Getting started with the User Guide

The Panel Study Labour Market and Social Security (PASS) User Guide provides a comprehensive reference for working with the PASS survey and its Scientific Use File (SUF) for research on labour market, poverty and means-tested income support in Germany. It is intended to support researchers in understanding the structure, content, analytical potential of PASS data and to facilitate its effective usage in empirical research.

This third edition of PASS User Guide is based on and extends the previous PASS User Guide published in 2013 which is available via the PASS/FDZ website, explicitly on the (see Bethmann et al. (2013)). The earlier edition was authored by Mark Trappmann, Jonas Beste, Arne Bethmann, Johannes Eggs, Benjamin Fuchs, Daniel Gebhardt, Stefanie Gundert, Gerrit Müller, Claudia Wenzig, Anja Wunder. The current version incorporates substantial revisions and additions, including updated methodological information, documentation of new survey content and datasets, and developments covering Waves 1 to 18 of PASS. The authors wish to explicitly acknowledge the contributions of the authors of the previous edition and the numerous contributors to PASS data reports, methods reports, questionnaires, and technical documentation whose work informed the preparation of this guide.

This third edition of PASS user guide places particular emphasis on the longitudinal character of PASS and the analytical opportunities arising from 18 waves of data (and continuing), capturing long-term developments in the living conditions and labour market trajectories of individuals and households in Germany.

The guide is designed for a broad range of users. It provides orientation for those engaging with PASS data for the first time, while also offering structured guidance for experienced researchers conducting advanced longitudinal analyses. While wave-specific publications such as data reports, methods reports, and field reports document survey implementation, data editing, and weighting procedures for individual waves in detail, this guide focuses on the concepts, structures, and methodological principles that remain comparable and relevant across waves. In doing so, it provides a stable foundation for working with PASS data longitudinally and for analysing developments over time.

Particular attention has been given to the organisation and accessibility of the guide. Its structure supports both sequential reading and targeted consultation, enabling users to navigate efficiently across chapters and locate relevant information with ease.

Chapter 1 outlines the study’s objectives, thematic evolution, and key methodological innovations to situate PASS within its broader research context.

Chapter 2 presents the survey design, including sampling, data collection modes, incentives, and fieldwork processes.

Chapter 3 introduces the weighting framework and its development across waves, including extensions for newer components such as the web survey.

Chapter 4 turns to the survey instruments, describing questionnaire structures, modular design, and key variables at both the household and individual levels.

Chapter 5 provides a detailed overview of the SUF, including dataset structure, variables, data editing procedures, and possibilities for linking survey data with administrative records (PASS-ADIAB).

Chapter 6 highlights recent developments in PASS, including methodological adaptations, extensions in survey content, and innovations in data collection.

The User Guide is complemented by additional and evolving resources. A dedicated PASS Blog (currently under progress) serves as an extension of this guide and, in particular, is being developed to replicate and extend the Part II of the earlier User Guide versions. It provides a platform for methodological extensions, applied research examples, and updates on ongiong and recent developments, allowing the User Guide to remain focused on core documentation while ensuring that new insights can be disseminated in a flexible and timely manner.

0.1 Data access

Access to the PASS data is provided via a ‘Scientific Use File’ (SUF), which is made available by the Research Data Centre (FDZ) of the Federal Employment Agency (BA) at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB). Detailed information on application procedures, access conditions, and available datasets can be found on the FDZ website (Scientific Use Files - FDZ - Forschungsdatenzentrum). In addition, with PASS-ADIAB, a combined dataset comprising survey and administrative data is available. As PASS-ADIAB contains sensitive data, it is not available as SUF but via ‘On-Site Use’ and ‘Remote Data Processing’ (On-site Use and Remote Data Access - FDZ - Forschungsdatenzentrum)

0.2 Further tools and resources

The below tables summaries further resources and tools helpful for the users to work with PASS data, a short description about the resource, links to access these resources (where available) and language of publication for the resource.

Table 0.1: Overview of PASS documentation and supporting resources
Name	Content	Language
PASS User Guide	The User Guide offers general information on PASS that is not specific to certain waves. The following topics are covered: objectives and research questions of PASS; additions to existing data; survey and sampling design; instruments and interview programme; structure of the Scientific Use File and its datasets; general logic of data editing; weighting concept; and examples on how to use the datasets.	English
PASS Blog	The PASS Blog provides a flexible space for updates, examples, and learning resources that complement the User Guide. It replicates and extends the purpose of Part 2 of earlier versions of the User Guide by hosting content that may require more frequent updates.	English
Data Reports	For each wave, the respective data report provides wave-specific information on PASS, including the survey programme with wave-specific features and innovations, key statistics, generated variables, data editing, weighting, and tabulations of the surveyed variables until wave 16. In waves where a web survey is or was conducted, a separate data report on the web survey is also published.	German English
Methods and Field Reports	For each wave, the methods and field report describes the work of the field institute for the respective wave. It covers objectives and design of PASS, pretest, detailed fieldwork steps, data editing by the field institute, and weighting including modelling of non-response. In waves with a web survey, a separate methods and field report for the web survey is also published.	German
Questionnaires	For each wave, three questionnaires are available: household questionnaire, person questionnaire, and senior citizens’ questionnaire.	German English
Interviewendennachbefragung	Data Report on Interviewer Surveys (PASS-INT) describes the interviewer survey (PASS-INT), which is completed by interviewers after a successfully conducted personal interview in the Panel Study Labour Market and Social Security (PASS). The interviewer survey has been conducted since wave 4 and provides interviewer-reported information relating to the interview and interview situation.	German
Scales and Instruments Manual	The manual provides information on questionnaire modules and scales implemented in waves 1 to 13 of the PASS study. It describes the theoretical background, development, and wording of individual and scale items. Items are displayed in German (original wording) and English (for international use). It also provides item and scale statistics including means, standard deviations, and internal consistencies for each survey year.	English
Correspondence List	Provides a user-friendly way to link questionnaire content, such as question numbers, to variable names and labels in the Scientific Use File. Structured by dataset, such as PENDDAT, alg2_spells, and KINDER, and by wave. Updated each wave to show in which waves specific items were included.	German
Requesting observation numbers	Users can request the number of observations for research-relevant variables via email (iab.fdz@iab.de). For continuous variables: descriptive statistics and histograms. For categorical variables: frequency tables and bar charts. Outputs can be wave-specific or across waves.	German English

0.3 Terminology

PASS is particularly rooted in research on Social Code Book II (SGB II) and examines the effects of active labour market policies as well as income support.

Since the beginning of the reform, the name of the welfare benefit has changed several times: “Arbeitslosengeld II (ALG2)” / “Unemployment Benefit II (UB II)” from 01 January 2005 – 31 December 2022, “Bürgergeld”/ “Citizen’s Benefit” from 01 January 2023 to 30 June 2026, and now the “Grundsicherungsgeld” from 01 July 2026.

Throughout the userguide, these terminologies are used interchangeably or sometimes in their combined forms by various authors. However, they always refer to the welfare benefit in Germany and extend by definition to the recipients of these benefits.

Established variable names and dataset labels with now historical name references (e.g. alg2_spells.dta or alg2samp) have been deliberately retained. They likewise refer to the benefit under SGB II and therefore also cover information on “Citizen’s Benefit” now known as “Grundsicherungsgeld.”

0.4 Feedback

The continued development of the PASS User Guide benefits greatly from feedback provided by its users. Suggestions for improvement, identification of gaps, or proposals for additional topics are highly appreciated and help ensure that the guide remains relevant and user-oriented. Users are welcome to share their comments, feedbacks and suggestions on the current version of the user guide at either IAB.HHP@iab.de via email.