The interaction of politics with society and the rapid changes in the electoral market call for scientific methods and instruments capable of measuring these changes empirically. Which topics and themes currently concern society? Which criteria are decisive when voting for a party? What role does affiliation to a particular social group play?

The investigation of social and political change forms the necessary basis for timely reactions to changes in the structures of needs and political wishes. The aim here is to explore long-term changes and constants in the electorate, and thus social transformations, in order to create a foundation for political decisions.

In its work, the Team Empirical Social Research focuses on studies of the electorate, society and parties. But the special feature here lies in the interlocking of these three research areas which usually tend to be analysed separately. In addition to the interpretation of already existing data, the team’s own qualitative and quantitative surveys are of major importance in this approach. The abundant store of existing, highly sophisticated data enables the investigation of causes in trends and helps in the early provision of development forecasts. The more specific areas of research include:

• Political party analyses
• Election analysis / Electoral market
• Public opinion
• Social change
• Political participation

You can find out more from the extensive database (german) at: wahlen.kas.de