Taiwan Social Change Survey TSCS Academia Sinica

Overview

The Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSCS; 臺灣社會變遷基本調查) is a long-term, nationally representative cross-sectional survey project based at Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan. It is jointly operated by the Institute of Sociology and the Center for Survey Research, both units of Academia Sinica. All collected data are freely available for download from the respective institute websites, making the TSCS one of the most widely used social science data resources in East Asia.

History and Founding

The TSCS was initiated in the early 1980s under sponsorship of the then National Science Council (now the Ministry of Science and Technology / NSTC). The first national representative survey was completed in 1984–1985. From 1990 onward, the survey has comprised two independent modules per year, following five-year rotational cycles across major topic areas.

Scope and Methodology

The survey employs stratified probability sampling of the adult population of Taiwan (ages 18 and over) and conducts face-to-face interviews using Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) technology. Topics covered include family structure, education, social stratification, political culture, elections, mass communication, religion, and globalization. Since 1984, the survey has accumulated over 72 probability-sampling waves, interviewing approximately 146,000 individuals.

International Participation

Since 2002, the TSCS has been an active member of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP). In 2003, the TSCS co-founded the East Asian Social Survey (EASS) together with the Japanese General Social Survey, Korean General Social Survey, and Chinese General Social Survey. In 1996, TSCS participated in a three-society comparative survey with China and South Korea.

Data Access

All TSCS data are released free of charge to the academic community. As of 2018, the data had supported at least 597 conference papers, 627 journal articles, 187 book chapters, 436 master's theses, and 52 doctoral dissertations. Data can be accessed via the Academia Sinica websites for the Institute of Sociology and the Center for Survey Research.