Scottish Social Attitudes | participants

How you were chosen

If your household is invited to take part, this means your address has been scientifically selected from a list supplied by the Post Office. This list covers all of Scotland.

By selecting people this way, we make sure everyone has a fair chance of taking part - and that the results are representative of the Scottish population. To ensure accurate results, we need the help of the people chosen - no one else can take your place.

The survey covers all sorts of interesting topics and people often tell us they enjoyed taking part. No special knowledge is needed to answer any of the questions and there are no right or wrong answers. We just want to hear your views.

The Scottish Social Attitudes (SSA) survey is an important study that takes place every year. It aims to find out what people think about a range of issues important to people living in Scotland today - the kinds of things that concern us all.

Every year, around 1,200 - 1,500 people across Scotland are interviewed on different topics. The study is funded by a range of research bodies, charities and the government.

By taking part in SSA you get to have a say on issues that affect you, tell us what you think about how Scotland is run and what it's like to live in Scotland today. The study is run by the Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen), which is independent of any government departments or political parties.

SSA helps policy makers understand the views of the public and how these have changed over time. Findings from the study are used by politicians of all parties, charities, journalists, and students in schools, colleges and universities across Scotland.

Your answers are confidential

Your answers will be kept strictly confidential (in accordance with the Data Protection Act). They will be used for statistical purposes only - for example, to look at what percentage of people hold a particular view.

We never include anything that could identify individuals with results and we do not pass on your details to other organisations for commercial purposes.