SELECTS

Post-electoral survey

For the post-electoral survey, the sample is stratified by canton, i.e. people are not randomly drawn across the whole of Switzerland, but randomly drawn in each of the 26 cantons. For small cantons, an oversampling is carried out in order to guarantee at least 80 respondents per canton, covering both voters and non-voters. In addition, in three cantons (Zurich, Geneva and Ticino), the samples were increased to 800 – 1,000 respondents.

Panel survey

For the panel survey, the sample is drawn randomly across Switzerland to form a national sample of around 8,000 people. The survey includes three waves during which the same people are invited to participate each time. Two waves are conducted before and another one after the federal elections in October. In order to study the stability and change of individual opinions, as well as the behaviour between elections, it is planned to continue the panel every year until the 2023 federal elections.

Candidates’ survey

For the candidates’ survey, the population is defined and not random, since it includes all the candidates who stood for the election to the National Council and the Council of States. This survey is conducted after each federal election, regardless of whether the candidates were elected or not.

Post-electoral survey

• The data collection is conducted through self-administered questionnaires (online/paper);
• The survey consists of a core questionnaire including additional thematic modules as part of the international project: “Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES)“;
• The net sample of this survey includes around 5,000 respondents.

Panel survey

• The data collection is carried out several times during the election year by means of self-administered questionnaires (online);
• The questionnaire varies from wave to wave;
• The net sample of the panel survey includes approximately 5,000 respondents.

Media analysis

• During the election year, data is collected on the associated election campaign content in the media.

Candidates’ survey

• The data collection is carried out after the federal elections by means of self-administered questionnaires (online/paper);
• The survey consists of a core questionnaire, which is part of the international project “Comparative Candidates Survey (CCS)“;
• The census includes the full population of candidates running for election.

Social media analysis

• The data collection is conducted during the election campaign, gathering data from the candidates’ and parties’ public Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Post-electoral survey

The post-electoral survey mainly focuses on two questions:

• Who participates in elections and why?
• Who votes for a certain party or candidate and why?

In addition, every four years, FORS offers researchers the possibility to add thematic modules to the questionnaire that are selected based on a peer review process (call for modules 2023). The submitted proposals are reviewed by the Selects Commission and subsequently compiled and adapted by the FORS Political Surveys team.

Thematic modules chosen based on a peer-review process include, for example:

• “Assessing welfare preferences and welfare priorities”,which examines the links between attitudes towards the welfare state and voting choice;
• “Attitudes towards immigrants and party choice in Switzerland”,studies the interplay between mobilisation of immigration issues by right-wing populists, attitudes towards immigrants and voting choices.

Panel survey

The panel survey of the Selects research project focuses on the following question:

• What is the citizens’ view on political parties and how does this view evolve during the election campaign?

This question aims at investigating the influence of campaign dynamics and postal voting on voting behaviour and on the opinion formation processes, as well as the importance of strategic considerations on voting choice as opposed to emotional campaign involvement.

Media analysis

Alongside the panel survey, the objective of the media analysis is to put individual opinion formation processes into their information context.

Candidates’ survey

The candidates’ survey focuses primarily on the following question:

• To what extent do candidates conduct their own campaign and distinguish themselves from their party?

This question aims at studying the topic of individualisation during an election campaign. Among other things, the information gathered makes it possible to study the underlying factors of candidates’ electoral success, as well as issues such as representation and the links between voters and elites. To enable this, the study examines the use and impact of campaign tools in federal elections, attitudes towards democracy and the political careers of candidates.

Every four years FORS offers researchers the possibility to add thematic modules to the questionnaire, which are selected based on a peer review process (call for modules 2023). The submitted proposals are reviewed by the Selects Commission and subsequently compiled and adapted by the FORS Political Surveys team.