Launch of SSHOC-CH Swiss Social Sciences Survey WG

Mar 17, 2026 | Call, SSHOC-CH News

Launch of Working Group Swiss Social Science Surveys of SSHOC-CH

A brand-new Working Group Swiss Social Science Surveys of SSHOC-CH was established following a meeting in November 2025 in which many of you participated and aims to foster the exchange of expertise among social science surveys in Switzerland, to develop best practices, and to search for synergies in our work as survey practitioners.

Objectives

  • Foster exchange of expertise and ideas among social science surveys in Switzerland
  • Develop best practices across the survey cycle (ethics, design, fieldwork, data preparation, documentation, dissemination).
  • Search for synergies in our work as survey practitioners (e.g. access to fields and samples, application of legal requirements, sharing codes for data preparation). 
  • Foster practical exchange, reflection, and collective problem-solving to help strengthen ethical practice across the field, with a particular focus on exchanges on consent procedures as an initial objective.

Leaders

The WG is led by Sandra Hupka-Brunner, Claudia Finger, Michèle Ernst Stähli and Marieke Voorpostel.

Workshop on April 24, 2026

We are pleased to invite you to the first workshop of the WG dedicated to an essential—and rapidly evolving—dimension of social science survey work: consent.

As survey practitioners, we navigate an environment shaped by changing technologies, shifting regulatory frameworks, and increasingly diverse respondent populations. Ensuring that our consent procedures are meaningful, comprehensible, and ethically robust is not just a compliance obligation—it is central to building trust and generating high-quality data.

This workshop will explore several aspects of consent in survey research. Our goal is to foster practical exchange, reflection, and collective problem-solving that will help strengthen ethical practice across the field.

We would be delighted if you could join us.
Please find the event details below:

Date: 24 April 2026
Time: 10:00-12:30 (before the GA of SSHOC-CH)
Location: University of Bern, UniTobler, Lerchenweg 32, 3012 Bern
Registration: Please register here until April 12 at the latest 

Important!
As we prepare for the workshop, we would greatly appreciate your contribution. To enrich our collective discussion and ensure that the workshop reflects the real challenges and innovations across our community, we kindly ask you to share wiht us:

1. Your existing consent materials

This may include:
These materials will help us build a comparative overview of how practitioners currently communicate rights, risks, and data use to respondents.

2. Your responses to a short list of questions

We have prepared a brief set of predefined questions (attached) to better understand your experiences, constraints, and priorities regarding consent. Your insights will inform the workshop design and guide thematic discussions.

Please send both your materials and your answers by April 13 to marieke.voorpostel@fors.unil.ch. 

All shared documents will be treated confidentially and used solely for workshop preparation and discussion. If needed, you are welcome to anonymize or redact organizational information.

Your participation will help us create a richer, more practical, and more relevant exchange for everyone. Thank you in advance for your time and contributions — they are essential for making this workshop meaningful and useful to the entire community.