POLPAN – the longest ongoing social science panel study in Central and Eastern Europe – is focused on describing social structure and its change in Poland. It is conducted in five year waves beginning with 1988.
In 1988, the survey was conducted among a national sample representing Poland’s adult population (aged 21-65), with N = 5,817. In 1993, this sample was randomly reduced and 2,259 respondents took part in the study. Researchers tried to reach them in each of the consecutive five-year waves. To ensure an adequate age balance, additional subsamples involving young cohorts have been supplemented later. So far, 7 waves of the POLPAN study have been conducted.
Methodological information on the particular waves of the POLPAN study can be found below.