Documentation for All DEAS Surveys: Everything at a Glance

For each DEAS survey year, a variety of documentation is available to help you work with the data:

• Survey Instruments: This includes the full questionnaires or CAPI templates, complete with entry and exit filters as well as instructions for interviewers. Written questionnaires are also included - both in the original German version and in an English translation.
• User Manuals: These provide concise information on sampling procedures, the editing process from the raw data to the Scientific Use Files, the structure of variable names, additions and updates of previous SUFs.
• Documentation of Instruments: This compilation includes all scales and user-friendly constructed variables (in German and English) of all DEAS SUFs, with references where applicable.
• Variable Correspondence List: To facilitate longitudinal analyses, we provide a comprehensive table with German and English variable and value labels. This allows you to quickly see in which waves specific information is available and under what variable names.
• Codebooks: These contain all variables included in the Scientific Use File for each survey year, along with their values, labels, and frequency distributions of valid and missing cases.
• Practical Guides (Arbeitshilfen): For more complex topics, such as data weighting or the collection of grandchild characteristics, we have created specific guides.

Additional Information & Support

Registered users can request SPSS syntax for generating constructed variables. Please contact the FDZ-DZA support team for assistance.

Detailed documentation is also available for additional data such as regional context, work-related stress, and attrition and retention data.

Use and Citation of Documentation

If you use content from these documents in your publications, please ensure proper citation in accordance with good scientific practice. Our overview includes a citation guide and a template for confirming data deletion upon completion of your research project.

You will find an overview of all DEAS-related DOIs here.

A detailled description of the data base and survey methodology of the DEAS can be found in the following publications (in German):

• Klaus, D., Engstler, H., Mahne, K., Wolff, J. K., Simonson, J., Wurm, S., & Tesch-Römer, C. (2017). Cohort Profile: The German Ageing Survey (DEAS). International Journal of Epidemiology, 46:(4), 1105-1105g doi: 10.1093/ije/dyw326
• Klaus, D., & Engstler, H. (2016). Daten und Methoden des Deutschen Alterssurveys. In K. Mahne, J. K. Wolff, J. Simonson & C. Tesch-Römer (Eds.), Altern im Wandel: Zwei Jahrzehnte Deutscher Alterssurvey (pp. 29-45). Wiesbaden: Springer VS. Open Access. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-658-12502-8_2.
• Engstler, H., & Schmiade, N. (2013). The German Aging Survey (DEAS) - A longitudinal and time-series study of people in the second half of life. Schmollers Jahrbuch, 133(1), 97-107. doi: 10.3790/schm.133.1.97
• Engstler, H., & Motel-Klingebiel, A. (2010). Datengrundlagen und Methoden des Deutschen Alterssurveys (DEAS). In A. Motel-Klingebiel, S. Wurm & C. Tesch-Römer (Eds.), Altern im Wandel. Befunde des Deutschen Alterssurveys (DEAS) (pp. 34-60). Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer.
• Engstler, H., & Wurm, S. (2006). Datengrundlagen und Methodik. In C. Tesch-Römer, H. Engstler & S. Wurm (Eds.), Altwerden in Deutschland. Sozialer Wandel und individuelle Entwicklung in der zweiten Lebenshälfte (pp. 47-83). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.

Selected Publications using DEAS data are compiled here.