Professor Rory Fitzgerald
Contact details
About
Overview
Professor Rory Fitzgerald became Director of the European Social Survey (ESS) in 2013 having been a Senior Research Fellow at City, University of London since 2004. In November 2013, the UK and 14 other European governments established the European Social Survey as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ESS ERIC) – an independent international research organisation hosted at City, University of London. ESS ERIC now has 27 Members (November 2021).
Rory is the first Director of ESS ERIC and oversees the ESS Core Scientific Team (CST) and the ESS National Coordinators Forum. In addition to these committees he works closely with the General Assembly as well as the Scientific and Methods advisory boards.
The ESS is a rigorous comparative biennial survey of changing attitudes and values in up to 34 European countries. With other members of the CST, he was awarded the Descartes Prize in 2005 for 'excellence in collaborative scientific research'. In 2016 the ESS was declared to be a landmark infrastructure by the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures in Europe (ESFRI). There are more than 185,000 registered users of ESS data and almost 4,500 publications that analyse the data available online.
Rory is an Associate Editor of the Survey Research Methods Journal.
Enterprise
Rory worked with other ESS colleagues on the successful transition of the survey into a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) in 2013. ESS ERIC has an annual budget for central costs of €2.4 MILLION.
In 2015 he was the Coordinator of two Horizon 2020 awards totalling over €10 million. This included a grant to promote the sustainability of the ESS and another - SERISS - which supported pan-social science infrastructure collaboration in Europe. In 2019 he was awarded a €5 million grant to further support the sustainability of the ESS including the launch of a 12-country probability based, input harmonised web panel.
Qualifications
- DPhil Sociology, City, University of London, United Kingdom, 2016
- MSc (Econ) European Politics, University of Wales, United Kingdom, 1996
- BSc (Econ) Politics, University of Wales, United Kingdom, 1995
Employment
- ESS Director (ESS ERIC from 2013), City, University of London, United Kingdom, October 2012 - present
- CCSS Acting Director, City, University of London, United Kingdom, January - October 2012
- CCSS Deputy Director, City, University of London, United Kingdom, October 2007 - January 2012
- Senior Research Fellow, City, University of London, United Kingdom, May 2004 - October 2007
- Researcher/Senior Researcher/Research Director, NatCen Social Research, London, United Kingdom, October 1999 - May 2004
- Research Executive, The Gallup Organization, November 1996 - October 1999
Memberships of professional organisations
- Member, ESRC Peer Review College, 2010 - present
- American Association for Public Opinion Research, 2010 - present
- Vice President, UCU City, University of London Branch, 2010 - 2013
- Member, NORFACE Data Collection Expert Panel, 2009 - 2010
- Member, World Association of Public Opinion Research, 2009 - present
- Invited member, Comparative Survey Design Implementation Workshop, 2008
- Member, European Survey Research Association, 2008 - present
Research
Professor Fitzgerald's key area of expertise cross-national survey methodology with a focus on questionnaire design and pre-testing as well as non-response issues. In addition, he has an increasing interest in the use of web surveys and web panels in cross national surveys. He also played a leading role in the ESS preparatory phase and the establishment of the ESS as an ERIC.
Rory Fitzgerald was included in the most recent REF and wrote an impact case study based on the ESS.
Rory also co-organises a Methods Seminar Series with NatCen social research which brings together academics and practitioners to discuss issues related to quality in survey research and quantitative social science more generally.
Prior to joining City, Mr Fitzgerald was a Research Director at the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), having previously worked at Gallup where specialised in political opinion polling.
Publications
Publications by category
Books (2)
- Stoop, I.A.L., Billiet, J., Koch, A. and Fitzgerald, R. (2010). Improving survey response: Lessons from the European Social Survey. John Wiley & Sons Inc. ISBN 9780470516690.
- Jowell, R., Roberts, C., Fitzgerald, R. and Eva, G. (Eds.), (2007). Measuring attitudes cross-nationally: Lessons from the European Social Survey. SAGE. ISBN 9781412919814.
Chapters (11)
- Comanaru, R. and Fitzgerald, R. (2025). The challenges of repeat measurement in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. How Europeans View and Evaluate Democracy Revisited (pp. 29-52). Oxford University PressOxford. ISBN 0198883315.
- In Beatty, P., Collins, D., Kaye, L., Padilla, J.L., Willis, G. and Wilmot, A. (Eds.), (2020). Advances in Questionnaire Design, Development, Evaluation and Testing. In Wiley. ISBN 9781119263623.
- In Breen, M.J. (Ed.), (2017). Values and Identities in Europe. In Routledge.
- Winstone, L., Widdop, S. and Fitzgerald, R. (2016). Constructing the Questionnaire: the Challenges of Measuring Views and Evaluations of Democracy Across Europe. In Ferrin, M. and Kriesi, H. (Eds.), How Europeans View and Evaluate Democracy (Comparative Politics) (pp. 21-42). UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198766902.
- Butt, S. and Fitzgerald, R. (2014). Critical consensus? Britain’s expectations and evaluations of democracy. In Park, A., Bryson, C. and Curtice, J. (Eds.), British Social Attitudes 2014 ed. 31st report (pp. 1-24). London: NatCen Social Research. ISBN 9781907236334.
- Fitzgerald, R., Harrison, E. and Ryan, L. (2013). The ESS: a social science research infrastructure for Europe and beyond. In Kleiner, B., Renschler, I., Wernli, B., Farago, P. and Joye, D. (Eds.), Understanding Research Infrastructures in the Social Sciences Seismo Verlag. ISBN 9783037771334.
- Fitzgerald, R., Harrison, E. and Steinmaier, F. (2011). Age identity and conflict: Myths and realities. In Park, A., Clery, E., Curtice, J., Phillips, M. and Utting, D. (Eds.), British Social Attitudes SAGE. ISBN 9781849206662.
- Harrison, E. and Fitzgerald, R. (2010). ‘A chorus of disapproval? European attitudes to non-traditional family patterns. In Park, A., Curtice, J., Thomson, K., Phillips, M., Clery, E. and Butt, S. (Eds.), British Social Attitudes SAGE. ISBN 9781849203876.
- Fitzgerald, R. and Jowell, R. (2010). Measurement Equivalence in Comparative Surveys: The European Social Survey – From design to implementation and beyond. In Harkness, J.A., Vijver, F.J.R.V.D. and Mohler, P.P. (Eds.), Cross-cultural survey methods Wiley-Interscience. ISBN 9780471385264.
- Jowell, R., Kaase, M., Fitzgerald, R. and Eva, G. (2007). The European Social Survey as a measurement model. In Jowell, R. and Britain, C.F.C.S.S.G. (Eds.), Measuring attitudes cross-nationally Sage Publications Ltd. ISBN 9781412919814.
- Harrison, E., Jowell, R. and Fitzgerald, R. (2007). Non-respondents in the European Social Survey: in a class of their own? In Loosveldt, G., Swyngedouw, M. and Cambré, B. (Eds.), Measuring meaningful data in social research Leuven: Acco NR. ISBN 9789033468292.
Datasets (10)
- Fitzgerald, R.(2025). European Social Survey Round 11.
- Fitzgerald, R.(2024). European Social Survey European Research Infrastructure (ESS ERIC) (2024) ESS round 11 - 2023. Social inequalities in health, Gender in contemporary Europe.
- Fitzgerald, R. and Harrison, E.(2018). European Social Survey Cumulttive dataset Rounds 1-8.
- Fitzgerald, R., Butt, S., Harrison, E., Ryan, L., Douhou, S., Salini, L.... Lynn, P.(2018). ESS Round 9: European Social Survey Round 9 Data.
- Fitzgerald, R., Harrison, E., Ryan, L., Villar, A., Butt, S., Widdop, S.... Malnar, B.(2016). ESS Round 7: European Social Survey Round 7 Data (2014). Data file edition 2.1. NSD - Norwegian Centre for Research Data, Norway – Data Archive and distributor of ESS data for ESS ERIC.
- Butt, S. and fitzgerald, R.(2016). ADDResponse: European Social Survey Round 6 (UK) Plus Auxiliary Data, 2010-2014: Secure Access.
- Fitzgerald, R., Harrison, E., Ryan, L., Villar, A., Butt, S., Douhou, S.... Lynn, P.(2016). ESS Round 8: European Social Survey Round 8 Data.
- Fitzgerald, R. and ESS Core Scientific Team, (2015). ESS Round 7: European Social Survey Round 7 Data (2014). Data file edition 1.0. Norwegian Social Science Data Services, Norway – Data Archive and distributor of ESS data for ESS ERIC.
- Paskin, N.(1999). Toward unique identifiers.
- Fitzgerald, R. European Social Survey European Research Infrastructure (ESS ERIC) (2024) ESS round 11 - 2023. Social inequalities in health, Gender in contemporary Europe. Sikt - Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research.
Internet publications (2)
- Fisher, S., Fitzgerald, R. and Poortinga, W.(2018).Climate change Social divisions in belief and behaviour. The National Centre for Social Research.
- Fitzgerald, R., Winstone, L. and Prestage, Y.(2014).A Versatile tool? Applying the Cross-national Error Source Typology (CNEST) to triangulated pre-test data. FORS.
Journal articles (12)
- Hoven, H., Eikemo, T.A., Backhaus-Hoven, I., Riebler, A., Fitzgerald, R., Martino, S.... Balaj, M. (2025). The second Health Inequalities Module in the European Social Survey (ESS): Methodology and research opportunities. Social Science & Medicine, 380. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118228
- Hanson, T., Aizpurua, E., Fitzgerald, R. and Vukovic, M. (2025). Surely Shorter is Better? A Questionnaire Length Experiment in a Self-Completion Survey. Survey Research Methods, 19(2), pp. 139-152. doi:10.18148/srm/2025.v19i2.8348
- Aizpurua, E., Bottoni, G. and Fitzgerald, R. (2023). The Devil Is in the Details: A Randomized Experiment Assessing the Effect of Providing Examples in a Survey Question across Countries. Field Methods, 35(3), pp. 198-218. doi:10.1177/1525822x221115506
- Aizpurua, E., Fitzgerald, R., de Barros, J.F., Giacomin, G., Lomazzi, V., Luijkx, R.... Negoita, D. (2022). Exploring the feasibility of ex-post harmonisation of religiosity items from the European Social Survey and the European Values Study. Measurement Instruments for the Social Sciences, 4. doi:10.1186/s42409-022-00038-x
- Bottoni, G. and Fitzgerald, R. (2021). Establishing a Baseline: Bringing Innovation to the Evaluation of Cross-National Probability-Based Online Panels. Survey Research Methods, 15(2), pp. 115-133. doi:10.18148/srm/2021.v15i2.7457
- Eikemo, T.A., Bambra, C., Huijts, T. and Fitzgerald, R. (2016). The First Pan-European Sociological Health Inequalities Survey of the General Population: The European Social Survey Rotating Module on the Social Determinants of Health. European Sociological Review pp. jcw019-jcw019. doi:10.1093/esr/jcw019
- Fitzgerald, R., Winstone, L. and Prestage, Y. (2014). Searching For Evidence of Acculturation: Attitudes Toward Homosexuality Among Migrants Moving From Eastern to Western Europe. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 26(3), pp. 323-341. doi:10.1093/ijpor/edu021
- Fitzgerald, R., Widdop, S., Gray, M. and Collins, D. (2011). Identifying Sources of Error in Cross-national Questionnaires: Application of an Error Source Typology to Cognitive Interview Data. JOURNAL OF OFFICIAL STATISTICS, 27(4), pp. 569-599
- Miller, K., Fitzgerald, R., Padilla, J.L., Willson, S., Widdop, S., Caspar, R.... Schoua-Glusberg, A. (2011). Design and analysis of cognitive interviews for comparative multinational testing. Field Methods, 23(4), pp. 379-396. doi:10.1177/1525822X11414802
- Jackson, J., Bradford, B., Hough, M., Kuha, J., Stares, S., Widdop, S.... Galev, T. (2011). Developing European indicators of trust in justice. European Journal of Criminology, 8(4), pp. 267-285. doi:10.1177/1477370811411458
- Miller, K., Fitzgerald, R., Padilla, J., Wilson, S., Widdop, S., Caspar, R.... Schoua-Glusberg, A. (2011). Design and Analysis of Cognitive Interviews for Comparative Cross-National Testing. Field Methods
- Billiet, J., Philippens, M., Fitzgerald, R. and Stoop, I. (2007). Estimation of Response bias in The European Social Survey: using information from reluctant respondents in Round One. Journal of Official Statistics, 23(2), pp. 135-162
Poster
- Lahtinen, K., Slingsby, A., Dykes, J., Butt, S. and Fitzgerald, R. Informing Non-Response Bias Model Creation in Social Surveys with Visualisation. VIS 2015, 2015.
Reports (3)
- Fitzgerald, R. and Aizpurúa, E. (2022). Mode and web panel experiments in the European Social Survey – lessons for EU-SILC. Publications Office of the European Union,. ISBN 9789276430025.
- Fitzgerald, R., Bottoni, G., Jessop, C., Straume, O., Agren, Q., Michaud, G.... Sauger, N. (2019). A sample management system for cross- national web survey. SSHOC.
- Jessop, C., Sommer, E., Bottoni, G., Sibley, E. and Fitzgerald, R. (2019). Blueprint for comparative-web-panel. London, UK: SERISS.
Thesis/dissertation
Professional activities
Editorial activity (2)
- International Journal of Public Opinion Research, Editorial Board, 2013 - present.
- Survey Research Methods, Associate Editor, 2013 - present.
Keynote lectures/speeches (10)
- A decade of attitudinal measurement: What the European Social Survey tells us about the people of Europe. Dublin (2013). Keynote Talk, International Conference on the ESS, June 10-11
- Acculturation and attitudes towards homosexuality: Moving from East to West Europe. Boston (2013). World Association of Public Opinion Conference, 14-16 May.
- A Versatile Tool? The Cross National Error Source Typology (CNEST): An Application to Triangulated Pre-test Data. Boston (2013). American Association of Public Opinion Research Conference
- From East to West: the impact of intra-European emigration on social attitudes. Cyprus (2012). ESS International Conference
- Translation Verification in the European Social Survey – a comparison of rounds 5 and round 6 and implications for the future. Cyprus (2012). ESS International Conference
- Mode Effects in Complex Questions. Cyprus (2012). ESS International Conference
- Challenges in comparative questionnaire design: Illustrations from the European Social Survey. Lausanne, Switzerland (2011). 5th ESRA Conference
- Inputs and Outputs in Comparative Studies. Gothenburg, Sweden (2010). Invited paper, World Congress of Sociology
- Responding to cross-national diversity and change over time. An analysis of possible revisions to the ESS Partnership and Life Course Questions. Lausanne, Switzerland (2010). Invited Paper, 7th CSDI workshop
- Facilitating triangulation of pretesting techniques through improved documentation of (cross-national) questionnaire development. Warsaw, Poland (2009). 3rd ESRA Conference