American National Election Study: 1990-1991 Panel Study of the Political Consequences of War/1991 Pilot Study (ICPSR 9673)
ANES 2004 Time Series Study (ICPSR 4245)
ANES 2008 Time Series Study (ICPSR 25383)
This study is part of the American National Election Study (ANES), a time-series collection of national surveys fielded continuously since 1952. The American National Election Studies are 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. The 2008 ANES data consists of a time series study conducted both before and after the 2008 presidential election in the United States. It entailed both a pre-election interview and a post-election re-interview. A freshly drawn cross section of the electorate was taken, yielding 1,212 cases. Like its predecessors, the 2008 ANES was divided between questions necessary for tracking long-term trends and questions necessary to understand the particular political moment of 2008. The study maintains and extends the ANES time-series 'core' by collecting data on Americans' basic political beliefs, allegiances, and behaviors: aspects of political belief and action so basic to the understanding of politics that they are monitored at every election, no matter the nature of the specific campaign or the broader setting. The study also carried topical and study-specific instrumentation. Questions covering issues prominent in 2008 addressed job outsourcing, private investment of Social Security funds, and President Bush's tax cut. Americans' views on foreign policy, the war on terrorism, and the Iraq War and its consequences were also addressed. In addition, the study carried expanded instrumentation on inflation, immigration, gender politics, and gay and lesbian politics. It also extended the experiment on the measurement of voter turnout that began in 2002. Demographic variables include respondent age, education level, political affiliation, race/ethnicity, marital status, and family composition.
Additional information about the ANES time series collection can be found on the American National Election Study (ANES) Web site.
Current Population Survey, 1973, and Social Security Records: Exact Match Data (ICPSR 7616)
Current Population Survey (CPS)/Social Security Summary Earnings (SER) Exact Match File, March 1978 (ICPSR 9039)
Current Population Survey, May 1983: Pension and Retirement Plan Coverage (ICPSR 8335)
Detroit Area Study, 1954: Ideal Family Size in Detroit and Administrative Behavior in a Metropolitan Community (ICPSR 7318)
This study of adults aged 21 and older in the Detroit metropolitan area provides information on their contact with and attitudes toward government administrative agencies, their views regarding civic duties, and their organizational memberships in 1954. The study was a combination of two separate studies: IDEAL FAMILY SIZE IN DETROIT by Ronald Freedman, and ADMINISTRATIVE BEHAVIOR IN A METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY by Morris Janowitz. Respondents were asked about their contact with and knowledge of various agencies, including the Michigan Employment Security Commission and the Social Security Department. They were asked to evaluate the performance of the public schools, the County Sheriff's Department, state and local police, and local, county, and state government officials. Several questions were asked to determine the respondents' attitudes toward government employment and employees, specifically the prestige of various jobs in the public sector compared with comparable jobs in the private sector, and their preference for working for the United States government or a private firm. Other questions probed respondents' living experiences before coming to Detroit, their feelings about living in Detroit, and their views about collectivist versus individualist ideology, a national health insurance plan, military draft, taxes, changes in the Social Security system, the role of political influence in enabling private citizens to get help from government agencies, and the ideal family size. Also explored were respondents' understanding of the meaning of "red tape" and how much of it they thought was necessary, and their views on the extent of government's role in solving problems such as unemployment, education, and housing. Respondents were also asked about their political activities, political party preference, and electoral and voting participation. They were asked to identify the mass media on which they relied most for political information, the organizations they belonged to, and if they had a television set. Demographic variables specify age, sex, education, place of birth, marital status, number of children, nationality, religious preferences, occupation, family income, length of residence in the Detroit area, home ownership, length of time at present residence, and class identification.
More information about the Detroit Area Studies Project is available on the Detroit Area Studies Project Web site.
Detroit Area Study, 1988: Perspectives on the Care of the Elderly (ICPSR 6411)
The 1988 Detroit Area Study addressed attitudes toward issues such as retirement age, Social Security, funding for the care of the elderly, perceptions of the elderly, and personal experiences with care of the elderly. Respondents were also asked about their views regarding government spending on elderly assistance, health care, welfare, and job programs. Demographic characteristics of respondents include employment status, years of residency in the Detroit area, education, religion, age, sex, race, and income.