Methodological aspects and technical approaches in measuring subjective well-being

Many international initiatives and events reveal the increasing attention on individual perception of living conditions and quality of life, also in consideration of the limits of objective information in describing social well-being. All this requires a deep reflection and particular attention from statisticians on the necessity of a correct scientific approach to measurement and analysis of subjective data. In fact, measuring subjective characteristics and creating subjective data require a particular attention and expertise methodology. This work aims at unravelling some important methodological aspects and issues that should be considered in measuring subjective characteristics and creating subjective data. Publication accepted (21/01/2010) on the Wikiprogress Website, project hosted by OECD. Wikiprogress is a global platform for sharing information in order to evaluate social, environmental and economic progress. It is open to all members and communities for contribution – students and researchers, civil society organisations, governmental and intergovernmental organisations, multilateral institutions, businesses, statistical offices, community organisations and individuals – anyone who has an interest in the concept of “progress”. Wikiprogress was launched in beta on the 26th of October, 2009 at the OECD World Forum on Statistics, Knowledge and Policy in Busan, Korea. Mission: the core mission of Wikiprogress connect worldwide organisations and individuals wishing to develop new, smarter measures of progress.