Search results

The Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS) is a panel survey of Detroit residents aged 18 and older. The original panel of respondents was drawn from an address-based probability sample of all occupied Detroit households in 2016 and has since been refreshed through additional address-based sampling annually. The 17th survey wave, collected between June 2023 and August 2023, sent 5,000 invitations to a randomly selected address-based refreshment sample of Detroit households and invited 2,873 previously-enrolled panelists to participate in a self-administered online or interviewer-administered telephone survey.

Topics included: housing status; perceptions of neighborhood; social cohesion; community involvement; activism; school quality and performance; parks; safety; policing; mental health; immigration; sources of information; household finances; social connection; employment; and party identification.

The Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS) is a panel survey of Detroit residents aged 18 and older. The original panel of respondents was drawn from an address-based probability sample of all occupied Detroit households in 2016 and has since been refreshed through additional address-based sampling annually. Between August 6, 2025 and October 1, 2025, 3,170 previously enrolled panelists were invited to participate in a self-administered online or interviewer-administered telephone survey.

Topics included: household composition; housing status; perceptions of neighborhood; social connection and loneliness; election; mayoral priorities; crime and safety; violence reduction; artificial intelligence; flood management; mental health; employment.

The East Asian Social Survey (EASS) is a biennial social survey project that serves as a cross-national network of the following four General Social Survey type surveys in East Asia: the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), the Japanese General Social Survey (JGSS), the Korean General Social Survey (KGSS), and the Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSCS), and comparatively examines diverse aspects of social life in these regions. Since its 1st module survey in 2006, EASS produces and disseminates its module survey datasets and this is the harmonized data for the 4th module survey, called 'Network Social Capital in East Asia,' which was carried out in 2012 in the four countries.

Survey information in this module focuses on social networks and participation and attitudes toward various social organizations and events. Respondents were asked about common social interactions, family structures and relationships, their neighborhood environments, social support systems, and their trust toward a range of community members and institutions. Additionally, respondents were asked for their opinions on political issues, and about their participation and experience with voting in recent elections.

Demographic and other background information includes age, sex, marital status, religion, years of education completed, employment status, income, and household size and composition.

In 1995-1996, the MacArthur Midlife Research Network carried out a national survey of over 7,000 Americans aged 25 to 74 [ICPSR 2760]. The purpose of the study was to investigate the role of behavioral, psychological, and social factors in understanding age-related differences in physical and mental health. The study was innovative for its broad scientific scope, its diverse samples (which included siblings of the main sample respondents and a national sample of twin pairs), and its creative use of in-depth assessments in key areas (e.g. daily diary of stressful experiences [ICPSR 3725] and cognitive functioning [ICPSR 3596]) on a subset of participants. A detailed description of the study and findings generated by it are available at: http://www.midus.wisc.edu

With support from the National Institute on Aging, a follow-up of the original Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) sample was conducted in 2004 (MIDUS 2 [ICPSR 4652]). The daily stress and cognitive functioning projects were repeated and expanded at MIDUS 2; in addition the protocol was expanded to include biomarkers and neuroscience.

In 2013 a third wave (MIDUS 3) of survey data was collected on longitudinal participants. Data collection for this follow-up wave largely repeated baseline assessments (e.g., phone interview and extensive self-administered questionnaire), with additional questions in selected areas such as economic recession experiences. Cognitive functioning data were also collected at the same time, while data collection for the daily diary, biomarker, and neuroscience projects commenced in 2017.

MIDUS also maintains a Colectica portal, which allows users to interact with variables across waves and create customized subsets. Registration is required.

The Tsogolo La Thanzi (TLT): Migration Autopsy collection contains data collected as part of the Tsogolo la Thanzi (TLT) Study. TLT is a longitudinal study in Balaka, Malawi designed to examine how young people navigate reproduction in an AIDS epidemic. Tsogolo la Thanzi means "Healthy Futures" in Chichewa, Malawi's most widely spoken language. New data is being collected to develop better understandings of the reproductive goals and behavior of young adults in Malawi -- the first cohort to never have experienced life without AIDS. To understand these patterns of family formation in a rapidly changing setting, TLT used the following approach: an intensive longitudinal design where respondents are interviewed every fourth months at TLT's centralized research center.

The Migration Autopsy collection contains many TLT respondents whom moved away during the study period. In order to both carefully track attrition and gather valuable information about migration, TLT performed a migration autopsy on study participants who migrated from the study area during the course of the 8-wave observation period. Data collection began in April of 2009 and was completed in December of 2012. To assess changes on a longer time-horizon, a follow-up survey we refer to as Tsogolo la Thanzi 2 (TLT-2) was fielded between June and August of 2016.

This data collection represents a loose collaboration between Georgetown University's Center for Democracy and Civil Society (CDACS) and the European Social Survey (ESS). The data in Part 1 are from the United States Citizenship, Involvement, Democracy (CID) Survey, which was conducted between mid-May and mid-July of 2005, and consists of in-person interviews with a representative sample of 1,001 Americans who responded to an 80-minute questionnaire. The CID survey is a study of American civic engagement, social capital, and democracy in comparative perspective, and it provides perspective on citizen participation in both the public and private realms. The CID survey is integrated with several elements of a module from the 2002 version of the ESS, which was administered in 22 European countries. In addition to the replicated questions from the ESS, the CID survey includes questions related to the themes of social capital, activities in formal clubs and organizations, informal social networks and activities, personal networks (strong and weak ties), the composition and diversity of ties and associations, trust (in other people, the community, institutions, and politicians), local democracy and participation, democratic values, political citizenship, social citizenship, views on immigration and diversity, political identification, ideology, mobilization and action, and tolerance (concerning views and attitudes, least-liked groups, and racial stereotypes).

In order to facilitate and encourage the common use of several key variables, and to help individual users to avoid having to create certain scales and indices, the data in Part 1, Citizenship, Involvement, Democracy Survey Data (US Only), also include the following constructed variables: generalized trust, political action, party identification, participation in voluntary organizations, citizenship norms, the diversity of social networks, racial prejudice/negative stereotypes, national pride, attitudes toward immigrants, and demographic factors.

The data in Part 2, 2002 European Social Survey (ESS) Data Integrated with US Data, comprise the responses from the 2002 ESS merged with the responses from the US CID, but only contains the questions common to both the US CID and the 2002 ESS (without any constructed variables). The central aim of the ESS is to measure and explain how people's social values, cultural norms, and behavior patterns are distributed, the way in which they differ within and between nations, and the direction and speed at which they are changing. Data collection for the ESS takes place every two years, by means of face-to-face interviews of around an hour in duration.

Demographic variables for Part 1 and Part 2 include race, gender, age, marital status, income, religious preference, and highest level of education.

The 2001 Detroit Area Study (DAS) is a survey of over 4,300 adults in metro Detroit and addresses their perceptions, expectations, satisfaction, and behaviors associated with community living. The 2001 DAS, conducted in the spring and summer 2001, consisted of two parts. Initially, face-to-face interviews were conducted with a probability sample of 315 adult respondents (18 years of age and older) living in the tri-county area of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Counties. Subsequently, a questionnaire was mailed to a sample of adults throughout the seven counties; 4,077 were returned. Response rates were 59.8 percent for the face-to-face sample and 56.7 percent for the mail sample. In addition to survey responses, DAS 2001 compiled contextual information about the minor civil divisions (MCDs) or communities and environments associated with each respondent. Contextual information includes housing and demographic characteristics, land use characteristics, and other characteristics of the communities where respondents live (growth rates, employment, school information). Questions on the survey asked about residential history; public services and transportation; government and taxes; schools; police; parks, recreation and where kids play; shopping and other community issues; community participation and involvement; neighborhood and neighboring; housing and prospective mobility; safety; employment and journey to work; health and health care facilities; other Detroit and regional issues; demographics; and observations. The 2001 DAS presents a unique opportunity to explore and record changes over time by measuring people's opinions and behaviors and the conditions in their communities. The 2001 DAS is different from earlier DAS surveys in several ways. First, the study has been expanded from three to seven counties in southeast Michigan, often referred to as the metro Detroit area. That is, the study contacted residents in Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Wayne, and Washtenaw counties and in the city of Detroit. Second, the number of people contacted is greatly increased using a combination of face-to-face interviews and questionnaires sent by mail. Over 4,000 households in the region were contacted. Third, the questionnaires were designed in consultation with stakeholder groups representing government, industry, and nonprofit organizations in the region. Finally, indicators associated with the sampled households are being compiled and analyzed (along with the survey responses) using statistical and spatial analytic techniques including Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

The objective of the Seattle Neighborhoods and Crime Survey (SNCS) was to test multilevel theories of neighborhood social organization and criminal violence. It was funded by the National Science Foundation (SES-0004324), and the National Consortium on Violence Research (SBR-9513040). Using the concept of differential neighborhood organization, the investigators posited that neighborhood crime is a function of informal social control against crime and informal organization in favor of crime. Informal neighborhood control against crime consists of neighborhood attachment, social capital, and collective efficacy. The study tested the hypothesis that individual social ties are explained by a rational choice model, which in turn produces neighborhood social capital that can be used to achieve collective goals. It also tested the hypothesis that neighborhoods rich in social capital had greater collective efficacy, which in turn, helped produce safe neighborhoods. Organization in favor of crime consists of violent codes of the street. The study tested the hypothesis that residents from disadvantaged neighborhoods tend to distrust police and other agents of conventional institutions, and consequently are more likely to participate in street culture, in which violence is a way of obtaining street credibility and status, as well as resolving disputes. The project has also examined dimensions of neighboring, and the causes and consequences of fear of crime.

The study used a telephone survey of households within all 123 census tracts in the city of Seattle, WA, conducted in 2002-2003. The sampling frame was designed by investigators at the University of Washington, with three objectives in mind: (a) to gain a random sample of households within each of 123 census tracts; (b) to obtain a disproportionate number of racial and ethnic minorities using an ethnic oversample; and (c) to obtain a replication sample of Terrance Miethe's 1990 victimization survey in 100 Seattle neighborhoods [Testing Theories of Criminality and Victimization in Seattle, 1960-1990]. Specific samples were drawn by Genesys, a sampling firm in Philadelphia, PA, using a constantly-updated compilation of white pages. Telephone interviews were conducted by the Social and Behavioral Research Institute at California State University, San Marcos, using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) technology.

Respondents were asked about household demographics, such as race, gender, residential mobility, age distribution of the household, and income, their perceptions and assessments of their neighborhoods (including safety, disorder, and crime), neighbors, and relations with police. A variety of questions about neighboring were asked, including social capital (intergenerational closure, reciprocated exchange, and participation in neighborhood associations), attachment to their neighborhood, and collective efficacy (child-centered social control). Respondents were asked about routine activities including taking steps to protect their homes, spending time in bars and nightclubs, and leaving their home unattended. Questions about fear of crime included personal fear as well as altruistic fear for other members of the household, and questions about racial attitudes included residential preferences by race composition of the neighborhood. A victimization inventory modeled after the National Crime Victimization Survey was used for burglary, vandalism, stolen property, violence, and robbery. Demographic information includes age, race, sex, education, martial status, household income, whether respondent was a student, employment status, religious affiliation, approximate value of home, monthly rent including utilities, residence history in the last five years, whether respondent was born in the Unites States, and number of people currently living in the respondent's household.