The survey studied several themes, including the use of media, social trust, political participation and interest, political trust, political orientation and commitment, satisfaction with own circumstances and certain public services, perceptions of own well-being, religious views, experiences of discrimination, and national and ethnic identity. These themes are recurring in different ESS rounds. Themes for the rotating modules in this collection round included timing of life events and pensions. The survey also charted participation in voluntary work and charity, subjective well-being, and satisfaction in job and wages. The self-administered follow-up questionnaire included the Schwartz Human Values Scale as well as test questions controlling the main questionnaire. Questions about income and income disparity were also asked. The respondents' socio-demographics were widely charted, including, among others, household composition, gender, age, type of neighbourhood, education, occupation, background information on spouse and parents, trade union membership, household income, and marital status.

2008