Polish Family and Fertility Survey A user's guide

Abstract

'This working paper is a result of the collaboration between researchers of the Sfb-project B6 'Household Dynamics and Social Inequalities - An International Comparison' and the Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics, Poland. The Polish Fertility and Family Survey (PFFS) provides retrospective longitudinal data on a number of processes in the life course of individuals, families and households. It includes nationally representative data on education, labor force participation, migration, partnership formation, changing family composition and housing. Social scientists, in particular demographers, sociologist, and economists, can make use of this unique data source in addressing a number of fundamental questions on patterns and determinants of human behavior. Particularly important is that the longitudinal nature of the data allows assessing changes in these processes over time, and explaining how social change and individual life course are interrelated. This paper has several purposes. First, it should provide basic information on the goals of the PFFS survey and explain the data collection principles. This is particularly important for 'secondary' researchers who were not responsible for directing 'primary' data collection. Brief review of the study design, sampling plan, and field procedures should provide the background for an informed secondary analysis. Topics covered in the study and the list of variables available within specific sections will also be presented. Second, special attention will be given to the longitudinal nature of the PFFS and the methods that allow analyzing this type of data. Basic principles of event history analysis, as well as general information on managing event-oriented data structures, should help beginners in this new research area to better understand the conceptual issues involved, and gain confidence in applying event history analysis to their own research. Third, and most important, this user's guide should provide help in practical research work with the PFFS. The reader will be introduced to the computer program TDA, designed by Goetz Rohwer, which makes the use of a broad range of event history analysis techniques simple and convenient. The PFFS files have been conveniently stored in a compressed archive form. The section on data files and their structure supplies researchers with the necessary tools to assess variables needed for the analysis. In addition, several practical examples on specific research questions will show how empirical analysis has been conducted using TDA. Examples include TDA command files that manipulate the data set and perform the analysis, as well as outputs and a brief interpretation of results. Thus, readers who have access to the PFFS data set are given the opportunity to easily run and modify the application examples on their own personal computers. At a next step, researchers can apply the acquired knowledge to their own specific research questions.' (extract)Der polnische Fertilitaets- und Familiensurvey (PFFS) enthaelt retrospektive Longitudinaldaten ueber eine Anzahl von Prozessen im Lebenslauf der Individuen, der Familien und der Privathaushalte. Die national repraesentativen Daten enthalten weiterhin Angaben zur Bildung und Erziehung, dem Beschaeftigungsstatus, der Migration, der Partnerschaftswahl, dem Wandel von Familienstrukturen und der Zusammensetzung der Haushalte. Die Erhebung ist in Umfang und der Qualitaet dem Soziooekonomischen Panel der Bundesrepublik Deutschland vergleichbar. Das Arbeitspapier liefert zunaechst einige Grundinformationen zu den Zielen, zum Aufbau und zu den Prinzipien der Datenerhebung und -aufbereitung. Der primaere Zweck ist es, den Nutzern fuer Sekundaeranalysen dieses Datenpools die entsprechenden institutionellen und technischen Hinweise zu liefern. (pre)German title: Die polnische Familie und der Fertilitaets-Survey: ein Leitfaden fuer NutzerAvailable from UuStB Koeln(38)-980106415 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman