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The 2015 study consists of three main complementary components: The Post-election survey, the Panel / Rolling Cross-Section survey, and the Candidate survey. The main difference compared to previous studies relates to the mode of data collection; the main emphasis was now moved towards web interviews. The other main innovation was the addition of a four-wave panel survey. As in 2011, novel thematic modules of particular salience to researchers were included in the different surveys, while keeping the necessary continuity in the core questionnaire of the Post-election survey for comparison with previous waves.

Post-election survey:
The post-election survey consists of 5,337 web and telephone interviews. The survey was done in a sequential mixed mode with web offered as the first option: 82% responded in this way, while 18% responded by telephone. The sampling was based on a representative sample of 2'600 Swiss citizens with an oversampling of small cantons to have at least 80 interviews per canton. An additional oversampling was done in the cantons of Zurich, Geneva, and Ticino.

Panel / Rolling cross-section (RCS):
New for the 2015 study is a panel survey that studies the evolution of opinion and vote intention/choice during the different phases of the election cycle. Four waves were conducted: the first before the main campaign period, the second during the campaign, the third after the elections, and the fourth after the election of the Federal Council. 11'073 individuals responded to the first wave and 6'552 responded to the first three waves. The second wave was conducted as a Rolling cross-section, where around 120 individuals were interviewed daily during 61 days.
A media analysis was also conducted in the context of this survey.

Candidate survey:
The candidate survey was carried out among all candidates for the National Council and the Council of States in the framework of the Comparative Candidate Survey (CCS) project, based on the Round II questionnaire. The survey collects data on the biography, campaign activities, and policy position of the candidates. Among others, the information gathered makes possible the study of underlying factors of candidates' electoral success, as well as of issues of representation and linkage between voters and elites.

The 2015 study consists of three main complementary components: The Post-election survey, the Panel / Rolling Cross-Section survey, and the Candidate survey. The main difference compared to previous studies relates to the mode of data collection; the main emphasis was now moved towards web interviews. The other main innovation was the addition of a four-wave panel survey. As in 2011, novel thematic modules of particular salience to researchers were included in the different surveys, while keeping the necessary continuity in the core questionnaire of the Post-election survey for comparison with previous waves.

Post-election survey:
The post-election survey consists of 5,337 web and telephone interviews. The survey was done in a sequential mixed mode with web offered as the first option: 82% responded in this way, while 18% responded by telephone. The sampling was based on a representative sample of 2'600 Swiss citizens with an oversampling of small cantons to have at least 80 interviews per canton. An additional oversampling was done in the cantons of Zurich, Geneva, and Ticino.

Panel / Rolling cross-section (RCS):
New for the 2015 study is a panel survey that studies the evolution of opinion and vote intention/choice during the different phases of the election cycle. Four waves were conducted: the first before the main campaign period, the second during the campaign, the third after the elections, and the fourth after the election of the Federal Council. 11'073 individuals responded to the first wave and 6'552 responded to the first three waves. The second wave was conducted as a Rolling cross-section, where around 120 individuals were interviewed daily during 61 days.
A media analysis was also conducted in the context of this survey.

Candidate survey:
The candidate survey was carried out among all candidates for the National Council and the Council of States in the framework of the Comparative Candidate Survey (CCS) project, based on the Round II questionnaire. The survey collects data on the biography, campaign activities, and policy position of the candidates. Among others, the information gathered makes possible the study of underlying factors of candidates' electoral success, as well as of issues of representation and linkage between voters and elites.

The 2015 study consists of three main complementary components: The Post-election survey, the Panel / Rolling Cross-Section survey, and the Candidate survey. The main difference compared to previous studies relates to the mode of data collection; the main emphasis was now moved towards web interviews. The other main innovation was the addition of a four-wave panel survey. As in 2011, novel thematic modules of particular salience to researchers were included in the different surveys, while keeping the necessary continuity in the core questionnaire of the Post-election survey for comparison with previous waves.

Post-election survey:
The post-election survey consists of 5,337 web and telephone interviews. The survey was done in a sequential mixed mode with web offered as the first option: 82% responded in this way, while 18% responded by telephone. The sampling was based on a representative sample of 2'600 Swiss citizens with an oversampling of small cantons to have at least 80 interviews per canton. An additional oversampling was done in the cantons of Zurich, Geneva, and Ticino.

Panel / Rolling cross-section (RCS):
New for the 2015 study is a panel survey that studies the evolution of opinion and vote intention/choice during the different phases of the election cycle. Four waves were conducted: the first before the main campaign period, the second during the campaign, the third after the elections, and the fourth after the election of the Federal Council. 11'073 individuals responded to the first wave and 6'552 responded to the first three waves. The second wave was conducted as a Rolling cross-section, where around 120 individuals were interviewed daily during 61 days.
A media analysis was also conducted in the context of this survey.

Candidate survey:
The candidate survey was carried out among all candidates for the National Council and the Council of States in the framework of the Comparative Candidate Survey (CCS) project, based on the Round II questionnaire. The survey collects data on the biography, campaign activities, and policy position of the candidates. Among others, the information gathered makes possible the study of underlying factors of candidates' electoral success, as well as of issues of representation and linkage between voters and elites.

The 2015 study consists of three main complementary components: The Post-election survey, the Panel / Rolling Cross-Section survey, and the Candidate survey. The main difference compared to previous studies relates to the mode of data collection; the main emphasis was now moved towards web interviews. The other main innovation was the addition of a four-wave panel survey. As in 2011, novel thematic modules of particular salience to researchers were included in the different surveys, while keeping the necessary continuity in the core questionnaire of the Post-election survey for comparison with previous waves.

Post-election survey:
The post-election survey consists of 5,337 web and telephone interviews. The survey was done in a sequential mixed mode with web offered as the first option: 82% responded in this way, while 18% responded by telephone. The sampling was based on a representative sample of 2'600 Swiss citizens with an oversampling of small cantons to have at least 80 interviews per canton. An additional oversampling was done in the cantons of Zurich, Geneva, and Ticino.

Panel / Rolling cross-section (RCS):
New for the 2015 study is a panel survey that studies the evolution of opinion and vote intention/choice during the different phases of the election cycle. Four waves were conducted: the first before the main campaign period, the second during the campaign, the third after the elections, and the fourth after the election of the Federal Council. 11'073 individuals responded to the first wave and 6'552 responded to the first three waves. The second wave was conducted as a Rolling cross-section, where around 120 individuals were interviewed daily during 61 days.
A media analysis was also conducted in the context of this survey.

Candidate survey:
The candidate survey was carried out among all candidates for the National Council and the Council of States in the framework of the Comparative Candidate Survey (CCS) project, based on the Round II questionnaire. The survey collects data on the biography, campaign activities, and policy position of the candidates. Among others, the information gathered makes possible the study of underlying factors of candidates' electoral success, as well as of issues of representation and linkage between voters and elites.

The Swiss Electoral Study 2011 (Selects 2011) was conducted by FORS and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The Selects study of 2011 and the studies of 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007 aim to ensure the continuity and further development of election research. The data collected in this study highlights the reasons for participation and abstention during the elections, the composition of the electorate of the parties, the voting behavior of different social groups, the main political attitudes and orientations of the electorate, and the opinion-forming process.
4391 people were interviewed between October 24 and November 25, 2011. The national sample includes 2000 people; 2391 additional interviews were carried out to ensure a minimum sample of 100 persons per canton, respectively about 600 in the cantons of Zurich, Ticino and Geneva.
The interviews were conducted in Adligenswil, Geneva and Winterthur by the survey institute DemoSCOPE. The interviews examined, among other things, electoral behavior in 2011 and 2007, the reasons for (non-)participation in the elections, party identification, political interest, political opinions, various political key issues, media use and political knowledge. Statistical characteristics such as education, occupation, pay, etc. were also collected.
After the telephone survey, a supplementary questionnaire was sent to 2489 people. In total, 1786 people (72%) returned the completed questionnaire electronically or by mail.

The Swiss Electoral Study 2011 (Selects 2011) was conducted by FORS and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The Selects study of 2011 and the studies of 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007 aim to ensure the continuity and further development of election research. The data collected in this study highlights the reasons for participation and abstention during the elections, the composition of the electorate of the parties, the voting behavior of different social groups, the main political attitudes and orientations of the electorate, and the opinion-forming process.
4391 people were interviewed between October 24 and November 25, 2011. The national sample includes 2000 people; 2391 additional interviews were carried out to ensure a minimum sample of 100 persons per canton, respectively about 600 in the cantons of Zurich, Ticino and Geneva.
The interviews were conducted in Adligenswil, Geneva and Winterthur by the survey institute DemoSCOPE. The interviews examined, among other things, electoral behavior in 2011 and 2007, the reasons for (non-)participation in the elections, party identification, political interest, political opinions, various political key issues, media use and political knowledge. Statistical characteristics such as education, occupation, pay, etc. were also collected.
After the telephone survey, a supplementary questionnaire was sent to 2489 people. In total, 1786 people (72%) returned the completed questionnaire electronically or by mail.

The Swiss Electoral Study 2011 (Selects 2011) was conducted by FORS and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The Selects study of 2011 and the studies of 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007 aim to ensure the continuity and further development of election research. The data collected in this study highlights the reasons for participation and abstention during the elections, the composition of the electorate of the parties, the voting behavior of different social groups, the main political attitudes and orientations of the electorate, and the opinion-forming process.
4391 people were interviewed between October 24 and November 25, 2011. The national sample includes 2000 people; 2391 additional interviews were carried out to ensure a minimum sample of 100 persons per canton, respectively about 600 in the cantons of Zurich, Ticino and Geneva.
The interviews were conducted in Adligenswil, Geneva and Winterthur by the survey institute DemoSCOPE. The interviews examined, among other things, electoral behavior in 2011 and 2007, the reasons for (non-)participation in the elections, party identification, political interest, political opinions, various political key issues, media use and political knowledge. Statistical characteristics such as education, occupation, pay, etc. were also collected.
After the telephone survey, a supplementary questionnaire was sent to 2489 people. In total, 1786 people (72%) returned the completed questionnaire electronically or by mail.

The Swiss Electoral Study 2011 (Selects 2011) was conducted by FORS and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The Selects study of 2011 and the studies of 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007 aim to ensure the continuity and further development of election research. The data collected in this study highlights the reasons for participation and abstention during the elections, the composition of the electorate of the parties, the voting behavior of different social groups, the main political attitudes and orientations of the electorate, and the opinion-forming process.
4391 people were interviewed between October 24 and November 25, 2011. The national sample includes 2000 people; 2391 additional interviews were carried out to ensure a minimum sample of 100 persons per canton, respectively about 600 in the cantons of Zurich, Ticino and Geneva.
The interviews were conducted in Adligenswil, Geneva and Winterthur by the survey institute DemoSCOPE. The interviews examined, among other things, electoral behavior in 2011 and 2007, the reasons for (non-)participation in the elections, party identification, political interest, political opinions, various political key issues, media use and political knowledge. Statistical characteristics such as education, occupation, pay, etc. were also collected.
After the telephone survey, a supplementary questionnaire was sent to 2489 people. In total, 1786 people (72%) returned the completed questionnaire electronically or by mail.

The Swiss Electoral Study 2011 (Selects 2011) was conducted by FORS and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The Selects study of 2011 and the studies of 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007 aim to ensure the continuity and further development of election research. The data collected in this study highlights the reasons for participation and abstention during the elections, the composition of the electorate of the parties, the voting behavior of different social groups, the main political attitudes and orientations of the electorate, and the opinion-forming process.
4391 people were interviewed between October 24 and November 25, 2011. The national sample includes 2000 people; 2391 additional interviews were carried out to ensure a minimum sample of 100 persons per canton, respectively about 600 in the cantons of Zurich, Ticino and Geneva.
The interviews were conducted in Adligenswil, Geneva and Winterthur by the survey institute DemoSCOPE. The interviews examined, among other things, electoral behavior in 2011 and 2007, the reasons for (non-)participation in the elections, party identification, political interest, political opinions, various political key issues, media use and political knowledge. Statistical characteristics such as education, occupation, pay, etc. were also collected.
After the telephone survey, a supplementary questionnaire was sent to 2489 people. In total, 1786 people (72%) returned the completed questionnaire electronically or by mail.

The Swiss Electoral Study 2011 (Selects 2011) was conducted by FORS and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The Selects study of 2011 and the studies of 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007 aim to ensure the continuity and further development of election research. The data collected in this study highlights the reasons for participation and abstention during the elections, the composition of the electorate of the parties, the voting behavior of different social groups, the main political attitudes and orientations of the electorate, and the opinion-forming process.
4391 people were interviewed between October 24 and November 25, 2011. The national sample includes 2000 people; 2391 additional interviews were carried out to ensure a minimum sample of 100 persons per canton, respectively about 600 in the cantons of Zurich, Ticino and Geneva.
The interviews were conducted in Adligenswil, Geneva and Winterthur by the survey institute DemoSCOPE. The interviews examined, among other things, electoral behavior in 2011 and 2007, the reasons for (non-)participation in the elections, party identification, political interest, political opinions, various political key issues, media use and political knowledge. Statistical characteristics such as education, occupation, pay, etc. were also collected.
After the telephone survey, a supplementary questionnaire was sent to 2489 people. In total, 1786 people (72%) returned the completed questionnaire electronically or by mail.

"For landline telephone surveys in particular, undercoverage has been a growing problem. However, research regarding the relative contributions of socio-demographic bias and other composition effects is scarce. We propose to address this issue by analyzing an election survey which used a sample from a register-based sampling frame containing basic socio-demographic information and to which telephone numbers were subsequently matched. With respect to socio-demographic representation of the final sample, we find that difficult to match groups are also difficult to contact, while those who cooperate tend to have different characteristics. We find bias due to undercoverage to be of greater magnitude than noncontact bias, while noncooperation falls between the two. As for substantive variables, both additional efforts to match missing telephone numbers and the construction of better weights are successful in closing the gap between survey estimates of voting behavior and true values from the election results." (author's abstract)

AbstractProbability‐based web surveys are increasingly challenged by decreasing response rates and high costs. A cheap and convenient solution is to use 'opt‐in' online panels, which are based on non‐probability samples. However, the quality of the data such panels produce is subject to debate. To improve our understanding in this regard, especially in the Swiss context, we compare conditional distributions of sociodemographic variables and voting behaviour of two probability‐based web surveys and three opt‐in panels. Indeed, point estimates in opt‐in panels are well studied, but bivariate relationships between variables, arguably more important for researchers in political science research, have received less attention. Our analysis has the advantage of most variables of interest being included in the sampling frame and thus the true values are known for each conditional distribution. Our results show a lack of consistency and reproducibility in the results from opt‐in panels, which leads us to recommend care when using this type of data.

The Comparative Candidate Survey (CCS) is a response to the growing number of candidate surveys in the Anglo-saxon world and beyond. More or less regular candidate surveys are conducted in Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The rational of the CCS is to harmonise these dispersed efforts and give them a cross-nationally comparable core. The CCS is an internationally coordinated effort. It combines an internationally agreed and locally adapted core questionnaire with questions that try to capture national and election specifics. The core candidate questionnaire specifically focuses on the issue of individualisation of electoral campaigns, i.e. the empirical question to which extent the candidates run their own campaigns distinct from those of their parties.
CCS has been running since 2006. Using the CCS wave I questionnaire, the first wave includes candidate surveys from 32 elections across 24 countries. To date, the second wave incorporates candidate surveys from 26 parliamentary elections in 20 countries, where the CCS wave II questionnaire was used. More information on the project can be found on the CCS website (www.comparativecandidates.org).