Very high participation in wave W2b

The main data collection for FReDA’s partial wave W2b concluded at the end of January 2023. Between 12 October 2022 and 31 January 2023, we contacted 27,276 people and have received 22,424 completed interviews thus far. This is equal to a response rate of 82.21 per cent! These numbers are still preliminary, but they are already proof of a very successful survey.

The response rate varies based on how participants were contacted. For example, in the first invitation some of the participants were simultaneously offered two ways to participate: They had the option to participate online or by completing a paper questionnaire. The response rate among those contacted using this “simultaneous” form was around 78 per cent. In comparison, the response rate was only 51 per cent when we used a “sequential” form of contact. This means, they only received a paper questionnaire in the second participation reminder. If we contacted the respondents “web only”, i.e. they did not receive the option to complete a paper questionnaire, the response rate was 89 per cent, which was the highest response rate. Here, hoever, we cannot speak of a causal releationship because the group composition is not random and selection effects must therefore be assumed.

Large majority selected the CAWI mode

When looking at the distribution of participants, the large majority of respondents, namely more than 20,000 participants opted to use the online questionnaire (CAWI mode). This is equal to more than 90 per cent of respondents. Only about 2,200 respondents used the paper form (PAPI form), which is less than 10 per cent.

49 per cent of participants accessed the online questionnaire through the included QR code, 34 per cent accessed it through the participant website and around 17 per cent accessed the questionnaire through the link in the e-mail invitation. Noticeable again was that the majority of participants (57 per cent) used a smartphone to complete the survey. Around 34 per cent used a PC or laptop to answer the questions and around 9 per cent used a tablet.

Strong participation among partners in W2b

We can also provide a preliminary update for the partner survey. The survey is still running, which means these numbers will change. We contacted 8,799 partners of our anchor sample. As of 12 February 2023, we have received 7,258 interviews. This is equal to a response rate of 82.5 per cent. We are also currently surveying ex-partners.

For the first time, all partners in W2b were contacted sequentially (the paper form of the questionnaire is only sent with the second participation reminder) and simultaneously, like in the past. This saved a great deal of paper without the response rate decreasing (as of today – we are still in the field): For both the partners and ex-partners, 7,216 people used the online questionnaire. This is equal to around 99.1 per cent of participants.

We are very glad that we could make FReDA a bit more environmentally friendly.

First time the open modules were integrated

In wave 2b, the open modules were also included in the questionnaire. They dealt with the following topics:

• Transnational families in Germany
Prof. Dr Magdalena Nowicka and Dr David Schiefer (both from the Deutsches Zentrum für Integrations- und Migrationsforschung (DeZIM-Institut))

• Capturing affective touching behaviours among couples
Prof. Dr Ilona Croy (Friedrich Schiller University Jena), Dr hab. Prof. UWr Agnieszka Sorokowska (University of Wroclaw, Poland) and Prof. Shu-Chen Li, Ph.D. (Technische Universität Dresden)

• Survey of sexual orientation
Two teams with a very similar approach to this topic have been selected:
a) Lisa de Vries (University of Bielefeld) and Dr Mirjam Fischer (University of Cologne)
b) Dr Melanie Fischer (Heidelberg University Medical Centre), Magdalena Siegel (University of Vienna, Austria), Prof. Dr Beate Ditzen (Heidelberg University Medical Centre), Prof. Dr Martina Zemp (University of Vienna, Austria) and Dr phil. Nathalie Meuwly (University of Freiburg/Fribourg, Switzerland)

• Fertility Awareness - Knowledge about fertility in life course
Prof. Arthur L. Greil (Alfred University, USA) and Prof. Julia McQuillan (University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA)

The open modules are an integral part of FReDA's question programme and are regularly advertised. This gives other researchers the opportunity to have their own questions co-surveyed in the FReDA context. These can then be analysed along with any other information from the fixed programme. More information about FReDA’s open modules can be found here.