ESSlongWell

ESSlongWell is an Estonian research infrastructure that, like the world’s leading long-term infrastructures, provides researchers and society with essential high-quality data. As a member of the Estonian Research Infrastructures Roadmap, it serves researchers, students, and the broader public.

ESSlongWell infrastructure entails two large research databases on well-being and human behaviour: the European Social Survey (ESS) and the nationally representative longitudinal study LongEstWell in Estonia.

Both databases complement each other in terms of methodological diversity of data. The cooperation between the two databases fosters both methodological and substantive synergies, enhancing the depth and breadth of research outputs. Both studies cooperate with Statistics Estonia in the field of big data usage and data exchange. The infrastructure facilitates the systematic collection of data for these databases within an international collaborative framework. The datasets produced by the infrastructure are utilized by researchers across various disciplines, and the resulting findings contribute to the knowledge base available to both the academic community and society at large.

Goals of ESSlongWell

To equip Estonian and international research communities with relevant data, facilitating innovative approaches and in-depth analyses on diverse well-being-related topics;
To provide an infrastructure that fosters international collaboration among Estonian and global researchers;
To enhance the impact of Estonian research both internationally and within Estonian society;
To provide data for the analysis of critical issues facing Estonian society and strengthen the scientific contribution to addressing societal challenges;
To deliver high-quality data for educational purposes.

Action Plan

Proceed with the collection of the European Social Survey (ESS) data in international collaboration (data for three rounds will be collected during 2024–2028 as part of the international effort), participate in the international of the ESS experiments if feasible;
Establish EstLongWell in partnership with the Estonian Centre of Excellence for Welfare Sciences team. This includes developing foundational documents and collecting data for at least 10 rounds;
Develop the infrastructure to fully harness the synergy between the two datasets (focusing on communication, scientific output, and methodological advancements);
Collaborate with Statistics Estonia to integrate various datasets and facilitate data collection;
Engage with both direct users and indirect beneficiaries of the infrastructure to maximise the potential of its data resources.

Contacts

ESSlongWell

Email: mare.ainsaar@ut.ee
Phone: 737 5936