The State of Flanders(DSV) is an annual survey of a sample of Flemish voters (N = 2,000) about the political situation in Flanders and Belgium. The purpose of the survey is to gain insight into (evolutions in) political preferences and attitudes for the news coverage of the VRT and De Standaard. The data collection consists of an online survey of 15-20 minutes, and is carried out by a market research agency (Kantar TNS) subcontracted by the university partners, who are responsible for data analysis and reporting for the media. The intention is to repeat DSV once a year, again questioning some of the respondents from the previous year. In this way, real changes on an individual level can be exposed.
DSV is not an election poll: the focus is not on voting preference and shifts in voting preference. Obviously, party preference is asked because it has a significant impact on other political attitudes, but the reporting and interpretation focuses on issues such as the importance of themes and issues, party reputations, political attitudes, political knowledge, policy perceptions, and so on. In other words, the focus is on underlying factors that may cause voting behavior.
