German and Chinese dataset on attitudes regarding COVID-19 policies, perception of the crisis, and belief in conspiracy theories

Abstract

This data article describes the attitudes of German and Chinese respondents to some measures taken against the COVID-19 pandemic such as social distancing and face masks wearing, as well as their trust in government actions. The data were collected through six online surveys conducted between March 23 to September 15 2020 from 865 participants in Germany, 135 in China and 169 participants with Chinese roots in Germany. The data were partly used in related research papers in which the theoretical background, analysis of the survey variables and the interpretation of the findings are presented in detail [3, 4, 5]. These survey data can be used in future studies of individual perception of the measures taken in the fight against the pandemic. The data cover topics which include, in particular, worries about the pandemic, estimations and expectations concerning the further development of the pandemic, perception of government responses and media coverage, attitudes towards social distancing and other countermeasures, and COVID-19-related conspiracy theories. Differences between Chinese and German respondents on some of these issues can also be studied with this dataset.