survey(s): The Swiss module
In each edition of MOSAiCH, the ISSP module is complemented by one or two follow-up surveys. These additional questions are only administered in Switzerland and either expand the ISSP module thematically or add aspects that are of particular interest to Switzerland.

FORS provides interested researchers with the opportunity to include their own questions or question modules in this Swiss section through a public call for submissions (see MOSAiCH call). The submitted proposals are reviewed by the MOSAiCH Commission and then compiled and adapted by the FORS International Surveys team.

The MOSAiCH collaborations document provides a summary of the external collaborations to date.

Switzerland-Europe: Eurobarometer (EB) and Eurobarometer in Switzerland (EBCH)
From 1999 to 2003, Switzerland conducted selected modules of the European Commission’s Eurobarometer Survey (in the first year as an independent survey, from 2000 to 2003 in combination with the ISSP). The modules of this Europe-wide survey were complemented by additional questions that focus primarily on the Swiss population’s attitudes and opinions towards national institutions and the European Union. These additional questions are gathered primarily in the modules EBCH – Swiss politics and EBCH – Relationship EU-CH.

While the Eurobarometer (EB) was discontinued in Switzerland in 2003, a considerable number of the EBCH questions has been incorporated into the MOSAiCH project (2005-2017). The document Vue d’ensemble des questions de l’Eurobaromètre en Suisse provides an overview of the repeated questions coming from EBCH as well as other sociodemographic and attitudinal questions of general interest and their implementation in different survey projects from 1999 until now.

Since 2018, the EBCH questions are only included in the MOSAiCH survey on a selective basis, depending on the specific subject of the ISSP module.

Editions

ISSPEB/EBCHSwiss Module
2026 - MOSAiCHRole of Government VI (2026, upcoming)Additional questions on ISSP 2026 and questions from the MOSAiCH call
2025 - MOSAiCHWork Orientations V (2025, upcoming)Additional questions on ISSP 2025 and questions from the MOSAiCH call
2024 - MOSAiCHDigital Societies I (2024)Additional questions on ISSP 2024 and questions from the MOSAiCH call
2023 - MOSAiCHNational Identity and Citizenship (2023, merged module)Additional questions on ISSP 2023 and questions from the MOSAiCH call
2022 - MOSAiCHFamily and Changing Gender Roles V (2022)Additional questions on ISSP 2022 and questions from the MOSAiCH call
2021 - MOSAiCHHealth and Health Care II (2021)Additional questions on ISSP 2021 and questions from the MOSAiCH call
2020 - MOSAiCHEnvironment IV (2020)Additional questions on ISSP 2020 and questions from the MOSAiCH call
MOSAiCH COVID-19 Panel
2019 - MOSAiCHSocial Inequality V (2019)Additional questions on ISSP 2019 and questions from the MOSAiCH call
2018 - MOSAiCHReligion IV (2018)Additional questions on ISSP 2018 and questions from the MOSAiCH call
2017 - MOSAiCHRole of Government V (2016)

Social Networks and Social Resources (2017)		EBCH: Swiss Politics

EBCH: Relationship EU-CH		Additional questions to ISSP 2016 and ISSP 2017

Drop-off (MOSAiCH 2017)
2015 - MOSAiCHCitizenship II (2014)

Work Orientations IV (2015)		EBCH: Swiss Politics

EBCH: Relationship EU-CH		Additional questions to ISSP 2014 and ISSP 2015

Drop-off (MOSAiCH 2015)
2013 - MOSAiCHFamily and Changing Gender Roles IV (2012)

National Identity III (2013)		EBCH: Swiss Politics

EBCH: Relationship EU-CH		Additional questions to ISSP 2012 und ISSP 2013

Family Relations (Drop off)
2011 - MOSAiCHEnvironment III (2010)

Health (2011)		EBCH: Swiss Politics

EBCH: Relationship EU-CH		Noise Pollution

Time Orientation
2009 - MOSAiCHReligion III (2008)

Social Inequality IV (2009)		EBCH: Swiss Politics

EBCH: Relationship EU-CH		Religion

Professional Position

Survey Climate
2007 - MOSAiCHRole of Government IV (2006)

Leisure Time and Sports (2007)		EBCH: Swiss Politics

EBCH: Relationship EU-CH		Image of Professions

Satisfaction with Economy

Media
2005 - MOSAiCHCitizenship (2004)

Work Orientations III (2005)		EBCH: Swiss Politics

EBCH: Relationship EU-CH		Social Networks
2003 - Eurobarometer / ISSPNational Identity II (2003)Family and Couples (EB 59.0)

EBCH: Swiss Politics

EBCH: Relationship EU-CH
2002 - Eurobarometer / ISSPFamily and Changing Gender Roles III (2002)Biotechnology and genetic Engineering (EB 58.0)

EBCH: Swiss Politics

EBCH: Relationship EU-CH
2001 - Eurobarometer / ISSPSocial Relations and Support Systems (2001)Science and Technology (EB 55.2)

EBCH: Swiss Politics

EBCH: Relationship EU-CH
2000 - Eurobarometer / ISSPEnvironment II (2000)Attitudes toward people from other cultures (EB 53.0)

New communication technologies (EB 53.0)

Genetically modified Organisms (EB 53.0)

EBCH: Swiss Politics

EBCH: Relationship EU-CH
1999 - EurobarometerEnvironment (EB 51)

EBCH: Swiss Politics

EBCH: Relationship EU-CH
1999 - FNRSSocial Inequality III (1999)Social Inequality
1998 - FNRSReligion II (1998)Religion and Religious Communities: Construction and Regulation of Religious Mobilisation
1997 - FNRSRole of Government III (1996)

Work Orientations II (1997)		Conditions and Meaning of Work

Participation at Work
1994 - FNRSEnvironment I (1993)Awareness and behavior toward the Environment
1987 - FNRSSocial Inequality I (1987)Social Inequality

Note: Roman numerals indicate the repetition of the module within the ISSP.

MOSAiCH Questionnaires PDF

MOSAiCH / ISSP 2023

MOSAiCH-2023_Questionnaire_English_French_German_Italian

MOSAiCH / ISSP 2022

MOSAiCH-2022_Questionnaire_English_French_German_Italian

MOSAiCH / ISSP 2021

MOSAiCH-2021_Questionnaire_English_French_German_Italian

MOSAiCH / ISSP 2020

MOSAiCH-2020_Questionnaire_English_French_German_Italian

MOSAiCH / ISSP 2019

MOSAiCH-2019 Questionnaire_English_French_German_Italian

MOSAiCH / ISSP 2018

MOSAiCH-2018_Questionnaire_English_French_German_Italian

Data

After completion of the fieldwork , FORS reviews and verifies the MOSAiCH data and process it, so it can be integrated into the data archive on the FORS – De Visu server. The pseudonymized MOSAiCH datasets are freely available to researchers and other interested parties following registration and agreement to the conditions of data use. The documentation of the variables is available in French or German.

FORS – De Visu, however, provides only a limited MOSAiCH dataset. The comprehensive dataset is available on the SWISSUbase data catalogue. The ISSP data is also stored at the Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences (GESIS). There, you can also find the datasets of the other participating countries.

Researchers are requested to respect the conditions of data use, in particular the requirement for proper citation in articles or other forms of publications (citations). All publications that reference the MOSAiCH data must be communicated to the FORS International Surveys team.

Important/useful links:

Results
The MOSAiCH and ISSP data sets are used intensively by scientists both in Switzerland and abroad. A list of publications based on ISSP international data, which use data in a comparative way, is regularly updated.

The data from the Swiss section in particular are very popular with researchers working in Switzerland, as they accurately reflect the social context in our country. A list of MOSAiCH-ISSP-Swiss publications enumerates publications based on MOSAiCH data and Swiss ISSP data. For more specific searches by topic or author, you can also access the Zotero bibliographic database.

Some results of previous surveys:

Some selected results from previous surveys can be found in the following brochures (survey years 2009-2015) and in our data blog.

Publications

Publications with MOSAiCH and Swiss ISSP data

You can search the bibliographic database for title and author:

thinking

You can also access the Zotero database for more complex search options and access to the abstracts.

The database contains mainly publications from 2018 onwards and is updated at least once a year. Earlier publications are added occasionally.

If you have worked with MOSAiCH or Swiss ISSP data and miss your publication in this list, or if you want to announce a new publication, please send the complete reference to Michele.ErnstStaehli@fors.unil.ch. Thank you for your collaboration.

MOSAiCH Call
Are you conducting research on one of the periodically repeated topics of MOSAiCH/ISSP and looking for a representative survey instrument for your own research questions?

The MOSAiCH CALL FOR QUESTION CONTRIBUTIONS offers researchers in Switzerland a unique opportunity to collect representative data on current social issues free of charge.

Pre-announcement:

MOSAiCH Call 2026 – with a thematic focus on the Role of Government

We are pleased to announce the upcoming MOSAiCH Call 2026, which offers researchers a unique opportunity to collect representative data in Switzerland on relevant societal issues at no cost. The official MOSAiCH Call 2026 will be released early next year, with a submission deadline of the end of April 2025.

Researchers are invited to propose questions for the second part of the MOSAiCH Survey 2026, which will thematically complement the ISSP 2026 Role of Government VI module. Successful proposals will be fielded during spring 2026, and the resulting data will become available in early 2027.

The ISSP Role of Government module will be conducted for the fourth time in Switzerland in 2026 and cover aspects such as government responsibilities and performance, trust in the state, market and other societal institutions, government spending, political interest, trust and efficacy, state intervention in the economy, national security versus citizens’ rights and integrity, climate change mitigation, social care, and security and preparedness.

Other upcoming calls: 

MOSAiCH Call 2027: The MOSAiCH call with a thematic focus on Social Networks and Social Resources will be published in early 2026.

FORS offers interested researchers the opportunity to contribute questions or question modules to the Swiss part of MOSAiCH by means of an open call. Researchers in the social sciences are thus given the opportunity to collect representative data on their own research projects without incurring any costs. The call for question contributions is held annually. The submitted proposals are examined by the MOSAiCH Commission and then compiled and adapted by the FORS International Surveys team.

Details of the criteria and conditions for submitting question or question modules can be found in the respective call.

Scientific Commission

The MOSAiCH Scientific Commission guarantees the strong embedding of MOSAiCH within the Swiss research community and authorities involved in research in the social sciences. The Commission is mandated by the FORS Foundation Board. According to its mandate, the Commission’s purpose is to guarantee the quality of the Swiss part of the research project and to strengthen the research network in the social sciences at Swiss universities and concerned authorities.

Members:

  • Prof. Bart Meuleman (KU Leuven, Belgium), Chair
  • Prof. Kaspar Burger (Universität Zürich)
  • Prof. Laurie Corna (SUPSI, Lugano)
  • Prof. Axel Franzen (Universität Bern)
  • Prof. Eva Green (Université de Lausanne)
  • Prof. Anita Manatschal (Université de Neuchâtel)
  • Prof. Stephanie Steinmetz (Université de Lausanne)
  • Prof. Boris Wernli (FORS)

Project Directors:

Dr. Michèle Ernst Stähli and Dr. Marlène Sapin (FORS, Lausanne)

Previous calls:

Navigation

MOSAiCH

Contact

Michèle Ernst Staehli

Dr.
Head of group INT
+41 (0)21 692 37 36
michele.ernststaehli​@fors.unil.ch

Click here to learn more about the staff of MOSAiCH and to contact us individually.

News

Pre-announcement: MOSAiCH Call 2026 – with a thematic focus on the Role of Government

The upcoming MOSAiCH Call 2026 offers researchers a unique opportunity to collect representative data in Switzerland on relevant societal issues at no cost.

Final data release of the ISSP 2021 Health and Health Care Module

The final version of the ISSP 2021 Health and Health Care II data file offers insights into health attitudes and behaviours from Switzerland and 29 other member countries.