SF-survey
The SF-survey (or Statistics Flanders survey) is taken several times a year with a sample of 6,000 inhabitants of the Flemish Region aged 18 years and older and is used as a source for a number of Flemish public statistics.
Method
The SF-survey meets the highest statistical quality standards thanks to the methodology used. Random sampling based on the National Register is used. This means that the participants of the survey are randomly selected: a necessary condition for making reliable statements about the entire population on the basis of a sample. Moreover, the respondents can fill in the questionnaire in different ways (‘mixed mode design’). The selected persons are first asked by letter to complete the questionnaire online via smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop. This is based on the ‘mobile first’ principle: the questionnaire is drawn up in such a way that it can be easily completed via a smartphone. Those who do not participate online will later receive a paper questionnaire. This ensures that people who have no or insufficient access to digital resources also participate in the survey.
Due to the changed method, the results of the SF-survey are not comparable with the results of the Survey ‘Sociaal-cultural shifts in Flanders’ (SCS-survey) which was conducted annually from 1996 to 2018 and was administered by the Flemish Government Research Service and later by Statistics Flanders . The SF-survey is a ‘mixed mode’ survey (online and on paper), the SCS-survey was a ‘face-to-face’ survey (with interviewers at home).
Topics
A number of different topics are questioned per edition of the SV survey. See below for an overview.
| Edition | Period | Topics questioned |
| 1 | Spring 2021 | Social contacts, informal care, feeling of safety, government image, satisfaction with policy and communication, trust in the government and in fellow human beings |
| 2 | Autumn 2021 | Community life, voluntary work, cultural participation, sports participation, subjective well-being |
| 3 | Autumn 2021 | Media, political participation, trust in institutions, satisfaction with facilities |
Data protection
All information that Statistics Flanders collects on the basis of the SF-surveys is protected by privacy legislation and statistical secrecy. The data is processed in a pseudonymised way, ensuring confidentiality at every stage. To this end, Statistics Flanders works together with the Belgian statistical office Statbel and calls on a specialized fieldwork office for the printing, dispatch and processing of the questionnaires. Statistics Flanders itself does not have access to the name and address details of the participants. The fieldwork office immediately destroys all personal data after the survey.
More info
For more information about the SF-survey, please contact:
- Dries Verlet: dries.verlet@vlaanderen.be(opens in your email application)
- Tina Vander Molen: tina.vandermolen@vlaanderen.be(opens in your email application)