National Science Foundation Surveys of Public Attitudes Toward and Understanding of Science and Technology, 1979-2006: [United States] (ICPSR 28368)
Version Date: Dec 7, 2016 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Jon D. Miller, Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research;
Linda Kimmel, Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research;
ORC Macro ;
Tom Smith, National Opinion Research Center;
Susan Carol Losh, Florida State University
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR28368.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Surveys of Public Attitudes monitored the general public's attitudes toward and interest in science and technology. The survey assessed levels of literacy and understanding of scientific and environmental concepts and constructs such as DNA, probability, and experimental methods, how scientific knowledge and information were acquired, attentiveness to public policy issues, and computer access and usage. Since 1979, the survey was administered at regular intervals (occurring every two or three years), producing 12 cross-sectional surveys through 2006. Respondents were asked how they received information concerning science or news (e.g., via newspapers, magazines, or television), what types of television programming they watched, and what kinds of magazines they read. They were also asked if they agreed with statements concerning science and technology and how they affect everyday living. Respondents were further asked a series of true and false questions regarding science-based statements (e.g., the center of the Earth is hot, all radioactivity is manmade, electrons are smaller than atoms, etc.). Additional topics included whether the respondent had a postsecondary degree, field of highest degree, number of science-based college courses taken, major in college, household ownership of a computer, access to the World Wide Web, number of hours spent on a computer at home or at work, and topics searched for via the Internet. Demographic variables include gender, race, age, marital status, number of people in household, level of education, and occupation.
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Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
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Region
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Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
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This collection is related to ICPSR 4029 "National Science Foundation Surveys of Public Attitudes Toward and Understanding of Science and Technology, 1979-2001: [United States]".
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For further information please see the National Science Foundation website.
Sample View help for Sample
1979 and 2006: probability area cluster samples. 1981-2001: multistage random digit dialing.
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Universe View help for Universe
All United States households 1981-2006 with landline telephones.
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Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection
Response Rates View help for Response Rates
Response rates ranged from 51 percent of those actually contacted (2001) to over 70 percent in the earlier surveys and in 2006.
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2016-12-07
Version History View help for Version History
- Miller, Jon D., Linda Kimmel, ORC Macro , Tom Smith, and Susan Carol Losh. National Science Foundation Surveys of Public Attitudes Toward and Understanding of Science and Technology, 1979-2006: [United States]. ICPSR28368-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2016-12-07. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR28368.v1
2016-12-07 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Weight View help for Weight
1979-2001: single combined weight gender ethnicity region 2006 General Social Survey - WTSSALL (see Appendix A of the General Social Survey codebook, ICPSR #36319, for additional information).
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These data are freely available to data users at ICPSR member institutions. The curation and dissemination of this study are provided by the institutional members of ICPSR. How do I access ICPSR data if I am not at a member institution?