Topical Studies

This project entailed recording and coding information from slave narratives gathered as part of the Federal Writers’ Project. Between 1936 and 1938, federal authorities organized teams of interviewers in seventeen states who gathered the recollections of over two thousand former slaves. Data-related publications related to this study reflect on the history of the narratives through ‘Slavery Remembered’.

The primary objective of this data collection was to provide a quantitative underpinning for the analysis of Northern racial attitudes in the United States during the Civil War era. This study has been reported in publications related to the right to vote in the United States, United Kingdom, and France.

The Detroit Arab American Study (DAAS) provides a unique dataset on September 11, 2001, and its impacts on Arab Americans living in the Detroit metropolitan area. This study is a companion survey to the 2003 Detroit Area Study (DAS), using a representative sample drawn from the three-county Detroit metropolitan area and an oversample of Arab Americans from the same region. Publications report on religious identity, discrimination, psychological distress, gender differences, white identity, and American politics.

The circumstances surrounding “justifiable homicides” by police are the focus of this data collection, which examines occurrences in 57 United States cities during the period 1970-1979. Homicides by on- and off-duty police officers serving communities of 250,000 or more were studied. This study has been reported in publications related to justifiable homicide by police.

The purpose of this data collection is to provide an appropriate theoretical and empirical approach to concepts, measures, and methods in the study of Black Americans. Publications report on race, Black nationalism, African American Psychology, feminism, religion, racial attitudes, psychological well-being, and stress.

This study examines the causes and consequences of sit-ins in the American South with included variables such as dates of sit-in protest and of the desegregation of lunch counters, social and economic characteristics from the 1960 Census, geographical location, Civil Rights organizations, newspaper circulation, and athletic affiliations of Black colleges.

The National Asian American Survey (NAAS) Pre-Election Survey, 2016 contains nationally representative data from telephone interviews of adult U.S. residents who self-identified as Asian/Asian American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, White, African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, and Multiracial. Publication on this study report on Chinese Americans’ ethnic identity with political engagement.

The Latino Second Generation Study is a national survey of the political experiences and attitudes of 1,050 U.S. born second-generation Latinos of foreign-born parents. The goal of the project is to advance scholarly understanding of political socialization and of the long-term effects of the U.S. immigration system on citizen, civic and political participation in the U.S. Publications related to this study report on political effects of having undocumented parents, mass deportations, Latino partisanship, and analysis of Latino/a sociodemographic and health data in the United States.

The National Black Politics Study was designed to provide information on attitudes and opinions regarding a number of issues of importance to Black Americans. Topics included the performance of President Bill Clinton, the economic condition of Black Americans, and what respondents thought ought to be done to improve the condition of Black people. Publications related to this study report on African American political discontent, Black nationalism, homophobia and treating HIV/AIDS in the African American community, racial and ethnic minorities in American politics, differences in public opinion, feminism, Black theology, and group identity.

This data collection measures the political attitudes and behaviors of three specific Latino groups in the United States: Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban. Variables cover the respondent’s family history, organizational memberships, political participation, voting practices, preferences on policy issues, views toward political parties and political candidates/leaders, political behavior, sources of political information such as the media, feelings about political trust and efficacy, perceptions of the relationship between government and Latino groups, and degree of concern about international issues and social problems. Publications related to this study report on minorities in American politics, immigrant identity, Latino political opinion, segregation, assimilation, and discrimination.

The 1989 Detroit Area Study is a social, economic, and political profile of the tri-county Detroit area (Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties). This study addresses fundamental issues of inequality and explores the public’s views on crime, education, class, and race. Assessments of the nature and extent of citizen involvement in these community problems and issues are included. Publications related to this study report on citizen and political participation, neighborhood poverty and African American politics, and political inequalities in the Detroit area.

The Youth Participatory Politics Survey Project (YPPSP) has conducted this survey which includes questions that examine the quantity, quality, and equality of youth new media practices; as well as political and civic attitudes, behavior, and engagement. Publications report on the analysis of Latino/a sociodemographic and health data in the United States, political participation, social media and internet access, political engagement among young Americans, and civic education.

The Youth Participatory Politics Survey Project (YPPSP) includes questions that examined the quantity, quality, and equality of youth new media practices; as well as political and civic attitudes, behavior, and engagement. This study includes respondents who completed the second and third waves in 2013 and 2015, respectively. Publications related to this study report on social media and civic good, political behavior, civic education, digital engagement in politics, and the political significance of social media and social networks.

The SAQ includes additional questions about psychological resources, group and personal identity, ideology and racial relations, political attitudes, care of elderly values, job and financial stressors, and wealth. Publications related to this study report on African American social identity, sleep and depression among Caribbean Blacks, health disparities, race, mental health, and discrimination.

This study is part of a time-series collection of national surveys fielded continuously since 1948, designed to present data on Americans’ social backgrounds, enduring political predispositions, social and political values, perceptions and evaluations of groups and candidates, opinions on questions of public policy, and participation in political life. Publications related to this study report on immigration opinion, white identity, intergroup attitudes, Black public opinion, leadership quality of U.S. presidential candidates, politics of gay rights, race, and voter turnout.

This dataset, prepared by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, comprises 1 percent of the cases in the second release of CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING, 1990 [ICPSR 9951 Housing variables include area type, state and area of residence, farm/nonfarm status, type of structure, year structure was built, vacancy status, number of rooms and bedrooms, type of sewage, water source and heating fuel used, property value, tenure, year moved into house/apartment, and more information about household environment and income.

This project examined economic differences in the neighborhoods where whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians live in the U.S. The objective of this project is to account for the decline in racial neighborhood inequality by investigating why it has declined faster in some metropolitan areas than in others. Publications related to this study report on neighborhood poverty, segregation, immigrant neighborhoods, suburban areas, and neighborhood inequality.