German Ageing Survey (DEAS): User Manual SUF DEAS 2014, Version 2.0

Abstract

The following shows you the most important changes in the SUF-Version 2.0 of the Scientific Use File (DEAS-Survey 2014) in comparison to the previous version: 88 cases in the drop-off-data of 2014, deleted concerning doubts of the respondents’ identity, could be reactivated because of additional information in the 2017-Survey. Thus the sample - with drop-off-data - increases to 8.040 persons. The original "European Socio-economic Classification" (ESeC-classification) was developed for the occupational division to ISCO88. At the time of the publication of the first version of the SUF DEAS 2014 no official operationalisation was given for the occupational division ISCO08 (see chapter 8.14). The variables to the relative income position, to the income poverty and to the income wealth have been upgraded, based on new reference-numbers (see chapter 8.16). The generated variables to nationality, migration background and education contain data for all samples (baseline and panel respondents). For panel respondents the characteristics have been adopted from the first measuring time now • The data collection has been changed. From now on the Scientific Use File (SUF) contains an integrated cross-sectional weighting for all interviewees up to the age of 90 (see chapter 2). The German Ageing Survey (DEAS) is a nationwide representative cross-sectional and longitudinal survey of the German population aged over 40. It is funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). The German Centre of Gerontology in Berlin (DZA) is responsible for the conduct and ongoing development of the study. The primary goal of the DEAS-Survey program is to provide a representative national database containing information describing the living conditions of the country’s middle-aged and older population and to study the diversity within the older section of the population, the process of ageing as it affects individuals and processes of social change as they relate to old age and ageing. The DEAS covers a wide range of topics. The data obtained provide information on socioeconomic and demographic attributes as well as household composition, housing, family structure, social networks, psychological resources, attitudes as well as and physical and mental health. The comprehensive examination of people in mid- and older adulthood provides micro data for use both in social and behavioral scientific research and in reporting on social developments. The data thus provides a source of information for decision-makers, the general public and for scientific research. Microdata of the German Ageing Survey (DEAS) are available free of charge to scientific researchers for non-profitable purposes. The Research Data Centre (FDZ-DZA) provides access and support to scholars interested in using DEAS data for their research. Data and documentations from completed DEAS waves are available by the FDZ-DZA (https://www.dza.de/en/fdz.html). However, for reasons of data protection, signing a data distribution contract is required before data can be obtained. The DEAS applies a cohort-sequential design, which allows the users to analyze societal trends and individual trajectories (embedded inside societal trends) and to disentangle age effects from cohort effects. The first DEAS survey wave took place in 1996, further waves followed in 2002, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2017. The 5th wave in 2014 considered a panel sample of study participants who had entered the DEAS earlier as well as a new sample of adults, aged 40 to 85 years. Sampling, fieldwork and data collection for all waves have been carried out by the Bonn-based Institute for Applied Social Sciences (infas). Infas also took over scanning, coding of the open references to the occupational status and the new data weighting.