German Election Study, 1980 (ICPSR 34785)

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This study consists of a data pool of ten separate "Politbarometer" surveys that were conducted monthly by MARPLAN and organized by the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen (Mannheim) as project leaders. The dataset integrates the separate surveys by coding the same question from each of the surveys under one variable. To also assure the continuity of this 1980 study with the German Electoral Data (GED) Project series, the studies for June, September and October were expanded to include questions relevant to the series, especially in eliciting information on party preference, the evaluation of leading politicians, and opinions about important political and social issues. Of particular note is the measurement of attitudes toward the political parties: several different measures were used to tap the various dimensions of party preference. Respondents were asked to separately evaluate each party and leading politicians, including the candidates for the position of Chancellor, Helmut Kohl and Helmut Schmidt, and to place the political parties on several versions of the left-right ideological dimension. Another component of the election study dealt with the respondents' opinions toward important problems, including the salience of economic issues for the German population. Open-ended questions were asked concerning the respondents' views of the economic situation, the election campaigns, a new political party, the German democratic process, improved relations between East and West Germany, relations between Germany and the United States, and the reunification of Germany. Respondents were also asked about the most important tasks facing Germany and the party that could best deal with these tasks, the reasons for the electoral outcome for each party, and respondents' political participation and voting decisions during the election campaign. Also probed were respondents' views of their financial situation, the efficacy of old-age pensions, nuclear power plants, church and politics, and labor unions, and their feelings about Germany's participation in the Olympic Games, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the potential for a superpower war, the Iran hostage crisis, and the proposed economic boycott against Iran. Additional items queried respondents about their general political activities and voting behavior and intentions. Also explored were respondents' views of divorce, tolerance of opposing views, leisure time activities, and experience of stress situations. Demographic items specify age, sex, education, marital status, occupation, military status, income, union membership, political party affiliation, and religious preference.

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