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The 2008-2009 ANES Panel Study is a telephone-recruited Internet panel with two cohorts recruited using nearly identical methods. The first cohort was recruited in late 2007 using random-digit-dialing (RDD) methods common to telephone surveys. Prospective respondents were offered $10 per month to complete surveys on the Internet each month for 21 months, from January 2008 through September 2009. Those without a computer and Internet service were offered a free web appliance, MSN TV 2, and free Internet service for the duration of the study. The second cohort was recruited the same way in the summer of 2008 and asked to join the panel beginning in September 2008. The recruitment interview was conducted by telephone in nearly all cases. A small number of respondents completed the recruitment survey on the Internet after failing to complete a telephone interview. Before the first monthly survey, most respondents also completed an online profile survey consisting primarily of demographic questions.

To minimize panel attrition and conditioning effects, only 7 of the 21 monthly surveys are about politics. Other surveys are about a variety of non-political topics. The panelists answered political questions prepared by ANES in January, February, June, September, October, and November 2008. With certainty, the panel answered more political questions in May 2009.

Note that the 2008-2009 ANES Panel Study is entirely separate from the 2008 ANES Time Series study, which was conducted using the traditional ANES method of face-to-face interviews before and after the 2008 election. Although there are a few questions common to both studies, the samples and methods are different. For further details, see the User Guide. Complete documentation is available on the ANES Web site.

The National Black Politics Study was designed to provide information on attitudes and opinions regarding a number of issues of importance to Black Americans. Topics included the performance of President Bill Clinton, the economic condition of Black Americans, and what respondents thought ought to be done to improve the condition of Black people. Questions regarding Black women and their role in the Black community were also asked. In addition, the role and extent of religion in Black politics was investigated.

Respondents also provided information about their political self-identification and their community and political involvement, as well as their feelings toward various political leaders, political groups, and national policies. Demographic information on respondents includes sex, age, education, marital status, income, and occupation and industry.

The 2008 election offers a rare opportunity to analyze a significant event in American history - the election of the first African American president. Because the longitudinal panel series began in 2004, prior to the emergence of President Obama as a serious political candidate and nominee, the results from these surveys provide a rare vehicle for comparing data over time on important demographic, political, and, of particular interest given President Obama's racial background, racial and ethnic issues related to vote choice and political behavior. The wealth of data obtained from this survey will benefit scholars for many years to come.

This report provides a general overview of some of the key findings from the 2008 data collection. Topics covered include: demographic information of the population, work status, home ownership, political ideology, party identification, presidential choice, race relations, feeling thermometer data for a variety of political figures and relevant groups or organizations, and current events such as the Iraq War and same-sex marriage. Because differences among the racial and ethnic groups surveyed in this study are of political significance (Whites, African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Caribbean Blacks), much of the data presented here is disaggregated by racial and ethnic group.