This is one of the central questions in the European Values Study (EVS) - a transnational empirical long-term study on the ideas and values of Europeans. The surveys have been conducted in a nine-year cycle since 1981 and offer insights into the European population's beliefs, perceptions, preferences, attitudes, values and opinions. The research project was initiated in the late 1970s by the European Value System Study Group (EVSSG). Since then, a well-established network of social and political scientists has developed, striving for a high degree of standardisation in the collection and processing of data. Currently, the EVS Foundation is responsible for the study. Data processing and documentation are carried out in close cooperation between the EVS teams at Tilburg University and GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences.
Further information on the history and organisation of the EVS can be found on the EVS website.
EVS data and documentation can be downloaded free of charge from the GESIS Data Catalog.
Publications using EVS data can be found in the EVS bibliography, which is accessible via GESIS-Search or can be donwloaded as PDF or BibTeX file from the EVS webpage.