Questionnaire Database (No Longer Available Online)

The Questionnaire Database of the Meertens Institute contains an overview of questionnaires and related questions on dialect use, folklore, and onomastics (the study of names) that were distributed between 1931 and 2005. These questionnaires were sent to informants to gain insight into variation in language and culture across the Dutch-speaking area. Responses were collected from throughout the Netherlands and, for a large proportion of the questions, also from Flanders.

The database also provides access to a (small) portion of the completed questionnaires, but it has both substantive and technical limitations in terms of coverage and searchability. Approximately 10% of the responses is included in the database; the remaining responses have been preserved but are, for the most part, not yet available in machine-readable form (see below).

Access and Use

Important: Since June 2025, the Questionnaire Database is no longer accessible online.

A technical review conducted in 2024–2025 showed that the database did not meet current security requirements. In addition, its outdated infrastructure made it difficult to maintain and further develop the database in a sustainable and future-proof manner. To protect the privacy of informants and prevent risks such as data breaches (for example involving personal contact information) and cyberattacks, it was decided to discontinue online access.

However: the underlying data remains available, although no longer through the online Questionnaire Database.

Overviews and information about the questionnaires remain available online (see below).
External users may submit a request to consult the data.
Researchers within the KNAW Humanities Cluster may access the database through internal systems, subject to certain conditions.
Digitized questionnaires can be requested; non-digitized materials can be consulted on-site.

For access requests or research inquiries, please contact: info@meertens.knaw.nl .

The Meertens Institute aims to make its collections as openly available as possible, following the principle: “as open as possible, as closed as necessary,” with particular emphasis on privacy and security.

Contents of the Collection

Up to 2005, a total of 226 questionnaires were distributed, containing 15,638 questions in total:

120 questionnaires on dialect use (1931–2005)
94 questionnaires on folklore (1934–2004)
11 questionnaires on onomastics (1946–1965)

From 2005 onward, questionnaires were distributed digitally through the Meertens Panel; these are not part of the Questionnaire Database.

Availability of the Responses

The original handwritten responses are preserved at the Meertens Institute.
In the 1980s, responses to 148 questionnaires were recorded on microfiche.
In more recent years, scans have been made, making the responses to a total of 164 questionnaires digitally available. Most of these are not yet machine-readable.
The questionnaire questions themselves have been entered into a database.
The database also contains searchable responses for approximately 10% of the questionnaires. These were transcribed by many volunteers through a Meertens crowdsourcing project and the Vele Handen platform.

Although the online database is no longer accessible, these materials remain available through other channels for research and consultation.

Context and Indexes for the Questionnaire Database (in Dutch)

The Folklore Questionnaires 1–58 (1934–1988) of the P.J. Meertens Institute, introduced by A.J. Dekker; index by J.J. Schell. Amsterdam: P.J. Meertens Institute, 1989 [pdf]
J. Brouwer & D. Zeldenrust, The Folklore Questionnaires of the Meertens Institute 58–73 (1989–2004). Amsterdam: Meertens Institute, 2021 [pdf]
J. Brouwer & D. Zeldenrust, The Digital Questionnaires 1–34 (2002–2023) of the Meertens Institute. Amsterdam: Meertens Institute, 2023 [pdf]
Index to the Dialect Material Collected Between 1931 and 1941 by the Central Bureau for Dutch and Frisian Dialects (Questionnaires 1–10 and the Common Questionnaire). Amsterdam, 1943 [pdf]
Questionnaires with Index (1931–1958), with a foreword by J. Daan. Amsterdam, 1960 [pdf]
Dialect Questionnaires with Index (1959–1975). Amsterdam, 1982 [pdf]
Index to the Dialect Questionnaires 1976–1994. Amsterdam, 1995 [pdf]
Dialect Questionnaires without Index, 1976–2005. Amsterdam, 2005 [pdf]
Onomastic Questionnaires without Index, 1946–1965 [pdf]

Additional Literature

A.J. Dekker, “The Folklore Questionnaires of the P.J. Meertens Institute: Their Purpose, Possibilities, and Limitations as a Source,” Volkskundig Bulletin 15(1) (1989), pp. 60–84 [pdf]