150,000 households recently received some unusual mail. They are invited to become participants in the "Lower Saxony Panel" and actively take part in research themselves - for example that of political scientist Jan Sauermann.
What social factors contribute to the fact that it is becoming increasingly difficult to reach political compromises? When are people prepared to be generous - and donate money to organisations? What does it take for a person to decide to recycle at the rubbish bin? Researchers in Lower Saxony are looking for answers to these and many other questions in the "Behavioural Economics and Social Transformation" research area.
In order to be able to investigate the attitudes and decision-making behaviour of people in Lower Saxony, they want to recruit as many test subjects as possible. The aim is to establish a representative and long-term cohort - the "Lower Saxony Panel".
Since the project was launched at the beginning of August, the researchers involved have already invited 150,000 randomly selected households throughout the Federal State by post. "It is important to have as large a pool of respondents as possible so that the results are representative," says Prof Dr Jan Sauermann from the Institute of Social Sciences, who is involved in the "Lower Saxony Panel" as a political scientist.
We look at the conditions under which the extremes in society become stronger and why compromises seem to be becoming more difficult.
Jan Sauermann; political scientist
Another advantage of such a panel is that, in his view, regular surveys of the same people over a long period of time allow changes in assessments, opinions and behaviour to be measured empirically. "We hope that many of those contacted and other interested parties will take part."
Surveys are planned primarily on transformation topics such as climate change, digitalisation and automation, migration, war and demographic change. Sauermann would like to use the panel to survey political attitudes, for example. "Our working group is focusing on the aspect of polarisation," explains the political scientist. "We are looking at the conditions under which extremes in society become stronger and why compromises seem to become more difficult." For example, he wants to ask participants about their political attitudes before, during and after the state elections in 2027. Comparable data on such a large scale, especially from Lower Saxony, has not yet been available.
Participants receive compensation for their involvement - an average of 13 euros per full hour. "At the same time, they gain valuable insights into current scientific research processes," emphasises Sauermann. The data is collected in such a way that no conclusions can be drawn about individuals. Those who take part receive regular invitations to scientific studies by email. There is no obligation to actually take part. Interested parties who have not received a letter themselves can also register. Further information on the project and how to take part can be found on the website www.niedersachsenpanel.de
