FReDA - The German Family Demography Panel Study: Framework, Objectives, Design, and How it Started in Two Years of the Pandemic

Martin Bujard , Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB)
Tobias Gummer, GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. Mannheim
Karsten Hank , University of Cologne
C. Katharina Spieß , Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Norbert F. Schneider, Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB)

FReDA is a new data infrastructure rooted in the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) and the German Family Panel (pairfam). FReDA was initiated to facilitate research on family and demography by providing a comprehensive panel study allowing for international comparisons as well as dyadic analyses through a multi-actor design. The infrastructure consists of two different samples. First, the new FReDA-GGS survey started in early 2021, with a population of individuals aged 18 to 49 years. Second, the FReDA-pairfam survey will continue to survey the 14-wave pairfam sample from 2022 onwards. The questionnaires of both samples are harmonised for FReDA waves in 2022 and onwards. Following recent developments in survey research, FReDA interviews are self-administered via web-based (CAWI) or paper-based (PAPI) questionnaires. The pandemic pushed our strategy to avoid costly face-to-face interviews. Therefore, we split the questionnaire into two parts and started with an additional recruitment interview. Based on a representative sample, we received 37,417 recruitment interviews, a panel consent of 26,590 (=71.1%), around 22,007 interviews during the second part (=82.8%) and we expect around 20,000 anchor interviews for all three parts of the FReDA-GGS wave 1; plus around 7,000 partner interviews. Together with the FReDA-pairfam sample (N=7,611 anchors and 2,465 partners in 2021), FReDA will provide rich data for the coming years. We will discuss our experience with different modes, the high share of smartphone interviews and the quality of the data. Finally, we will address the pros and cons of a bi-annual design and opportunities for life course research.

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 Presented in Session P1. Postercafe