International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) 2015 (English Version)

General Information:

*Note: The items were tested in German. These are English translations of the original German wordings. The translations do not correspond exactly to the formulations in the English ISSP source questionnaire.*

Question Text:

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
[Inwieweit stimmen Sie den folgenden Aussagen zu oder nicht zu?]

Instruction:

(Please make a cross in EVERY line!) [(Bitte machen Sie in JEDER Zeile ein Kreuz!)]

Answer Categories:

Strongly agree [Stimme voll und ganz zu]
Agree [Stimme zu]
Neither nor [Weder noch]
Disagree [Stimme nicht zu]
Strongly disagree [Stimme überhaupt nicht zu]
Don’t know [Kann ich nicht sagen]
A total of seven test persons (TP 02, TP 05, TP 08, TP 09, TP 11, TP 12, TP 14) explicitly note that question 8 is very similar to question 5, which has already been answered. For test subjects 05, 08, 09 and 12, the two sets of questionnaires "basically aim at the same thing" and they indicate that they could not distin-guish between company/organization and profession:
  • „It's kind of the same thing. For me, "for the organization" and "for my profession" are the same thing. So the position in general is combined in the firm.“ (TP 08)
  • „I see profession and company as the same thing. Now, I've answered this just like I answered the question before.“ (TP 09)
The test persons 06 and 09 answer question 5 and question 8 completely identically. Four further test persons (TP 07, TP 08, TP 11, TP 12) state for item c) that they gave the same answer as for the corresponding item in question 5.

Furthermore, it is noticeable here too (as in question 5) that a total of seven test persons (TP 02, TP 03, TP 07, TP 08, TP 11, TP 12, TP 15) did not interpret the three statements uniformly, but sometimes thought of the profession they had learned and sometimes of the company or the job they were currently doing.

Cognitive Techniques:

General Probing, Specific Probing.
Item Text Actively tested

Item Text:

a) I am willing to work harder than I normally have to in order to meet the very highest demands of my profession.
[Ich bin bereit, härter zu arbeiten als ich normalerweise muss, um die allerhöchsten Anforderungen an meinen Beruf zu erfüllen.]

Recommendations:

We recommend adding the word "current" to this statement (see item b) to make it clear that the statement refers to current and not former employment. We also recommend that the word "highest" be softened somewhat and replaced by "highest". Furthermore, it should be made clearer what is meant by "demands on my profession". Finally, we propose to place the subordinate clause at the beginning of the sentence to prevent it from being ignored when answering the item (see battery of questions 5). A possible formulation would be:
“In order to perform my professional duties in the best possible way, I am willing to work harder than I normally have to.“ [„Um meine beruflichen Aufgaben bestmöglich zu erfüllen, bin ich bereit, härter zu arbeiten als ich normalerweise muss.“]
Yes

Item Text:

b) I am proud to work in my current profession.
[Ich bin stolz darauf, in meinem derzeitigen Beruf zu arbeiten.]

Recommendations:

No changes recommended.
Yes

Item Text:

c) I would turn down another, better-paid job to stay in my calling.
[Ich würde eine andere, besser bezahlte Stelle ablehnen, um in meinem Beruf zu bleiben.]

Recommendations:

We recommend avoiding the negative wording "reject" in this statement, as this causes difficulties in using the response scale. A possible reformulation would be:

"I would retain my current occupation even if I were offered another, better-paid position." [„Ich würde meine derzeitige berufliche Tätigkeit beibehalten, auch wenn man mir eine andere, besser bezahlte Stelle anbieten würde.“]
Yes