General Social Surveys, 1972-2008 [Cumulative File] (ICPSR 25962)

Version Date: Sep 18, 2013

Principal Investigator(s):
James A. Davis, National Opinion Research Center; Tom W. Smith, National Opinion Research Center; Peter V. Marsden, Harvard University

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR25962.v2

Version V2

This version of the data collection is no longer distributed by ICPSR.

Additional information may be available in Collection Notes.

2011-08-08 This data collection has been deaccessioned and is no longer available.

The GSS is in transition from a replication cross-sectional design to a design that uses rotating panels. In 2008 there were two components: a new 2008 cross-section with 2,023 cases and the first reinterviews with 1,536 respondents from the 2006 GSS, to be available in the future.

Additional information regarding the General Social Surveys can be found at the General Social Survey (GSS) Web site and the Roper Center Web site.

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Summary

The General Social Surveys (GSS) were designed as part of a data diffusion project in 1972. The GSS replicated questionnaire items and wording in order to facilitate time-trend studies. The latest survey, GSS 2008, includes a cumulative file that merges all 27 General Social Surveys into a single file containing data from 1972 to 2008. The items appearing in the surveys are one of three types: Permanent questions that occur on each survey, rotating questions that appear on two out of every three surveys (1973, 1974, and 1976, or 1973, 1975, and 1976), and a few occasional questions such as split ballot experiments that occur in a single survey. The 2008 surveys included nine topical modules: knowledge about and attitude towards science, self-employment, Jewish identity, social inequality, terrorism preparedness, global economics, CDC high risk behaviors, sexual orientation, and clergy sex. The International Social Survey Program (ISSP) module included in the 2008 survey was religion. Specific topics included social-welfare and economic regulation, civil liberties, spending priorities, and political efficacy. The data also contain several variables describing the demographic characteristics of the respondents.

Citation

Davis, James A., Smith, Tom W., and Marsden, Peter V. General Social Surveys, 1972-2008 [Cumulative File]. Ann Arbor, MI: Roper Center for Public Opinion Resarch, University of Connecticut [distributor], Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2013-09-18. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR25962.v2

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Funding

National Science Foundation (SBR-96-17727)

Subject Terms

abortion   citizen participation   civil rights   community participation   compensation   computer literacy   computer use   crime   economic conditions   economic issues   economic trends   environmental attitudes   ethnicity   families   family life   feminism   freedom   gender roles   government programs   health status   human rights   information literacy   information systems   Jews   law enforcement   life cycle   mental health   military strength   morale   morality   national identity   occupational status   occupations   patients   physicians   political participation   politics   poverty   prejudice   race relations   racial attitudes   reactions to crime   religion   sexual behavior   sexual preference   social attitudes   social control   social indicators   social inequality   social issues   social justice   social mobility   social networks   social services   social values   socioeconomic status   terrorism   wages and salaries   work   work attitudes

Geographic Coverage

Smallest Geographic Unit

census region

Distributor(s)

Roper Center for Public Opinion Resarch, University of Connecticut, Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

1972 -- 2008

Data Collection Notes

  1. 2011-08-08 This data collection has been deaccessioned and is no longer available.

  2. The GSS is in transition from a replication cross-sectional design to a design that uses rotating panels. In 2008 there were two components: a new 2008 cross-section with 2,023 cases and the first reinterviews with 1,536 respondents from the 2006 GSS, to be available in the future.

  3. Additional information regarding the General Social Surveys can be found at the General Social Survey (GSS) Web site and the Roper Center Web site.
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Sample

Please see Appendix A of the ICPSR Codebook.

Universe

All noninstitutionalized, English and Spanish speaking persons 18 years of age or older, living in the United States.

Unit(s) of Observation

individual

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

Response Rates

Approximately 70 percent.

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Original Release Date

2009-10-16

Version History

2018-02-15 The citation of this study may have changed due to the new version control system that has been implemented. The previous citation was:

  • Davis, James A., Tom W. Smith, and Peter V. Marsden. General Social Surveys, 1972-2008 [Cumulative File]. ICPSR25962-v2. Storrs, CT: Roper Center for Public Opinion Resarch, University of Connecticut/Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributors], 2010-02-08. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR25962.v2

2010-02-08 In the update of this collection, a compressed Stata system file replaces the uncompressed version of the Stata system file. In addition, the value labels for several variables have been added to the SPSS, SAS, and Stata setup and system files, and the SDA for this collection has been updated.

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Weight

Due to the number of weights and various uses for them, users should refer to Appendix A of the ICPSR Codebook.

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