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This survey was designed to investigate whether having psychological connections to particular groups (ex: racial, ethnic, and national origin groups) and perceptions of discrimination lead to alienation from the structure and operation of representative democracy in the United States. The data allow for comparative ethnic analyses of people's views regarding the representative-constituent relationship and of the conditions under which group identifications and perceptions of discrimination matter.

The survey includes oversamples of Black, Latino, and Asian respondents. A Spanish version of the survey was available. Demographic information retrieved about respondents include age, race/ethnicity, gender, education (highest degree received), employment status, marital status, religion, household size and income. In addition, ancestry was assessed with the question, "From what countries or parts of the world did your ancestors come?" Respondents also reported United States citizenship status, primary home language, and nationality. Variables focusing on respondent perceived representation in the United States include political ideology and political party affiliation.

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.

This study presents data collected as part of the 1960-1961 Detroit Area Study from 419 workers who were members of the United Auto Workers union. Respondents were asked how long they had worked on their jobs, what their job duties were, and whether they were satisfied with their jobs. Another set of questions covered length of union membership, union activity, their conceptions of what the role of their union should be, and their satisfaction with the job their union was doing. Political questions covered the good and bad points of political parties, the Kennedy-Nixon debates, the political issues facing the nation, party identification, past and present vote in state and national elections, and political participation. The social structure of the work group was probed, and respondents were questioned about the importance of politics in work group relationships. Demographic variables included social class, age, organizational membership, religion, education, occupation, income, and race.