Data for research, teaching, and cross-national comparisons

The Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (NKPS) is the Dutch participant in the GGP. The Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI), Utrecht University (UU), the Erasmus University Rotterdam, and the University of Amsterdam participated in the development of this large-scale database on Dutch families: the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study. The NKPS received an investment grant from the Dutch national research foundation (NWO). The research questions revolve around the theme of solidarity, which is defined as ‘feelings of mutual affinity in family relationships and how these are expressed in behavioural terms’. Four waves of an extensive face-to-face interview have been conducted (Wave 1 in 2002 – 2004, Wave 2 in 2006 – 2007, Wave 3 in 2010 – 2011, Wave 4 in 2014). The NKPS has four special features that make it highly innovative: 

• Large sampel: N = 9,500 at Wave 1.
• Panel design: prospective longitudinal design.
• Multi-method approach: data collection includs both structured interviews and in-depth open interviews.
• Multi-actor data: data is collected not only from individual respondents but also from their family members.

The release of formal restrictions on the free movement of Central and Eastern Europeans that started with the end of the Cold War and the eastward enlargement of the European Union in the 2000s have led to new migration flows in Europe. In the Netherlands, in absolute terms, Poles forn the largest group amongst emigrants from the Central and Eastern European countries which acceded to the European Union in 2004.

The Families of Poles in the Netherlands (FPN) survey was designed to create a database for studying various aspects of Polish migrant family life, including family formation, generational interdependencies, perceived family obligations, and life outcomes. The survey is based on the questionnaire of the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS), covering a wide range of topics such as fertility, partnerships, the transition to adulthood, economic activity, caregiving, and attitudes.

As the GGS has been also carried out in the Netherlands and Poland, linking the FPN to the Dutch and Polish GGS data permits a comparison of the Polish migrant population in the Netherlands, Poles in Poland and the Dutch in the Netherlands, and it provides a unique opportunity to unravel the role of migration in shaping family life. To study the determinants of family solidarity and migration choices, following changes in respondents’ situations over time is necessary. Therefore, the FPN has a panel character – the second wave of the survey conducted in 2017 and the data is also available for download.

The Turning Points of the Life Course (TPLC) panel survey is the Hungarian participant in the GGP. Conducted by the Hungarian Demographic Research Institute between 2001 and 2017, the study includes five waves (2001–2002, 2004–2005, 2008–2009, 2012–2013, and 2016–2017). The baseline sample consisted of 16,363 respondents aged 18–75, of whom 6,315 completed all five waves. The project was launched to document and analyse post-1990 demographic shifts in Hungary, such as declining fertility, delayed childbearing, the rise of unmarried cohabitation, as well as the social and economic context of these changes.

From wave 2 onwards, the TPLC was incorporated into the international GGS Round I, adopting its core questionnaire while retaining country-specific modules. The use of a stratified sampling method, systematic respondent tracking, and a gradual shift from paper-based to computer-assisted interviewing ensured the high quality of the data. Despite attrition, panel stability remained comparatively strong, with nearly 40% of the initial sample retained after 15 years.

The English-language longitudinal database contains around 7,000 variables relating to fertility, partnerships, households, work, education, income, health, ageing, values, and attitudes.

Documentation

Questionnaires and answer sheet booklets can be downloaded here:

• Questionnaire, wave 1
• Questionnaire, wave 2
• Questionnaire, wave 3
• Questionnaire, wave 4
• Questionnaire, wave 5
• Calendar, wave 2
• Answer sheet booklet, wave 1
• Answer sheet booklet, wave 2
• Answer sheet booklet, wave 3
• Answer sheet booklet, wave 4
• Answer sheet booklet, wave 5
• Content summary table with variable names, waves 1–5

Data access

If you are not yet a registered GGP user, please follow the standard GGS data access procedure and select TPLC from the list of available datasets. Once your request has been approved, the dataset can be downloaded from the GGP Data Portal under “Additional Datasets”.

For background information on the study, download the user guide:

TPLC User Guide

Acknowledgements

In any work emanating from this research, data users are asked to acknowledge the data source as follows:

Data source: Hungarian Demographic Research Institute (2025). Turning Points of the Life Course panel survey. GGP Data Archive, data file version 1.0.0 (2025), doi: 10.5281/zenodo.17237544