Coordinated by the RISC section Halle (Saale), sections Bielefeld, Göttingen, and Hannover jointly conducted this panel study on social cohesion in local societies. The RISC Regional Panel covers 12 communes in 4 German federal states (Bavaria, Lower-Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony-Anhalt): One large city (min 200,000 inhabitants), one medium-sized city (max 50,000 inhabitants), and one small commune/village each. The samples are randomly drawn from official registry and the data are representative for each commune. The datasets comprise data on a wide range of topics like social cohesion, neighbourhoods, media consumption, local infrastructures, and polarisation. The second wave was conducted in spring 2023 and subsequent waves are envisaged for 2025, 2027 and 2029.

Selection Method: The respondents were drawn from the official local registry of 12 communes in 4 German federal states (Bavaria, Lower-Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony-Anhalt) using a two-staged random sampling procedure.

Collection Method: In the RISC regional panel study, the respondents had the choice of participating via online questionnaires or by means of paper-pencil questionnaires. The study was self-administered and translated into English.

Sackmann, R., Dirksmeier, P., Göb, A., Hartl, J., Mayer, I., Rees, J., Rees, Y., Reinhold, M., Schmidt, A., Schmidt, J.-H., Vogel, B., & Winkler, O. (2024). RISC Regional Panel 2021-2023 – Wave 1-2 (FGZ Regionalpanel 2021-2023 – Welle 1-2). Dataset and Documentation. doi:10.60532/risc_regpan.2021-23.w1-2.v1

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based Individuals in private households of 12 communes in Germany