How can survey research respond when major societal events emerge unexpectedly? The latest New Data Spaces | Reports publication “Capturing Immediate Reactions to Societal Events: An Event-Triggered Survey Approach” presents an innovative event-triggered survey approach that enables researchers to capture attitudes, perceptions, and emotions in near real time. Embedded within an intensive smartphone app-based panel study, the approach combines rapid-response data collection with rich longitudinal survey infrastructures.

The report highlights a key methodological innovation: immediate reactions to unforeseen events can be linked to data collected before and after the event, enabling new insights into opinion dynamics, information diffusion, and societal change. By moving beyond conventional survey fieldwork, event-triggered designs offer a promising framework for studying fast-moving developments with greater temporal precision.

As survey research faces increasing demands for timely and high-quality data, the SmartDyn project demonstrates how digital panel infrastructures can expand the methodological toolbox of the social sciences and help shape the future of survey and panel research. 

👉 Read the full report Capturing Immediate Reactions to Societal Events: An Event-Triggered Survey Approach by Julia Weiß, Jan Eric Meurer, Leon Schmidt, Axel M. Burger and Joss Roßmann.