Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Scottish Social Attitudes (SSA) survey was launched by ScotCen Social Research (formerly the Scottish Centre for Social Research) in 1999, following the advent of devolution. Based on annual rounds of interviews of between 1,200 to 1,500 people drawn using probability sampling (based on a stratified, clustered sample), it aims to facilitate the study of public opinion and inform the development of public policy in Scotland, similar to the British Social Attitudes (BSA) series (held at the Archive under GN 33168). The SSA survey has been conducted annually each year since 1999, with the exception of 2008. The survey has a modular structure. In any one year it typically contains three to five modules, each containing 40 questions. Funding for its first two years came from the Economic and Social Research Council, while from 2001 onwards different bodies have funded individual modules each year. These bodies have included the Economic and Social Research Council, the Scottish Government and various charitable and grant awarding bodies, such as the Nuffield Foundation and Leverhulme Trust. Further information on the SSA and links to publications may be found on the ScotCen Social Research Scottish Social Attitudes webpages.

Main Topics:

The dataset includes responses to the main interview questionnaire, responses to the self-completion questionnaire and geographic information. The questionnaires covered social capital, public spending and social welfare, cohabitation, democracy and participation, nations and regions, education, and illegal drugs, and included a comprehensive classification section. Standard Measures The questionnaires contain two scales developed by researchers involved in the British Social Attitudes Surveys and British Election Study (BES) series (held at the UK Data Archive under GN:33066). These are 'libertarian/authoritarian'/ and 'left/right'. For further details, see the published technical report.

Multi-stage stratified random sample

Face-to-face interview

Self-completion