The FDZ-DZA is an institution of the German Centre of Gerontology (DZA), accredited by the German Data Forum (RatSWD). Its task is to make the data from the German Ageing Survey (DEAS) and the study Old Age in Germany (D80+) available to the scientific community in an analysis-friendly way, with extensive documentation, and to advise interested parties and users.
The German Ageing Survey (DEAS) is a nationally representative cross-sectional and longitudinal survey of people in the second half of life (i.e., aged 40 years and older). DEAS is funded by the Federal Ministry for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMBFSFJ).
Its comprehensive study of midlife and older adults provides microdata that can be used both for social and behavioural science research and for social reporting. DEAS data thus form an information base for political decision-makers, the interested public, and the scientific community.
The first survey was conducted in 1996. Subsequent waves took place in 2002, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017, 2020, 2020/2021, and 2023. The next wave will take place in 2026. With the ninth wave collected in 2023, societal as well as individual developments can now be examined over a period of 27 years.
Further information on DEAS, data use, and FDZ services can be found on the DZA website under “Research Data Centre – German Ageing Survey”.
The German Survey on Volunteering (FWS) is a representative survey on voluntary engagement in Germany, targeting people aged 14 years and older. The 1999, 2004 and 2009 surveys were carried out by TNS Infratest. From 2011 to 2021, scientific leadership of the FWS was held by the German Centre of Gerontology (DZA).
All Scientific Use Files of the FWS (1999–2019) prepared by the FDZ-DZA are now available only from the GESIS Data Archive for the Social Sciences. The FDZ-DZA no longer provides user support or individual analyses for the FWS.
All active data users may continue to use the data for as long as agreed in their contract.
In connection with the transfer of the FWS to GESIS, a long-prepared publication has been released that should serve as a reference paper for all publications based on the FWS. Users are asked to cite the following paper (open access) to describe the data basis:
- Nicole Hameister, Nadiya Kelle, Corinna Kausmann, Nora Karnick, Céline Arriagada & Julia Simonson (2023). Monitoring Civil Society. The German Survey on Volunteering 1999–2019. Soziale Welt, 74(2), 294–314. DOI: 10.5771/0038-6073-2023-2-294
The SUFs are provided by GESIS together with all documentation materials under the following study numbers and DOIs for scientific use:
- ZA3350: German Survey on Volunteering 1999, dx.doi.org/10.4232/1.14128
- ZA4331: German Survey on Volunteering 2004, dx.doi.org/10.4232/1.14129
- ZA5433: German Survey on Volunteering 2009, dx.doi.org/10.4232/1.14130
- ZA5713: German Survey on Volunteering 2014, dx.doi.org/10.4232/1.14131
- ZA5714: German Survey on Volunteering 2019, dx.doi.org/10.4232/1.14132
- ZA5715: German Survey on Volunteering Trend 1999–2014, dx.doi.org/10.4232/1.14133
A list of all publications known to the FDZ-DZA that are based on the FWS (2010–2023) is available on the FWS information page.
The anonymised, curated data from the German Ageing Survey (DEAS) and Old Age in Germany (D80+) are available free of charge from the FDZ-DZA as Scientific Use Files for scientific research purposes. For data protection reasons, access requires a data use agreement.
Analyses of the Scientific Use Files may only be conducted by the data user themselves (and, where applicable, their registered co-users). Proficiency with statistical software such as SPSS or Stata is required.
To use DEAS or D80+, please complete the application form in full (you will receive a copy of your entries by email). Please read the data use conditions carefully in advance.
The datasets may be used exclusively for scientific research for non-commercial purposes. Analyses of the Scientific Use Files may only be conducted by the data user themselves (and, where applicable, their registered co-users); proficiency with statistical software such as SPSS or Stata is essential.
Applications can be submitted by researchers at universities and non-university research institutions, as well as university graduates and students using the data for qualification projects leading to an academic degree (from a Master’s thesis onward). For Bachelor’s theses, the application must be submitted by the supervising university member.
For use of the SUF in teaching, specific modifications are required, which are described in detail in the data use agreement.
If the application is admissible, the FDZ-DZA will prepare a data use agreement, which you will receive by post in duplicate. As soon as the FDZ-DZA has received one signed copy back, access to the requested data will be provided. You will receive a username and password granting access to the protected download area of the FDZ-DZA website, where you can view and download the requested data and wave-specific documentation.
For an initial introduction, the FDZ-DZA recommends the short descriptions available on the DEAS documentation pages and the D80+ study pages. These provide first orientation and a good overview of contents and survey specifics.
There you will also find survey instruments (German and partly English), codebooks, the variable correspondence list, methodological reports from the survey institute, and further wave-specific and wave-overarching documents that facilitate working with the data.
If you have further questions, you are welcome to contact the FDZ-DZA team.
In DEAS, missing values are coded using a standardised scheme (from wave 4 onwards). This scheme supports both automated handling of missings and a substantive interpretation of why information is missing.
Missing codes (SPSS/Stata) and meaning:
- -1 / .a = refused
- -2 / .b = don’t know
- -3 / .c = filtered out (question-level routing)
- -4 / .d = filtered out (sample-level; e.g. panel-only or baseline-only; not used in 2020/21)
- -5 / .e = no drop-off available
- -6 / .f = no answer (drop-off questionnaire)
- -7 / .g = deleted during data processing (e.g. where drop-off information had to be removed due to identity/matching issues)
Practical guidance for analysis
In most cases, these missing codes are already defined in the dataset as missing values (user-defined missings).
Important for early waves (1996/2002/2008): These waves do not yet fully follow the standardised missing scheme. Before analysing, check frequency tables and value labels to identify any “missing codes” that may still lie within the valid value range (e.g. 8/9/98) and set them to missing accordingly.
For analyses comparing multiple waves, ensure that missing-value definitions are applied consistently—especially when pooling data across waves or when creating your own recodes.
Further information: For more details, see the DEAS User Manual.
For all Scientific Use Files and survey instruments of DEAS and D80+, DOIs are registered—permanent persistent identifiers used to cite and link electronic resources (texts, research data, or other content). The DOI is associated with current, structured metadata.
In publications that use DEAS or D80+ data, please cite the relevant DOI to clearly refer to the specific dataset version used for your analyses and/or the documentation of the survey design and instruments. This enables readers to quickly and easily obtain an overview of your data source.
DEAS and D80+ data can only be provided for research projects or qualification work. Independent applications for seminar or term papers are not possible.
However, it is possible for the supervisor to apply for the data and then prepare the dataset for teaching in accordance with the relevant requirements (a so-called campus file); this dataset may then be used for the seminar/term paper.
Alternatively, the seminar supervisor can apply as the data user and register the students as Bachelor candidates, who will then also have access to the data.
To use DEAS or D80+ data, please complete the application form in full.
The data can be used for all qualification projects from the level of a Master’s degree onward. For Bachelor’s theses, the application must be submitted by the supervising university member.
To use DEAS or D80+ data, please complete the application form in full.
In principle, DEAS and D80+ data can also be used in teaching. The FDZ-DZA follows a somewhat different approach than many other research data centres: instructors and data users create their own campus file. Three criteria must be observed:
Draw a 50% random subsample.
Remove all open-ended entries (string variables).
The dataset may contain a maximum of 100 variables.
At first glance this may appear more time-consuming because a campus file is not provided in advance. The key advantage is flexibility: users can select variables tailored to their thematic focus—for example, focusing on health, the living environment, or employment rather than on intergenerational relationships or volunteering.
Compiling the campus file can also be meaningfully integrated into teaching. Using the freely accessible documentation materials (e.g., survey instruments, scales handbook, codebooks), students can learn how to select suitable variables for their research question and check their quality and case numbers.
The result is a tailor-made campus file that is optimally aligned with the respective teaching and learning objectives.
If the research topic remains the same, the period of data use can be extended easily by sending an informal email request to the FDZ-DZA team.
If you would like to use the same data for a new research project, you are asked to submit a new application form for DEAS or D80+.
Several additional datasets are available for DEAS analyses—some can be supplied on request with the Scientific Use File (SUF), while others can be used only on site at the protected guest workstation at the DZA (Berlin).
Can be supplied to the SUF on request:
- Housing cost/house price index (RWI) at district level (in quintiles), available for SUFs from 2008 onwards
- Occupation-related workload indices for 2002 and 2008 (physical, psychosocial, overall; ISCO-based)
Available only on site at the protected workstation at the DZA:
- INKAR indicators (BBSR), linkable at district or municipality level
- Residential neighbourhood data (microm/infas360) on social milieus, purchasing power and age structure (selected years/waves)
- More detailed price indices (RWI) at district/municipality level (including differentiation by forms of ownership; plus a rent index)
- Date-of-death data (day-accurate)
- Researchers’ own regional data (at district or municipality level) can also be linked to the DEAS in compliance with data protection requirements.
More detailed information is available on our DEAS context data page.
If you use DEAS or D80+ data or documentation materials in publications (including theses or grey literature) or in presentations, we ask you to cite the sources in accordance with the principles of good scientific practice. Guidance on how to cite DEAS and D80+ data appropriately can be found both in the appendix to your data use agreement and here as a download.