At the recent ESRA Conference 2025 in Utrecht, our Evaluation & Behavioural Research Team from Germany presented new insights on why young people (14–30) often skip political survey questions – and how to design items that are easier to answer and keep them engaged.
Drawing on three large-scale youth studies in Germany, we identified two hidden item dimensions – experiential distance and judgement type – that explain why some questions work better than others. Our research brief turns these findings into practical tips for anyone designing political or societal surveys – especially for younger target populations.