Solidarity in times of corona in Belgium

VUB uses questionnaire to map how citizens are helping each other

March 24, 2020

Many citizens today are committed to their neighbourhoods, neighbours and even strangers. With the accessible questionnaire Solidarity in Times of Corona, researchers from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel want to map these social initiatives. “To be able to record and investigate social resilience during a moment of crisis, we have drawn up a short questionnaire that examines what help is being given, to whom and for what reasons. With this we also want to make the ‘positive’ visible and give people an extra incentive to engage with each other,” says Sarah Dury, professor of Educational Sciences.

The questionnaire is available in three languages – Dutch, French and English – so that as many citizens as possible throughout Belgium can take part. It takes about five minutes to complete and will remain open until Friday 27 March. The English-language questionnaire can be found here.

The coronavirus crisis affects us all, personally and professionally, economically and socially. During this time, many of us are expressing solidarity and trying to help others, with various spontaneous activities springing up. The questions posed by the researchers of the Department of Agogical Sciences gauge the actions that citizens have taken over the last seven days to help and support family, friends, neighbours and strangers. The questions also probe the motives of citizens to help, as well as using socio-demographic questions to place actions and motives. The data collected are then analysed to paint a picture of solidarity in society during times of crisis.

Questionnaire

English version:

https://vubdochumansciences.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ddtILuOwPHvTgkR

Dutch version:

https://vubdochumansciences.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eglXayjKdkz8mbP

French version:

https://vubdochumansciences.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dgNKCRUPOVJEjd3

Contact:

Sarah Dury

Educational Sciences

Sarah.dury@vub.be

0479 759 029