Community Indicators Survey [1999-2002] (ICPSR 35578)

Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)

Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection

Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes

Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose

The Community Indicators Project was undertaken to document the social health of the 26 communities in which the Knight brothers published newspapers.

Study Design View help for Study Design

Princeton Survey Research Associates conducted telephone interviews with representative samples of adults 18 years of age or older, living in telephone households in the area of each individual survey's geographic coverage. The interview protocol for each local area survey was nearly identical to the protocol for the national survey also conducted for this project. The 26 local areas surveyed in 1999 were: Milledgeville, GA; Long Beach, CA; Gary, IN; Boca Raton (Palm Beach County), FL; Boulder, CO; Philadelphia, PA; Akron, OH; Macon, GA; Columbus, GA; Aberdeen, SD; Grand Forks, ND; Wichita, KS; Charlotte, NC; Columbia, SC; Myrtle Beach, SC; Tallahassee, FL; Duluth, MN; St. Paul, MN; State College, PA; Fort Wayne, IN; Biloxi, MS; Detroit, MI; Lexington, KY; San Jose, CA; Bradenton, FL; Miami, FL. For 2002, the 11 regional and neighboring city areas also surveyed were: Charlotte, NC - Regional; Columbus, SC - Second City; Detroit, MI - Regional; Duluth, MN - Second City; Gary, IN - Regional; Grand Forks, SD - Second City; Lexington, KY - Regional; Philadelphia, PA - Regional; Philadelphia, PA - Second City, and Miami - Dade, FL and Miami - Broward, FL in place of Miami, FL. In 1999, 17,417 telephone interviews were conducted from February 10 through December 1. In 2002, 21,722 telephone interviews were conducted from January 2 through October 3. The results of each survey were weighted, when possible, to make the sample more representative of the population with respect to gender, age, race, and education.

The samples were based on random digit dialing. At least 10 attempts were made to complete an interview at every sampled telephone number. The calls were staggered over times of day and days of week to maximize the chances of making a contact with a potential respondent. All interview breakoffs and refusals were re-contacted at least once in order to attempt to convert them to completed interviews.

Sample View help for Sample

This survey used a random samples constructed by random digit dialing (RDD). In each contacted household, interviewers asked to speak with the "youngest male, 18 years of age or older, who is at home." If there was no eligible man at home, interviewers asked to speak with the "oldest woman, 18 years of age or older, who is now at home." This systematic respondent selection technique has been shown empirically to produce samples that closely mirror the population in terms of age and gender.

The error attributable to sampling in each individual survey ranged from plus or minus four percentage points to plus or minus six percentage points. Results based on smaller subgroups are subject to a larger margin of sampling error. In addition to sampling error, the practical difficulties of conducting telephone surveys can introduce error or bias into their results.

Time Method View help for Time Method

Universe View help for Universe

Adults 18 years of age or older living in households with telephones.

Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation

Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables

The surveys measured civic engagement and attitudes concerning seven topic areas: education, arts and culture, children and social welfare, community development, homelessness, literacy, and citizenship. Questions relating specifically to arts and culture include frequency of attendance at arts events or museums, satisfaction with arts and cultural opportunities, and satisfaction with the performance of local cultural institutions.

Response Rates View help for Response Rates

Response rates are not available for the cumulative data files. For response rates for the national and local surveys, please refer to the "Descriptions of National and Local Surveys, 1999 and 2002" Data Documentation file.

Original Release Date View help for Original Release Date

2015-03-06

Version History View help for Version History

Weight View help for Weight

Claritas Data Services provided the demographic weighting parameters for each individual study. The population parameters are the demographic characteristics of households with adults 18 or older, which are then compared with the sample characteristics to construct sample weights. The results have been weighted to adjust for variations in the sample relating to sex, age, race, and education. Weighting was accomplished using Sample Balancing, a special iterative sample weighting program that simultaneously balances the distributions of all variables using a statistical technique called the Deming Algorithm. Finally, weights were trimmed to prevent individual interviews from having too much influence on the final results. The use of these weights in statistical analysis ensures that the demographic characteristics of the sample closely approximate the demographic characteristics of the population of interest. The Community Indicators Survey 1999: Cumulative data file contains 2 weight variables: ODWGHT (Weight sums to unweighted number of cases) and WEIGHT (Weight sums to weighted number of cases). The Community Indicators Survey 2002: Cumulative data file contains 1 weight variable: WEIGHT (Weight sums to unweighted number of cases).