CRONOS-2 Wave 5 edition 1.0

CRONOS-2 is the first large-scale cross-national probability-based online panel following a harmonised approach – from the recruitment stage to data processing. The panel built on the success of the pioneering CRONOS-1 panel.

CRONOS-2 was designed and implemented alongside ESS Round 10 in 12 countries: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Finland, France, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Respondents were invited to participate in the online panel across six waves. Questions in waves 1, 2, 4, and 5 were selected following an open competition. Waves 3 and 6 were country-specific waves, with questions composed by national teams and fielded only in those respective countries. The six waves were fielded from autumn 2021 until spring 2023.

The CRONOS-2 panel was managed centrally: waves were programmed, distributed and monitored centrally. The survey contact messages (invitations and reminders) were also distributed centrally. All the final questions were designed centrally with the support of national teams, which were instrumental in the translation and adaptation of all source documents. They also sent out postal pre-notification letters along with survey incentives and maintained a helpline.

For the first time, a longitudinal component was added to the ESS (modules: drivers of institutional trust, COVID-19 vaccinations, perceptions of surveys, and financial well-being).

The CRONOS-2 panel received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme SUSTAIN-2 under grant agreement No 871063.