Digital Divide and Educational Inequality in Asia: A Cross-Country Secondary Data Analysis of Connectivity, Access, and Student Achievement (ICPSR 309014)
Abstract
The increasing reliance on digital technologies in education has intensified concerns regarding unequal access to digital resources across countries, particularly in developing regions. While digital connectivity has the potential to enhance learning opportunities, disparities in internet access and technological infrastructure may contribute to unequal educational outcomes. This study examines the relationship between the digital divide and educational inequality in Asia through a cross-country secondary data analysis of connectivity, access, and student achievement. Using publicly available datasets from the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the study analyzes key indicators of internet access, digital infrastructure, student achievement, and educational inequality across selected Asian countries. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression models were employed to examine structural associations among variables. The results indicate that internet access is positively associated with student achievement and negatively associated with educational inequality. Digital infrastructure also demonstrates positive associations with educational performance and lower levels of inequality. In contrast, rural population is negatively associated with student achievement and positively associated with educational inequality. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of digital connectivity and technological capacity in shaping both the quality and equity dimensions of education systems across diverse national contexts.
Author Biographies
Mhel Cedric D. Bendo, Polytechnic University of the Philippines–Maragondon Campus
Mhel Cedric D. Bendo is a student researcher and academic writer pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship at Polytechnic University of the Philippines–Maragondon Campus. His research interests include mobile learning, digital learning environments, AI in education, educational psychology, curriculum studies, educational assessment, and financial technology (FinTech). He serves on the editorial boards of the SIAR-Global Journal of Humanities, Management & Educational Review, SIAR-Global Journal of Literatures & Educational Review, the International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Exploration (IJMRE), and the International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Application (IJAMA), and also works as a technical editor for an international academic journal. He is a reviewer for multiple international peer-reviewed journals, including Cogent Education (Taylor & Francis). He is an active researcher who has authored several studies published and forthcoming in international and Scopus-indexed journals, while his research-informed commentary has appeared in national and regional Philippine newspapers, including the Manila Bulletin.
Dr. Domar C. Alviar, National University–Manila
Domar C. Alviar is an Associate Professor at National University–Manila, where he is a 2026 Gawad Pantas awardee. He holds a Master of Development Communication and Doctor of Communication from the University of the Philippines Open University. A CHED-SIKAP scholar, his research interests include development communication, systems thinking, ethnomethodology and conversation analysis (EMCA), media ethics, law, and ethical artificial intelligence in education. He serves on the Steering Committee of the Philippine International Studies Organization (PHISO) and contributes to academic discussions on academic integrity, higher education, and ethical AI. He previously worked in Middle East and North Africa customs relations and international supply management and served as publications and communications editor at Adamson University. He writes the “Inside Academe” column for Tutubi.ph and contributes opinion articles to national broadsheets, including the Philippine Daily Inquirer and other publications.
Replication Data and Materials for "How Do Schools React? Making Sense of Organizational Responses to Accountability Pressure": Urban Schools in Chile, 2018–2020 (ICPSR 303828)
This deposit contains the replication data and materials associated with the article “How Do Schools React? Making Sense of Organizational Responses to Accountability Pressure.” The study examines how schools in Chile respond to performance-based accountability (PBA) in a highly marketized education system. The quantitative component draws on survey data from teachers (n = 1,130) and school leaders (n = 200) in 79 urban schools located in the metropolitan areas of Santiago, Valparaíso, and Concepción. The qualitative component includes semi-structured interviews with school leaders (n = 23) and teachers (n = 28) from 15 urban schools in Santiago’s Metropolitan Region, complemented by documentary analysis. The materials document school responses to accountability pressure, including teaching to the test, curricular alignment, resource redistribution, data use, and actors’ beliefs about the fairness, validity, and pressure associated with standardized testing and accountability policies. The deposit is intended to support transparency, verification, and reuse of the study’s analytic procedures and findings.
Reproducibility package for "Fathers' Military Service and Children's College Attainment" (ICPSR 303003)
This replication package includes data and code to reproduce the results summarized in "Fathers' Military Service and Children's College Attainment," Fomby and van Hissenhoven-Florez, Sociological Science (2026).
Supplementary data for: The Geography of Child Penalties and Gender Norms: A Pseudo-Event Study Approach (ICPSR 301089)
A combination of variables from the Family-level and Individual-level PSID data is used. The Childbirth and Adoption History data provided in the Family History files is also used.
Dataset: U.S. Trends in Job Stability by Sex, Race, and Ethnicity from 1996 to 2020 (ICPSR 207601)
ECIN Replication Package for "Idiosyncratic Asset Return and Wage Risk of US Households" (ICPSR 208346)
Data for: The Neolithic Revolution in the Middle East, Economic History Review (ICPSR 194451)
National Public Radio/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health Poll: Sick in America, United States, 2012 (ICPSR 38378)
This catalog record includes detailed variable-level descriptions, enabling data discovery and comparison. The data are not archived at ICPSR. Users should consult the data owners (via the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research) directly for details on obtaining the data.
This collection includes variable-level metadata of Sick in America, a survey from National Public Radio, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health, conducted by Social Science Research Solutions (SSRS). Topics covered in this survey include:
- Quality of health care
- Health care costs as problem
- Reasons for health care quality problems
- Focus of doctor visits
- Reasons for rising health care costs
- Health care as good value
- Agreement with doctor statements
- Amount of doctors
- Doctor visits for check-up
- Personal insurance coverage
- Uninsured
- Overnight hospital stays
- Satisfaction with hospital medical care
- Medical care costs as reasonable
- Description of hospital stays
- Serious illness
- Interactions with medical professionals
- Impact of medical care costs on family
- Receiving care every time it's needed
- Being turned away for health care
- Insurance premiums as financial problem
- Out of pocket medical costs
- Negotiating lower charges
- Problems paying for insurance
- Changing regular doctor
- Personal financial situation
The data and documentation files for this survey are available through the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research [Roper #31092354]. Frequencies and summary statistics for the 159 variables from this survey are available through the ICPSR social science variable database and can be accessed from the Variables tab.
National Public Radio/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health Poll: African Americans' Lives Today, United States, 2013 (ICPSR 38379)
This catalog record includes detailed variable-level descriptions, enabling data discovery and comparison. The data are not archived at ICPSR. Users should consult the data owners (via the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research) directly for details on obtaining the data.
This collection includes variable-level metadata of African Americans' Lives Today, a survey from National Public Radio, the Harvard School of Public Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation conducted by Social Science Research Solutions (SSRS). Topics covered in this survey include:
- Satisfaction with life and environment
- Life improvements
- Satisfaction with living area
- Living area improvements
- Most important local issue
- Other black people in area
- Amount of black friends
- Economic class
- Rating various public institutions
- Rating quality of various resources
- Amount of discrimination
- Reason for discrimination
- Personal financial situation
- Economic class growing up
- Achieving American dream
- Better off than parents
- Importance of religion
- Making decisions about children
- Child schooling
- Rating child's school
- Black children in school
- Desired level of child's education
- Seeking long-term relationship
- Desire to marry
- Satisfaction with dating opportunities
- Race of romantic dates
- Looking for work
- Career success
- Unemployment concerns
- Health insurance and healthcare
- Access to care
- Medical expenses
- Quality of doctors
- Health and wellness
- Social and family life
The data and documentation files for this survey are available through the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research [Roper #31092356]. Frequencies and summary statistics for the 204 variables from this survey are available through the ICPSR social science variable database and can be accessed from the Variables tab.
National Public Radio/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health Poll: Latinos' Lives and Health Today, United States, 2013 (ICPSR 38380)
This catalog record includes detailed variable-level descriptions, enabling data discovery and comparison. The data are not archived at ICPSR. Users should consult the data owners (via the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research) directly for details on obtaining the data.
This collection includes variable-level metadata of Latinos' Lives and Health Today, a survey from National Public Radio, the Harvard School of Public Health, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, conducted by Social Science Research Solutions (SSRS). Topics covered in this survey include:
- Satisfaction with life
- Satisfaction with living area
- Most important local issue
- Other Hispanic people in living area
- Rating aspects of life
- Personal discrimination in past twelve months
- Personal finances
- Achieving American dream
- Economic class
- Better off than parents
- Opportunities for children
- Language spoken at home
- Looking for job
- Concerns about unemployment
- Biggest health problem in family
- Description of weight
- Trying to lose weight
- Medical care in past twelve months
- Problems with medical care access
- Confidence in ability to pay for major illness
- Health care facility used
- Health care professionals speaking Spanish
- Receiving poor medical care
- Health insurance coverage
- Personal health rating
- Frequency of exercise
- Country born in
- Age came to United States
- Parents' birth country
- Reasons for coming to US
- Comparing birth country to US
- Diet as more or less healthy in US.
Inequality in late colonial Indonesia: new evidence on regional differences (ICPSR 130624)
Replication: Labor Earnings Inequality in Manufacturing During the Great Depression (ICPSR 117926)
Pathways to Inequality: Between-District Segregation and Racial Disparities in School District Expenditures (ICPSR 111546)
2015 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS) (ICPSR 37229)
The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS) was conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) to examine the experiences of transgender adults in the United States. The USTS questionnaire was administered online and data were collected over a 34-day period in the summer of 2015, between August 19 and September 21. The final sample included respondents from all fifty states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. military bases overseas. The USTS Public Use Dataset (PUDS) features survey results from 27,715 respondents and details the experiences of transgender people across a wide range of areas, such as education, employment, family life, health, housing, and interactions with police and prisons.
The survey instrument had thirty-two sections that covered a broad array of topics, including questions related to the following topics (in alphabetical order): accessing restrooms; airport security; civic participation; counseling; family and peer support; health and health insurance; HIV; housing and homelessness; identity documents; immigration; intimate partner violence; military service; police and incarceration; policy priorities; public accommodations; sex work; sexual assault; substance use; suicidal thoughts and behaviors; unequal treatment, harassment, and physical attack; and voting.
Demographic information includes age, racial and ethnic identity, sex assigned at birth, gender and preferred pronouns, sexual orientation, language(s) spoken at home, education, employment, income, religion/spirituality, and marital status.
There are no publicly available data files for this study. The naming conventions were maintained from the original pre-ICPSR release and the PUDS file is restricted use along with the qualitative data (MS Excel) file.
Before applying for access to these data please refer to the Approved Requests for USTS Data. These abstracts describe work currently in progress, and we provide them to help reduce the risk of duplication of research efforts.
Alternative Gender Measures Survey (ICPSR 109542)
General Social Survey, 1972-2016 [Cumulative File] (ICPSR 36797)
Los Angeles County Social Survey, 1993 (LACSS) (ICPSR 36600)
The Los Angeles County Social Survey (LACSS) continues the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Studies (LAMAS) and the Southern California Social Surveys (SCSS). The Los Angeles County Social Survey (LACSS) is part of a continuing annual research project supported by the Institute for Social Science Research at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
The LACSS 1993 was conducted between February and April 1993. Los Angeles County residents were asked questions concerning ethnic relations, social dominance, inequality, poverty, government, and the LA riots.
Demographic information collected includes race/ethnic identity, gender, religion, age, education level, occupation, birth place, political party affiliation and ideology, marital status, income, and origin of ancestry.
Development and Validation of the Critical Consciousness Scale (ICPSR 36564)
Bay Area Race and Politics Survey 1986 (ICPSR 100003)
General Social Survey, 1972 (ICPSR 35300)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1973 (ICPSR 35301)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1974 (ICPSR 35302)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1975 (ICPSR 35303)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1976 (ICPSR 35304)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1977 (ICPSR 35305)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1978 (ICPSR 35307)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1980 (ICPSR 35310)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1982 (ICPSR 35311)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1983 (ICPSR 35312)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1984 (ICPSR 35313)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1985 (ICPSR 35314)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1986 (ICPSR 35315)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1987 (ICPSR 35316)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1988 (ICPSR 35317)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1989 (ICPSR 35318)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1990 (ICPSR 35320)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1991 (ICPSR 35321)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1993 (ICPSR 35322)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1994 (ICPSR 35323)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1996 (ICPSR 35324)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 1998 (ICPSR 35325)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 2000 (ICPSR 35326)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 2002 (ICPSR 35327)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 2004 (ICPSR 35328)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 2006 (ICPSR 35329)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 2008 (ICPSR 35330)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 2010 (ICPSR 35331)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 2012 (ICPSR 35332)
The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations. Begun in 1972, the GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings.
General Social Survey, 2012 Merged Data, Including a Cultural Module [United States] (ICPSR 35478)
The General Social Survey (GSS) collects information from the general public on a wide variety of subjects, including attitudes toward social issues, religion, education, jobs and the economy, government and other institutions, politics, and policy issues. The 2012 merged data used a rolling panel design. The first panel is the 2008 GSS as the base year. The second panel is a subsample of the GSS cases from 2008 that was selected to be reinterview for the GSS in 2010 along with a new cross-section of cases. The third panel is the same subsample of 2008 GSS cases reinterviewed for the GSS in 2012 along with a new cross-section of cases. The 2012 GSS merged data file has the third wave of the 2008 respondents (N=1295), the second wave of the 2010 respondents (N=1,551), and the first wave (a cross-section) of 2012 respondents (N=1,974).
Besides the standard GSS topics, such as attitudes toward social issues, religion, education, jobs and the economy, government and other institutions, politics, and policy issues, the 2012 GSS data included a "Cultural Module," a battery of questions focused on culture and the arts. Questions asked if the respondent attended various performances or exhibits, who they attended with, if the performance attended was free, factors that impacted the decision to attend or not attend. The merged data also include demographic information including age, sex, race, and income. This data collection also contains questions asked in the 2008 GSS and the 2010 GSS.