Due to data security reasons, the EVS 2008 is offered in two different versions:
• EVS 2008 Integrated Dataset, ZA4800, v.5.0.0 (2022-06-08), doi:10.4232/1.13841.
• EVS 2008 Integrated Dataset (Restricted Use File), ZA4799, v.2.0.0 (2022-06-08), doi:10.4232/1.13840.

Related to the current release of the EVS 2008, two approaches are combined: refined anonymization measures are applied to the data, and appropriate ways of access to anonymized and sensitive data are implemented. As a result, the two versions of the EVS 2008 IDS are made available through different access ways:
EVS 2008 ZA4800 (SUF)
This dataset version contains de facto anonymized data the Data Archive provides for download through the GESIS data catalog. To prevent the identification of single respondents, specific information is aggregated into coarse categories providing users with less detailed information on respondents’ residence and occupation.
EVS 2008 ZA4799 (Restricted Use File)
This data file contains complete information, i.e., also data that could not be included in the SUF because of data protection concerns. Due to the sensitive nature of the data, its use is subject to specific contractual regulations. The contract allowing for off-site access can be downloaded here.

Access to data and documentation

Data and Documentation – Overview of all data and documentation provided on the Integrated Dataset of EVS 2008
Participating countries and country-information– Overview of documentation provided on the national datasets of EVS 2008

Participating countries and study design

This fourth wave of the European Values Study covers all countries of Europe, from Iceland to Azerbaijan and from Portugal to Norway, with a population of 100,000 and more. In total, the fieldwork is administered in 47 countries/regions: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan*, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great-Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia Republic, Malta, Republic of Moldova, Republic of Montenegro, The Netherlands, Northern Cyprus, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine.
For an overview of countries participating in several EVS waves, click here.

Representative multi-stage or stratified random samples of the adult population of 18 years old and older (except Armenia 15+ and Finland 18 to 74 years) were drawn. Face-to-face interviews with a standardized questionnaire were conducted between 2008-2010 (exceptions are Finland (internet panel) and Sweden (postal survey).

EVS 2008 has a persistent focus on a broad range of values. Questions concerning family, work, religious, political, and societal values are highly comparable with those in earlier waves (1981, 1990, and 1999). This longitudinal scope of the study offers opportunities to explore trends in time. A serious improvement is the rich set of socio-demographic background variables which was added to the questionnaire, facilitating far-reaching analyses of the determinants of values.

Respondents answered about 250 questions; on average, it took about 70 minutes to complete an interview.

For more information on survey design and standards of EVS 2008, go to Methods and sample.

* WARNING: The Azerbaijanian survey is dropped from the current version of the EVS 2008 IDS due to concerns about the data quality. For evaluation, the data of the national dataset (Azerbaijan, ZA4785) can be requested from the Data Archive. For data documentation on study and variable level, please go to Participating countries and country information. Users who are interested in analyzing Azerbaijanian data of EVS wave 2008 should note that there are problems with data quality. Please carefully check socio-demographic distributions (e.g. age, education, and marital status) indicating problems regarding sample design and fieldwork, respectively.

Sponsors of EVS 2008

Due to the high-quality standards, data collection was very costly: almost 6 million Euros. For an overview of the sponsors of the 2008 European Values Study, click here.