Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Scottish Social Attitudes (SSA) survey was launched by ScotCen Social Research (formerly the Scottish Centre for Social Research) in 1999, following the advent of devolution. Based on annual rounds of interviews of between 1,200 to 1,500 people drawn using probability sampling (based on a stratified, clustered sample), it aims to facilitate the study of public opinion and inform the development of public policy in Scotland, similar to the British Social Attitudes (BSA) series (held at the Archive under GN 33168). The SSA survey has been conducted annually each year since 1999, with the exception of 2008. The survey has a modular structure. In any one year it typically contains three to five modules, each containing 40 questions. Funding for its first two years came from the Economic and Social Research Council, while from 2001 onwards different bodies have funded individual modules each year. These bodies have included the Economic and Social Research Council, the Scottish Government and various charitable and grant awarding bodies, such as the Nuffield Foundation and Leverhulme Trust. Further information on the SSA and links to publications may be found on the ScotCen Social Research Scottish Social Attitudes webpages.

The 2009 survey was the tenth wave in the series. The sample included a boost of addresses in remote and rural parts of Scotland.

Main Topics:

The 2009 survey contained modules of questions on:government and public services in Scotland (funded by the Scottish Government Office of the Chief Researcher from 2004-2007 and again in 2009)anti-social behaviour (funded by the Scottish Government)what makes somewhere a good place to live, with a particular focus on the importance of greenspace (funded by the Scottish Government)drugs and recovery from problem drug use (funded by the Scottish Government)national identity, in collaboration with David McCrone and Frank Bechhofer of the University of Edinburgh (funded by the Leverhulme Trust)escape places and violence (funded by NHS Health Scotland)constitutional change (self-funded by ScotCen)Standard Measures The questionnaires contained two scales developed by researchers involved in the British Social Attitudes Survey, and British Election Study (BES) series (held at the Archive under GN 33066); 'libertarian/authoritarian' and 'left/right'. See documentation for further details.

Multi-stage stratified random sample

Face-to-face interview

Self-completion