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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. A substantial part of the study is devoted to a detailed examination of the extent of racial segregation in the tri-county area, with particular attention to the gap between Blacks and whites in economic resources, vulnerability to crime, assessments of community problems, and political participation. Demographic characteristics of respondents include marital status, education, age, race, sex, employment status, union membership, and income.

The 1993 Detroit Area Study explored a variety of issues related to health, the effects of aging, living conditions, and participation in civic life in the Michigan tri-county area of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. A battery of questions probed respondents' perceptions of their health and mental state and those of their spouse, their ability to perform certain physical and mental activities, and the effect of their emotional state on their appetite and sleeping patterns. Other explored their feelings about neighborhood safety, means of transportation, relationships, accommodation, the portrayal of older people on television programs, and the treatment of older people by employers. The survey also sought respondents' opinions about government, their personal financial situation and problems, money management, savings and investments, and their life as a whole. Additional items questioned respondents about the frequency of their visits to the doctor, overnight hospitalization, chronic health conditions, smoking and drinking habits, and medical coverage, as well as electoral participation, political party preference, ideological leanings, class self-identification, assistance received from community organizations, family, and friends, personal regrets, and time spent watching television and engaging in pleasurable activities. Other questions gauged respondents' memory, vision, and motor skills. Respondents also provided demographic information on sex, age, marital status, race, ethnicity, religion, and education.

For this survey, respondents from three counties in the Detroit, Michigan, area were queried about how they received and used information in their daily lives and how they viewed other people, groups, and institutions. Respondents were asked about their activities during the previous 12 months, the work they did, and about some things they or someone in their household may have experienced because of their race, ethnicity, or religion. Respondents were also asked for their opinions about American news coverage, helping children grow up, and what the aims of this country should be for the next ten years. In addition, questions addressed respondents' feelings and thoughts during the past 12 months about world events and the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Demographic information includes age, sex, marital status, income, education, national origin, employment status, and household composition.

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.