About GGS Teaching Datasets 

The GGS Teaching Datasets are a simplified extract from GGS-II Wave 1 data, designed specifically to facilitate learning and teaching with real-world survey data. This dataset provides a unique opportunity for students and educators to engage in quantitative analysis using real, cross-national survey data, allowing them to explore key themes in family formation, gender attitudes, and well-being.

Who is it for?

The GGS Teaching Dataset is tailored for:

• Students new to data analysis who want to practice key techniques using real survey data.
• Educators looking to bring the richness of GGS into their classrooms for teaching quantitative methods.
• Researchers with limited experience in working with complex datasets, who are interested in exploring demographic and family-related topics.

While this dataset is ideal for teaching and training purposes, for scientific publications and theses, we recommend using the original GGS dataset available via the GGP Data Portal.

Two Versions: Starter and Advanced

The GGS Teaching Dataset is available in two versions:

1. Starter Dataset – Designed for introductory statistics and simple analysis. It includes a smaller set of variables and is perfect for first-time users of survey data.
2. Advanced Dataset – Contains more variables, including information on life events, making it suitable for more complex analyses such as survival analysis and event history analysis.

Both versions cover the same countries and respondents, ensuring comparability and seamless progression for students moving from basic to advanced levels.

Key Topics and Themes

The GGS Teaching Dataset covers a wide range of important topics, offering a comprehensive view of individual and family life in various countries. Some of the key themes explored in the data include:

• Basic Demographics: Gender, age, education, and employment status.
• Family Formation: Partnership status, satisfaction with relationships, cohabitation, marriage, and fertility intentions.
• Fertility and Children: Number of children, fertility histories, fertility intentions, and the impact of children on family life.
• Partnership Quality: Relationship satisfaction, division of household labor, and partnership histories.
• Well-being: Mental health, happiness, and loneliness scales.
• Work-Life Balance: Employment status, working conditions, and satisfaction with work-life balance.
• Family and Gender Attitudes: Attitudes toward family roles, gender equality, and ideal family sizes.
• Survival and Event History (Advanced Dataset): Timing of life events, partnership and fertility histories, which allow for retrospective data analysis and survival analysis techniques.

Accessing the Data

The dataset is available in SPSS, Stata, and Excel formats. You can download the GGS Teaching Datasets from the GGP Colectica platform. 

Download the GGS Teaching Dataset – starter

Download the GGS Teaching Dataset – advanced

Supporting Materials

To help teachers and students make the most of the GGS Teaching Dataset, we also provide a User Guide (here)

There are also two explanatory videos. One is an introductory video to the GGS Teaching Datasets which can be found here: 

The other is a deep dive into the variables in the GGS Teaching Datasets which you can watch here: