As part of the overall research project on the “Living Situation of Families with Children in Germany,” the German Youth Institute (DJI), Munich, is conducting the long-term study “Childcare in Germany” (KiBS). For this purpose, more than 30,000 parents of children aged 0 to 10 are interviewed annually about how they manage childcare in their families. The survey by infas is conducted by telephone as well as in writing or online. The DJI Child Care Survey is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) and provides the data basis for the preparation of the report on the Child Care Act (KiföG) at the federal state level. During the Corona pandemic, the study conducted supplemental surveys with parents of children not yet in school to examine the role of daycare centers in the contagion process. All parents were surveyed monthly over a period of approximately 10 months.
About the method
infas has been conducting the survey since 2012. It is based on a disproportionate sample of residents’ registration offices. In each wave, the questionnaire includes blocks of questions on the current and desired care situation of the target child, supplemented by different focal points specific to the wave, as well as a short block of questions on employment and partnership of the parent who fills in the questionnaire. Different age groups are addressed. Since wave 5, the questionnaire has been divided into a block for parents of students and a block for parents of non-students, as well as a joint block on sociodemographics.
The questionnaire is used in each wave both as a CATI instrument (standardized telephone interviews), as a PAPI instrument (written-postal interview) and as a CAWI instrument (online self-completion) and is available in several languages. infas is responsible for sample design and administration including the online address portal, questionnaire consulting, programming and layout in responsive design, sending cover letters and reminders (by mail and e-mail), conducting CAWI, and data preparation.
