UK in the World Values Survey (wave 8)

The context The World Values Survey (WVS) covers over 280 questions asked across 120 countries and dates back to 1981, making it one of the longest-standing and most widely used sources of insight into people’s attitudes, values and beliefs and how they are changing. Awareness and use of this unique resource has increased substantially in the UK recently, due to proactive engagement undertaken by the Policy Institute in the last wave. We will build on this momentum, cementing the study as the most accessible, trusted and used source of evidence on the UK’s sense of self and its place in a rapidly changing world. The challenge the project addresses In wave eight of WVS, we would collect a new sample of responses from 1,800 adults living the in UK, supplemented by boosts in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (subject to available funding). Our proposed design addresses two challenges: The first challenge is common to many ESRC Infrastructure projects: how to ensure these vital time series studies remain sustainable, when face-to-face response rates and interviewer capacity are declining, and fieldwork costs rising. Building on learnings from mode experiments conducted by the European Social Survey (ESS) and through partnership with the ESS Headquarters, we propose that for wave 8, we incorporate an innovative ‘bridge wave’ to test the reliability of shifting to self-completion within the UK. In practice, this means that half of respondents will be randomly assigned to completing the survey via a face-to-face interview, and the other half via an online or paper questionnaire. The second challenge is experienced by those who face barriers to using data infrastructures such as the WVS, be it a lack of time or confidence to use a dataset that is inherently complex. Therefore, alongside the data release, we will publish a series of high-profile initial releases summarising key trends and country comparisons, to shine a light on contemporary issues facing the UK and provide a broader community of data users with the evidence to respond to them. Aims and objectives The Policy Institute will build on the solid foundations already laid in the previous wave, ensuring continuity of the study as a high-quality, trusted and resilient resource for a diverse community of data users. Our aims supporting this are threefold: To involve a diverse range of data users from the outset, to ensure the WVS meets the needs of research and policy communities To facilitate high quality international research on life in the UK, that is resilient to an evolving fieldwork market To raise the study’s profile and unlock its impact for a broad community of research and policy communities Potential applications and benefits We are committed to ensuring the data are widely used, both within academia and beyond. This will be supported by an ambitious engagement strategy (including descriptive releases of initial findings, policy briefings, direct media engagement and a high-profile launch event), which we have demonstrated can build an engaged and influential user base for the WVS in the UK. This study also answers substantive questions about survey methodology approaches, benefiting the wider Data Infrastructure community, and potentially bringing significant cost-savings going forward. It also brings significant societal benefit, allowing a clear read on the issues that matter to the public in the four nations of the UK.