Survey Design of the NEPS

The so-called Multicohort Sequence Design describes the general survey plan of the NEPS starting cohorts until 2024. The starting cohorts are arranged in such a way that they cover all phases of the life course. The NEPS thus provides research data for the entire range of educational stages.

Six NEPS starting cohorts (SC1 to SC6) were started between 2009 and 2012 with nationwide representative samples. In 2022, the NEPS was extended by a new starting cohort -- SC8 follows children and adolescents from the 5th grade onwards. In total, the NEPS starting cohorts comprise more than 120,000 people, including around 70,000 core respondents and around 50,000 people from relevant contexts, e.g. parents or educational professionals.

To the Starting Cohorts

The participants in the NEPS are usually interviewed at close intervals and their competencies are continuously tested. They are accompanied on their educational trajectory by the NEPS, even if this path is divided into different branches after lower secondary school. As the survey progresses, some starting cohorts are transferred to a wide-meshed survey cycle. This complex design, in combination with the coordinated survey program, also allows for cohort, age and period effects to be differentiated with regard to certain questions and points in time.

To the Conceptual Framework