External Resources
Here you will find position papers and materials that do not originate from the Academy of Sociology. As a professional association for analytical-empirical sociology, it supports the positions presented here, even if this may not always apply in every detail.
Reporting on Opinion Polls in the Mass Media: Statement by the 2025-2027 Committee of the European Survey Research Association. (2026). Survey Research Methods 20(2), 247-252. https://doi.org/10.18148/srm/2026.v20i2.8974
The European Survey Research Association (ESRA) has issued a statement expressing concerns over the declining methodological quality of opinion polls and the implications this has on public discourse and democratic processes. Recent technological advances have facilitated the proliferation of nonprobability online surveys, leading to increased media coverage of opinion polls without adequate scrutiny of their methodological rigor. ESRA highlights the improper use of terms like “representative” in defending poor-quality polls, which often distort the reality of public opinion. This statement is primarily directed at journalists, who play a crucial role in shaping public opinion by reporting survey results. ESRA offers practical recommendations for assessing the quality of opinion polls, emphasizing the importance of probability-based sampling, transparency in data collection modes, motivation behind polls, and meticulous questionnaire design.
Gunnar Otte, Tim Sawert, Josef Brüderl, Stefanie Kley, Clemens Kroneberg, Ingo Rohlfing: Gütekriterien in der Soziologie. Eine analytisch-empirische Perspektive, Zeitschrift für Soziologie 52(1), 2023, 26-49.
This article develops a catalog of eleven scientific quality criteria for sociological research from an analytical-empirical perspective. The catalog of criteria encompasses quality requirements for theoretical development and empirical social research. It distinguishes between two basic criteria that apply to the entire research process, nine core criteria that address individual stages of this process, and a series of subcriteria that serve to specify the core criteria. The criteria are developed along the lines of a stylized research process, as is customary in quantitative social research. Nevertheless, an effort is made to formulate the criteria in such a way that they are compatible with qualitative social research. This article provides a reference framework that guides the development of high-quality research and supports the criteria-based evaluation of research output.