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Curated

Released/updated on: 2008-11-17

Geographic coverage: United States

In the fall of 2006 the American National Election Studies (ANES) carried out a pilot study after the 2006 mid-term elections in the United States. The 2006 ANES Pilot Study was conducted for the purpose of testing new questions and conducting methodological research to inform the design of future ANES studies. As such, it is not considered part of the ANES time series that has been conducted since 1948, and the pilot study only includes time series questions necessary to evaluate the new content. The 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. This full release dataset contains all 675 interviews, with the survey portion of the interview lasting just over 37 minutes on average. The study had a re-interview rate of 56.25 percent. Respondents were asked questions over a variety of topics. They were queried on need for closure in various situations including unpredictable ones, how fast important decisions were made, and how often they could see that both people can be right when in disagreement. Respondents were asked many questions pertaining to their values. Some questions dealt with optimism and pessimism. Respondents were asked if they felt that were generally optimistic, pessimistic, or neither in regard to the future. They were asked specifically how they felt about the future of the United States. Respondents were also asked about their social networks, about who they talked to in the last six months, and how close they felt to them. Respondents were further queried about how many days in the last six months they talked to these people, their political views, interest in politics, and the amount of time it would take to drive to their homes. Other questions sought respondents' political attitudes including attentiveness to following politics, ambivalence, efficacy, and trust in government. Respondents were asked questions related to the media such as how much time and how many days during a typical week they watched or read news on the Internet, newspaper, radio, or television. Questions that dealt with abortion consisted of giving respondents various scenarios and asking if they favored or opposed it being legal for the women to have an abortion in that circumstance. The issue of justice was also included by asking respondents what percent of people of different backgrounds who are suspected of committing a crime in America are treated fairly. Respondents were also asked to give their opinion on gender in politics, specifically, whether gender played a role in how the respondent would vote for various political offices. Respondents were also queried on whether they would vote for Bill Clinton or George W. Bush and whether they had voted in the elections in November. Respondents were also asked if they approved of the way George W. Bush was handling his job as president, the way he was handling relations with foreign countries, and the way he was dealing with terrorism. Respondents were also asked how upsetting the thought of their own death was, and how likely it was that a majority of all people on Earth would die at once during the next 100 years because of a single event. Demographic variables include age, party affiliation, sex, religious preference, and political party affiliation.

Curated

American National Election Study, 1984: 1983 Pilot Study (ICPSR 8178)

Released/updated on: 1999-11-10

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 1984-07-01--1984-08-01

This study is part of a time-series collection of national surveys fielded continuously since 1952. The 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. This pilot was conducted to develop new instrumentation for segments of the 1984 American National Election Study. New items were tested on several topics including economic well-being, group identification, values, political participation, and candidate affect. Telephone interviews were conducted in July, with reinterviews in August.

Curated

American National Election Study: 1985 Pilot Study (ICPSR 8476)

Released/updated on: 1999-11-02

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 1985-11-01--1986-01-01

This study is part of a time-series collection of national surveys fielded continuously since 1952. The 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. This pilot study was designed to test instrumentation for the 1986 and 1988 National Election Studies. Special content areas emphasized in the pilot are: political knowledge, group membership, identification of elderly (aged 60 and over) Blacks and women with these social groups, attitudes toward racial issues, and opinions on traditional moral values. In order to experiment with question wording and formats, two forms were used in both waves.

Curated

American National Election Study, 1988: 1987 Pilot Study (ICPSR 8713)

Released/updated on: 1999-11-10

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 1987-05-05--1987-07-02

This study is part of a time-series collection of national surveys fielded continuously since 1952. The 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. This pilot was designed to test instrumentation for the 1988 American National Election Study. The study carries new measures of foreign policy attitudes, system support, and morality. A significant portion of the study is devoted to experiments in question wording and question order effects.

Curated

Released/updated on: 1992-02-17

Geographic coverage: United States

This data collection, focusing on the 1990 Senate elections, is part of a planned three-part series (1988, 1990, 1992) of Senate studies. Over the course of the three elections, voters in each of the 50 states will be interviewed, and data will be gathered on citizen evaluations of all senators at each stage of their six-year election cycles. In this collection, as in the 1988 Senate Study, contextual data for all 50 states have been merged with the survey data. The survey data facilitate the comparison of House of Representatives and Senate races through the use of questions that generally parallel those questions used in election studies since 1978 concerning respondents' interaction with and evaluation of candidates for the House of Representatives. The 50-state survey design also allows for the comparison of respondents' perceptions and evaluations of senators who are up for re-election with those in the second or fourth years of their terms. Topics covered include respondent's recall and like/dislike of House and Senate candidates, issues discussed in the campaigns, contact with House and Senate candidates/incumbents, respondent's opinion of the proper roles for senators and representatives, a limited set of issue questions, liberal/conservative self-placement, party identification, media exposure, and demographic information. Contextual data presented include election returns for the Senate primary and general elections, voting indices for the years 1983-1990, information about the Senate campaign such as election outcome predictions, campaign pollster used, spending patterns, and demographic, geographic, and economic data for the state. Derived measures also are included that reorganize the House of Representatives and Senate variables by party of candidate and incumbency/challenger status of candidate, and, for Senate variables only, by proximity to next election, along with a number of analytic variables intended to make analyses more convenient (e.g., Senate class number and whether the respondent voted for the incumbent).

Curated

American National Election Study: 1992-1993 Panel Study on Securing Electoral Success/1993 Pilot Study (ICPSR 6264)

Released/updated on: 2000-01-25

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 1992-01-01--1993-01-01

This study is part of 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. This data collection currently encompasses two waves. The first wave is the 1992 Post-Election Survey. In addition to the standard or core content items, respondents were asked their positions on social issues such as altruism, abortion, the death penalty, prayer in the schools, the rights of homosexuals, sexual harassment, women's rights, and feminist consciousness. Other substantive themes included racial and ethnic stereotypes, opinions on school integration and affirmative action, attitudes toward immigrants (particularly Hispanics and Asians), opinions on immigration policy and bilingual education, assessments of United States foreign policy goals, and United States involvement in the Persian Gulf War. The second wave of this panel, the 1993 Pilot Study, was in the field approximately one year after the first wave. It reexamined a number of items from the 1992 study to give as complete a picture as possible of how President Clinton was faring in the eyes of the coalition that had elected him. It also sought to explore in more detail the strength and depth of the Ross Perot phenomenon and, in particular, the reasons behind his continued support. Finally, this second wave of the panel continued the tradition of all pilot studies in seeking to carry out research and development work for the subsequent year's election study. In this regard, the Pilot Study explored the perceived interests of several groups (e.g., wealthy, poor, middle class, Blacks, whites) in areas such as national health insurance, affirmative action, and school choice, attitudes toward homosexuals and about policies affecting homosexuals, and experiments in the survey response form itself.

Curated

American National Election Study: 1995 Pilot Study (ICPSR 6636)

Released/updated on: 1999-08-20

Released/updated on: 2016-09-22

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 1958-11-01--1958-12-01

This study is part of a time-series collection of national surveys fielded continuously since 1948. The 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 1958 study may be analyzed both on its own, as a cross-section survey representative of the U.S. population of voting age, and as the second wave of a panel study that started with the ANES 1956 Time Series Study (ICPSR 7214) and ended with the ANES 1960 Time Series Study (ICPSR 7216). Each respondent was interviewed only once, after the election. Respondents who had not been interviewed in 1956 were selected from dwelling units vacated by 1956 respondents (movers). The questionnaires contained both closed and open-ended questions covering a wide range of topics. In addition to general political attitudes, the study obtained information about the more specific attitudes and behaviors pertinent to the 1958 Congressional Election, like the respondents' actual vote and reasons for the vote, attitudes toward political parties and candidates, and the respondents' political history. Data were also collected on specific domestic and foreign policy issues such as government involvement in housing and public utilities, and United States aid to anti-Communist nations. The study also ascertained the financial situation of the family unit and other demographic information.

Curated

ANES 1960 Time Series Study (ICPSR 7216)

Released/updated on: 2015-11-10

Released/updated on: 2016-09-20

Geographic coverage: United States

This study is part of a time-series collection of national surveys fielded continuously since 1948. The 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. In addition to the core content, this dataset also includes topics like women's liberation, racial attitudes, economic attitudes, payment of federal income tax, feelings about the quality of life, and various cultural attitudes. As a result of findings from previous ANES studies, the general themes of trust in government, alienation, and efficacy were emphasized in an attempt to determine the causes of the observed decrease in public support of the political system. Besides being a stand-alone time series study, this dataset also represents the first wave in a three-wave data collection that continued with the ANES 1974 Time Series Study (ICPSR 7355) and the 1976 ANES Time Series Study (ICPSR 7381). The full panel file of data from these years, the ANES 1972-1976 Merged File (ICPSR 7607), also includes some cases not represented in the time series studies. To maximize the number of questions asked in 1972, two forms of the interview were developed, and each was administered to half of the respondents in both the pre- and the post-election waves. Each half-sample of respondents assigned to a specific questionnaire version also constitutes a cross-national sample, representative of the study population, so that the two sub-samples may be used together, or separately for analysis purposes. The two forms contain approximately 80 percent of the same items, while 20 percent are unique questions. In addition, in the post-election wave, 57 Form I respondents were re-designated Form III, and 37 Form II respondents were re-designated Form IV, because they were interviewed using a mail questionnaire that contained most, but not all, of the questions included in the face-to-face versions of the post-election questionnaire. Demographic variables include sex, age, race and marital status, number of children in household, level of education, occupation and employment status, religious preference.

Curated

Released/updated on: 2016-02-26

Geographic coverage: United States

This study is part of a time-series collection of national surveys fielded continuously since 1948. The 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. Four areas were targeted for special attention: new measurement of party identification, the measurement of voter attitudes concerning issues of public policy, new content concerning public perceptions of and responses to political leadership, and the exploration of social networks in the crystallization of the vote choice. Special-interest and topical content includes questions on the proposed 30% tax cut, new questions on campaign contributions and party identification, new retrospective and prospective evaluations of the economy, new issue scales on defense spending and U.S. foreign policy toward Russia, a new abortion question, and the introduction to the ANES time series of 'traits and affects' measures of perception and response regarding political leadership. Besides representing a traditional pre-post election study, the two waves of the 1980 ANES Time Series Study were simultaneously components of a larger project consisting of 8 integrated survey data collections carried out throughout 1980 and scheduled at strategically chosen time periods in the course of the election year, along with vote validation and contextual data. Other studies in the project included the four-wave 1980 Major Panel Study [ICPSR 35120], and a 2-wave minor panel that is available only in the ANES 1980 Merged File [ICPSR 35119], which combines into a single dataset all of the ANES data collected in 1980. The National Election Studies Board established a 1980 Presidential Elections Committee that consisted of three Board members (Merrill Shanks, John Jackson, David Sears) and three additional scholars (Richard S. Brody, Jack Dennis, Donald R. Kinder). This committee, along with the Center for Political Studies project staff, was responsible for the planning of the year-long study. The Pre- and Post-Election Surveys file contains the traditional election survey data. Contextual measures are provided along with the survey data, and include election returns, interest group ratings of incumbents, and Federal Election Commission campaign contribution data.

Curated

ANES 1982 Time Series Study (ICPSR 9042)

Released/updated on: 2015-11-10

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 1982-11-03--1983-01-31

This study is part of a time-series collection of national surveys fielded continuously since 1952. The 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. In addition to the usual content, other items included an evaluation of President Ronald Reagan's performance in office, his personal qualities, and the respondent's own feelings toward him.

Curated

ANES 1984 Time Series Study (ICPSR 8298)

Released/updated on: 2015-11-10

Geographic coverage: United States

This study is part of a time-series collection of national surveys fielded continuously since 1952. The 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. Part 1 of this collection contains the traditional Pre- and Post-Election Survey (ICPSR Version). Interviews were conducted in person prior to the 1984 election. In the post-election wave, half of the respondents were randomly assigned to be reinterviewed in person, and the other half to be reinterviewed by telephone using a shortened version of the questionnaire. In addition to the standard core questions, new topic areas (most of which had been piloted in 1983) included measures of "predispositions" such as economic individualism and egalitarianism, and group identification items. Vote validation data also are provided. Part 2, Continuous Monitoring: January 11, 1984, Through December 31, 1984, was designed to examine the impact of the election campaign on voters' perceptions, beliefs, and preferences. Respondents were questioned about their knowledge of the candidates' stands on the issues, about their own stand on the issues, and about their opinions and evaluations of the candidates. Interviews were conducted by telephone throughout the year, with a total of 46 separate cross-section samples selected by a random-digit dialing design, and an average of 76 respondents interviewed in each of the 46 sample weeks. Although the survey instrument was very much the same from one sample week to the next, some questions were deleted and others added during the course of the campaign, as issues became more or less relevant. Thirteen versions of the questionnaire were incorporated into this data file. For each telephone number selected in the Continuous Monitoring Study administrative information is included, such as number of calls, household composition, and final disposition.

Curated

ANES 1986 Time Series Study (ICPSR 8678)

Released/updated on: 2015-11-10

Geographic coverage: United States

This study is part of a time-series collection of national surveys fielded continuously since 1952. The 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. In addition to core items, new content includes questions on values, political knowledge, and attitudes on racial policy, as well as more general attitudes conceptualized as antecedent to these opinions on racial issues. The Main Data File also contains vote validation data that were expanded to include information from the appropriate election office and were attached to the records of each of the respondents in the post-election survey. The expanded data consist of the respondent's post case ID, vote validation ID, and two variables to clarify the distinction between the office of registration and the office associated with the respondent's sample address. The second data file, Bias Nonresponse Data File, contains respondent-level field administration variables. Of 3,833 lines of sample that were originally issued for the 1990 Study, 2,176 resulted in completed interviews, others were nonsample, and others were noninterviews for a variety of reasons. For each line of sample, the Bias Nonresponse Data File includes sampling data, result codes, control variables, and interviewer variables. Detailed geocode data are blanked but available under conditions of confidential access (contact the American National Election Studies at the Center for Political Studies, University of Michigan, for further details). This is a specialized file, of particular interest to those who are interested in survey nonresponse. Demographic variables include age, party affiliation, marital status, education, employment status, occupation, religious preference, and ethnicity.

Released/updated on: 2016-03-28

Geographic coverage: United States

This study is part of a time-series collection of national surveys fielded continuously since 1948. The 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. Substantive themes of the 1998 election study include, among others, knowledge and evaluation of the House candidates and placement of the candidates on various issue dimensions, interest in the political campaigns, attentiveness to the media's coverage of the campaign, media use, evaluation of the mass media, vote choice, partisanship, and evaluations of the political parties and the party system. Additional items focused on political participation, political mobilization, evaluations of the president and Congress, the "Lewinsky affair," egalitarianism, moral traditionalism, political trust, political efficacy, ideology, cultural pluralism, and political knowledge. Respondents were also asked about their attitudes toward a wide range of issues, including social policy, racial policy, military and foreign policy, immigration, foreign imports, prayer in schools, school vouchers, the environment, the death penalty, women's rights, abortion, as well as religion and politics, including new measures of explicitly political and religious orientations. Demographic variables include respondent's age, sex, nationality, marital status, employment status, occupation, and education.

Curated

Simple Crosstabs

ANES 2000 Time Series Study (ICPSR 3131)

Released/updated on: 2016-05-10

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 2000-09-05--2000-12-18

This study is part of a time-series collection of national surveys fielded continuously since 1948. The election studies are designed to present data on Americans' social backgrounds, enduring political predispositions, social and political values, perceptions and evaluations of political groups and candidates, opinions on questions of public policy, and participation in political life. The 2000 National Election Study entailed both a pre-election interview and a post-election re-interview. A freshly drawn cross-section of the electorate was taken to yield 1,807 cases. Because the study includes a carefully designed mode experiment, the data represent two presidential studies in 2000, side by side. The core study preserves the past commitment to probability area sampling and face-to-face interviewing: 1,006 respondents were interviewed prior to the election and 694 were re-interviewed face-to-face after the election. Supporting the core study, random-digit dial sampling and telephone interviewing were used to interview by phone 803 respondents prior to the election and 862 respondents after the election. This experiment allows an examination of the differences between the two modes and provides a preview of what shifting to telephone interviewing will mean for future ANES time-series iterations. The content of the 2000 election study reflects its dual purpose as a traditional presidential election year time-series data collection and as a mode study. Many of the substantive themes included in the 2000 questionnaires are a continuation of past topics. Interest in politics and the election was examined through questions regarding interest in the political campaigns, concern about the outcome, attentiveness to the media's coverage of the campaign, and information about politics. Respondents' knowledge of candidates and the political parties was ascertained through questions evaluating the presidential candidates and their placement on various issue dimensions. Respondents' knowledge of the religious background of the major presidential and vice-presidential candidates, partisanship and evaluations of the political parties, as well as knowledge, and evaluation of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate candidates was also ascertained. Respondents were asked about their political participation in the November general election and in other forms of electoral campaign activities, their choice for president, their choice for the United States House of Representatives, and the United States Senate, as well as their second choice for president. Respondents were also queried about President Clinton's legacy and their knowledge of former president George Bush Sr. and his administration. Additional items focused on respondents' perceptions of personal and national economic well-being, their positions on social welfare issues (including government health insurance, federal budget priorities, and the role of government in the provision of jobs and a good standard of living), campaign finance and preference for divided government, social issues (including gun control, abortion, women's roles, the rights of homosexuals, the death penalty, school vouchers, environmental policy), racial and ethnic stereotypes, affirmative action, attitudes toward immigrants, and views on the nation's most important problem. Respondents' values and political predispositions (including moral traditionalism, political efficacy, egalitarianism, humanitarianism, individualism, and trust in government), views on fairness in elections, satisfaction with democracy, and the value of voting were also assessed. Other questions addressed social altruism, social connectedness, feeling thermometers on a wide range of political figures and political groups, affinity with various social groups, and detailed demographic information and measures of religious affiliation and religiosity. Several new concepts were also addressed in the 2000 study and include measures of social trust derived from perceptions of the trustworthiness of neighbors and coworkers. Voter turnout was also investigated with expanded response categories to help respondents be more accurate in determining whether they did in fact vote in November 2000. The concept of political knowledge was addressed with new instructions encouraging respondents to take their best guess when answering the political knowledge questions. The 2000 study also incorporated a social network battery, based entirely on the perceptions of survey respondents regarding the characteristics of their identified discussants. Two brief but reliable measures of cognitive style, the need for cognition and the need to evaluate, were also included in this study. Another important feature of the 2000 ANES time-series is the mode experiment, which supplies the ability to compare interviews taken in person with interviews taken over the phone. This carefully designed mode experiment, driven by theoretical and practical interest, allows scholars to test the effects of survey mode on data quality and reliability. The 2000 study incorporates numerous experiments that examine the effects of the chosen mode: 7-point scales and branching, response order, "don't know" filters, and social desirability. Demographic variables include gender, race, employment status, and length of residency in the community.

Curated

Simple Crosstabs

ANES 2002 Time Series Study (ICPSR 3740)

Released/updated on: 2016-05-11

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 2002-09-18--2002-12-06

This study is part of a time-series collection of national surveys fielded continuously since 1948. 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 2002 American National Election Study (ANES) is the first midterm year study to include a pre-election interview in addition to the standard post-election interview. It is also the first ANES study conducted entirely by telephone. Since ANES questions are generally designed for face-to-face interviewing, a number of time-series questions were modified to enhance the validity and reliability of data obtained through telephone interviews. Special content for 2002 includes questions on the terrorist attacks of 2001 and the presidential and military responses to the attacks, the election contest of 2000, as well as special modules on economic inequality, specifically gender and racial differences in jobs and income inequality. In a continuation of past topics, respondents were asked about their choice for president, the United States House of Representatives, and the United States Senate. Respondents were also queried about their approval of Bush's handling of the presidency, the economy, and foreign relations. Other questions included feeling thermometers on the United States Congress, the military, the federal government, political figures (George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Al Gore, Joseph Lieberman, Ralph Nader, Bill Clinton, Colin Powell, John Ashcroft, Jesse Jackson, Laura Bush, and Hillary Clinton), and political constituencies (such as Blacks, Whites, conservatives, liberals, big business, people on welfare, Hispanics, Christian fundamentalists, older people, environmentalists, gay men and lesbians, and the news media). The 2002 ANES also includes questions on social trust, probing whether the respondent thought most people would take advantage of others if they had the chance or if they would try to be fair, and whether people try to be helpful or they are just looking out for themselves. Questions about civic engagement queried whether the respondent had worked with other people to deal with community issues, had communicated with a government official to express views, or had taken part in a protest, march, or demonstration during the past 12 months. In an evaluation of political participation, respondents were asked whether they had registered to vote, voted, tried to influence how others voted, watched the campaign on television, and whether they were contacted by either major party. Public opinion questions dealt with the government's role in securing jobs and a good standard of living for all people, and the degree to which the United States should concern itself with world problems. Respondents were also asked whether they were better or worse off financially than in the previous year and whether they thought the economy had gotten better or worse. Other questions inquired about tax cuts in general and the 2001 tax cuts in particular. Respondents' religious beliefs and participation, pride or shame in being American, and their take on corporate scandals were also assessed. Demographic variables include age, marital status, education level, employment status, household income, racial/ethnic background, religious preference, home ownership, and length of residency in community. DS2: ANES 2002 Time Series Contextual file contains contextual variables for the 2002 National Election Study. Biographical variables for the Democratic and Republican candidates and retiring incumbents include candidate's gender, race, educational background, and committee membership. Data on the incumbent president and party support are also included.

Curated

CBS News Telenoticas Survey, October 1996 (ICPSR 4481)

Released/updated on: 2008-05-29

Geographic coverage: United States

This poll, fielded October 23-27, 1996, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President Bill Clinton and his handling of the presidency and issues such as foreign policy. Several questions asked how much respondents had been paying attention to the presidential campaign, whether they were likely to vote in the election for president, which candidate they would vote for if the presidential and United States House of Representatives elections were being held that day, whether they had favorable opinions of the candidates and trusted them, and who they expected to win. Respondents were asked to rate the condition of the national economy, whether they thought trade with other countries, such as Mexico and Canada, was good for the United States economy, whether they approved of the way Bill Clinton was handling relations with Cuba, Mexico, and Canada, and the importance of these countries to the United States' interests. Several questions asked for respondents' opinions on welfare, including whether most people on welfare were immigrants or belonged to a specific ethnic group, whether respondents approved of a recent law that changed the welfare system, and whether eligibility for welfare should be limited. A series of questions asked respondents whether trade restrictions were necessary, whether they favored the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), whether it should be expanded to other Latin American countries, and how many foreign products respondents had purchased in the past few years. Respondents were asked for their opinions on immigration to the United States, including the effects of immigration on society, whether immigrants should be eligible for entitlements programs and other benefits, and the country of origin of current legal and illegal immigrants. Information was also collected on whether respondents considered themselves part of the conservative Christian movement, and Hispanic respondents were asked about their country of birth and that of their ancestors. Additional topics included abortion, affirmative action, race and gender discrimination in job hiring practices, the trade embargo against Cuba, and whether the government should be more involved in people's lives and do more to solve national problems. Demographic variables include sex, race, age, household income, education level, political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter participation history and registration status, employment status, military service, whether respondents had any children under the age of 18, household union membership, length of time living at current residence, and type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural).

Curated

Citizen Attitude Survey: Urban Problems in Ten American Cities, 1970 (ICPSR 7340)

Released/updated on: 1992-02-16

Geographic coverage: Milwaukee, United States, Tennessee, Albuquerque, Kansas City (Kansas), Kansas City (Missouri), Nashville, California, Kansas, San Diego, Baltimore, Atlanta, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Colorado, Missouri, Denver, Georgia, Maryland, Wisconsin, Boston

This study was a joint project of ten major United States cities participating in the Urban Observatory Program: Atlanta, Albuquerque, Baltimore, Boston, Denver, Kansas City, Kansas, Kansas City, Missouri, Milwaukee, Nashville, and San Diego. The survey focused on citizens' perceptions of the problems of urban life. Citizens' attitudes toward local government services and their opinions about local problems in the areas of schooling, housing, public transportation, controlled drugs, law and order, and taxes were assessed in all ten cities. Information on the socioeconomic status of the respondents, and on household composition was also elicited. Demographic data include sex, age, marital status, race, ethnicity, birthplace, level of education, and family income. Each city may be analyzed separately or may be treated as an integral part of the comparative study.

Curated

Detroit Area Study, 1959: The Vitality of Supernatural Experience and a Fiscal Research Program (ICPSR 7323)

Released/updated on: 2010-09-30

Geographic coverage: Detroit, United States, Michigan

This study of 767 adults in the Detroit metropolitan area provides information on their religious beliefs and practices, as well as their feelings about various forms of taxation such as sales tax, income tax, and property tax. The collection was a combination of two separate studies: THE VITALITY OF SUPERNATURAL EXPERIENCE by Guy Swanson, and A FISCAL RESEARCH PROGRAM by Harvey Brazer. Respondents were asked about their beliefs in the existence and characteristics of God, the amount of influence they felt that God had in their life, and how they thought God would feel about various situations. Also explored was the membership and level of activity in formal organizations for both the respondent and the respondent's spouse. The respondent was also asked to evaluate the performance of several institutions and professional groups such as colleges, their position on televisions in classrooms, the Federal Courts, doctors, and scientists. In addition, the respondent was asked to list the problems in the United States that were badly in need of resolution and to evaluate who was to blame for the problems and what could be done to solve them. Other items probed the respondent's opinions of educational television stations, the comparative quality of utility companies' services, government spending, and the most important things in life. Attitudes toward the use of taxes or use fees to pay for parks and garbage collection were also elicited. Demographic variables specify age, sex, race, education, place of birth, marital status, occupation, length of residence in the Detroit area, home ownership, length of time at present residence, number of children, original nationality of husband's and wife's family, political affiliation, and amount and sources of income.

Curated

Detroit Area Study, 1993: Health and Aging (ICPSR 2839)

Released/updated on: 2001-03-26

Geographic coverage: Detroit, United States, Michigan

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.