The Social Study

Co-owned by all Belgian universities, The Social Study (TSS) is an advanced data collection infrastructure. The TSS panel comprises a representative group of 5.000 randomly selected citizens in Belgium, aged 16 and above. This infrastructure provides the scientific community with a valuable resource for collecting data and gaining insights into our society.

The Social Study panel facilitates high-quality survey research that requires a diverse and accurate representation of the Belgian population. Every year, panel members complete 6 to 10 questionnaires (15-20 minutes each) on a variety of topics of general interest. Panel members can complete questionnaires online or on paper. TSS fields a yearly core study questionnaire to gather basic information on economic situation, work, social attitudes, health, and personality traits of panel members. Additionally, TSS offers researchers from various disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences the opportunity to field their own surveys.

TSS covers a wide range of social, economic and behavioral topics, making it valuable to a wide range of researchers and policy makers. Besides, TSS provides exceptional opportunities for longitudinal and experimental research, positioning itself as a key player in innovative research in Belgium. Furthermore, our commitment to open science ensures that all data collected is made available to the research community. The data is available upon registration and exclusively for scientific purposes via SODHA.

The Social Study is an initiative of all Belgian universities. It actively collaborates with research institutes and statistical authorities at various government levels (regional, federal, and local), which are considered important partners of this infrastructure project. The building of this scientific panel is made possible with the financial support of FWO-Flanders, F.R.S.-FNRS, and Statistics Flanders.