The Allensbach Institute, formally the Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion Research or Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion Polling (german: Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach), is a private polling institute based in

Allensbach Allensbach is a municipality in the district of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Allensbach is located between Konstanz and Radolfzell on Lake Constance. Notable institution Allensbach is known for being the home of the Institut fü ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

History

Founded in 1947 by political scientist

Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann (19 December 1916 – 25 March 2010) was a German political scientist. Her most famous contribution is the model of the spiral of silence, detailed in ''The Spiral of Silence: Public Opinion – Our Social Skin''. The mo ...

and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

Erich Peter Neumann, and modelled after Paul Lazarsfeld's ''Wirtschaftspsychologische Forschungsstelle'' at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

, the Allensbach Institute was the first public opinion research institute in Germany, depending primarily on the sale of

market research Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets and customers: know about them, starting with who they are. It is an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining competitiveness. Mark ...

studies for financing. The institute conducted the "first ost-warinquiry to assess former Nazi support", and was contracted by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

in 1950 to carry out monthly surveys of domestic public opinion. In 1988, political economist Renate Köcher, a former advisor to

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Helmut Kohl, became

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the institute alongside Noelle-Neumann, who was also the sole

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...

in the company. Noelle-Neumann transferred ownership of the institute to the Allensbach Foundation for Public Opinion Research (german: Stiftung Demoskopie Allensbach) in May 1996. The Allensbach Institute is noted for providing the most accurate prediction of the results of the closely contested

1998 German federal election Federal elections were held in Germany on 27 September 1998 to elect the members of the 14th Bundestag. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) emerged as the largest faction in parliament for the first time since 1972, with its leader Gerhard Schröd ...

Activities

The Allensbach Institute conducts

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: * Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand * Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, a ...

, media and social research, as well as political opinion research, and has performed polls on topics ranging from participation in

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

s to "radio listening and newspaper reading habits" to support for a

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an monetary union and economic and monetary union. Deborah Ascher Barnstone, in a study of transparency in politics and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

in Germany, asserted that the range of subjects covered by the Allensbach Institute makes it "an excellent source for information on the

erman Erman Rašiti may refer to: Given name * Erman Bulucu (born 1989), Turkish footballer * Erman Eltemur (born 1993), Turkish karateka * Erman Güraçar (born 1974), Turkish footballer * Erman Kılıç (born 1983), Turkish footballer * Erman Kunter (b ...

general populace". The institute is known for its annual

New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...

survey of the "state of the German soul" as commentator David Marsh, citing some 2012 and comparative results, termed it. The institute employs roughly one hundred

full-time Full-time or Full Time may refer to: * Full-time job, employment in which a person works a minimum number of hours defined as such by their employer * Full-time mother, a woman whose work is running or managing her family's home * Full-time fat ...

employees, including about 25

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

s, and two thousand avocational interviewers, and conducts approximately one hundred surveys and 80,000

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

s yearly. Although the institute conducts surveys primarily of German public opinion, it has participated in or carried out multiple "international opinion research projects".

References

External links

*
Statista
(Publication and Analysis of Allensbach Institute surveys) {{Authority control Organizations established in 1947 Public opinion research companies Research institutes in Germany Market research companies of Germany Opinion polling in Germany 1947 establishments in Germany

History

Activities

See also

References

External links