"We're going to establish a national, digital infrastructure for surveys and data collection," says Jarle Trondal, professor at the University of Agder (UiA).
The project is named KODEM, an acronym for 'Coordinated Online Panels for Research on Democracy and Governance in Norway'.
The University of Bergen (UiB) is leading the project. They have brought in several research institutions in Norway, including UiA.
The Research Council of Norway has committed to fund the project over the next five years.
"The infrastructure we're building is unique, even in international terms. It offers us the opportunity to study shifts in attitudes over time. At the same time, we can compare what key societal actors think about different issues," says Trondal.
Building a new standard for social science research
The first thing the researchers do is to set up panels consisting of individuals from different parts of society. They'll become regular participants in one of the following four panels:
- citizens (residents aged 18 and above)
- elected politicians at every level
- public administrators at all levels
- journalists
UiA Professor Trondal is responsible for establishing the panel made up of public administrators. This panel will include employees from public administration at national, regional and municipal level.
"We see that public servants are frequently invited to take part in various surveys. This often leads to a lower response rate, reducing the quality of the data. With KODEM, we can better coordinate data collection efforts and reduce the need for frequent and uncoordinated surveys," Trondal says.
Digital resource for social scientists
"In this way, we're establishing a permanent infrastructure for researchers to use when conducting surveys. It ensures that data is efficiently collected and of high quality," says Trondal.
Researchers will also save time by gaining access to the system that already has a selected pool of respondents. It will also provide answers regarding age, gender, education, tasks, residence and many other basic questions.
"Having fixed panels makes it easier for researchers to conduct surveys without having to collect all data from scratch every time a survey is conducted," says Trondal.
Researchers will have the opportunity, going forward, to apply for funding – for example through the Research Council of Norway or Horizon Europe – to use KODEM for their research.
Laboratory for social science research
Trondal refers to KODEM as a laboratory for researchers. He believes it will strengthen and develop methods and theories within the social sciences.
"Through KODEM, we'll be able to discern patterns in attitudes and behaviour across different panels and over time. At the same time, we can test theoretical correlations. Is the trust in rules the same for bureaucrats and citizens, and is it stable or unstable over time?" Trondal asks.
KODEM will be able to answer such, and similar, questions. Social scientists in this country have long requested such a project.
"The research communities in Norway are backing this. We see that it will strengthen the quality of our research. This will be a quantum leap for Norwegian social science research, especially for research based on surveys," says Trondal.