• Features
  • Media Room
  • Help and Resources
  • Explore GSS Data Search GSS Variables
  • Key Trends
  • About
  • Contact
  • Register
  • Sign In

Sign In

Forgot your password?
CANCEL
My gss icon b1fb03d16023ac2c38a52bcfe174a349eb92f3da1e75465f6081aee34e8d562c MY GSS
Trends
Politics
Variable Cart (3)
Years selected: all years
ballot Ballot used for interview
id Respondent id number
year Gss year for this respondent
Back arrow 339dc3d414a97d30ce7ae434f7b93b19671e5abdf0531ad36e58c80be64fa88c Back
Trends
Gender & Marriage Current Affairs Civil Liberties Politics Quality of Working Life Religion & Spirituality

Most people better informed about politics than respondent (agree/disagree)

Politics

Political Beliefs
  • Men are better suited for politics than are women (agree/disagree)
  • Would vote for woman president
  • We can trust people in government to do what's right (agree/disagree)
  • People don't have any say about what the government does (agree/disagree)
  • Respondent has good understanding of political issues (agree/disagree)
  • Most people better informed about politics than respondent (agree/disagree)
  • Government administrators can be trusted to do what's best (agree/disagree)
  • Average citizen can influence politics (agree/disagree)
  • Most politicians are only for what they can get out of politics (agree/disagree)
  • Does respondent think of self as liberal or conservative*
  • Would vote for black president* (non-black respondents all years)
  • Would vote for black president* (all races since 1978)
  • Opinion of federal income tax*
Confidence & Power
  • Power of business and industry
  • Confidence in military
  • Confidence in major companies
  • Confidence in organized religion
  • Confidence in education
  • Confidence in executive branch
  • Confidence in banks & financial institutions
  • Confidence in supreme court
  • Confidence in organized labor
  • Confidence in congress
  • Confidence in medicine
  • Confidence in the press
  • Confidence in scientific community
  • Confidence in television
  • Power of federal government
  • Power of labor unions in country
Voting
  • Who did respondent vote for* (election year)
  • Did respondent vote* (election year)
SHARE
EXPORT
  • Chart (PDF)
  • Data (Excel)
TABLE

About this trend

GSS VARIABLES
Variable
Question Text
poleff15
Most people better informed about politics than i

How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? PLEASE CHECK ONE BOX ON EACH LINE. E. I think most people are better informed about politics and government than I am

year
Gss year for this respondent

N/A

   
age
Age of respondent

RESPONDENT'S AGE

class
Subjective class identification

A. If you were asked to use one of four names for your social class, which would you say you belong in: the lower class, the working class, the middle class, or the upper class?

degree
Rs highest degree

RESPONDENT'S DEGREE

health
Condition of health

Would you say your own health, in general, is excellent, good, fair, or poor?

hispanic
Hispanic specified

IF R IS FEMALE, READ LATINA; IF MALE, READ LATINO. Are you Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino/Latina? Yes . . . . . (ASK A) No . . . . . . (GO TO NEXT QUESTION) IF YES: Which group are you from? Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano/Chicana Puerto Rican Cuban Other

marital
Marital status

Are you currently--married, widowed, divorced, separated, or have you never been married?

partyid
Political party affiliation

Generally speaking, do you usually think of yourself as a Republican, Democrat, Independent, or what?

race
Race of respondent

CODE WITHOUT ASKING ONLY IF THERE IS NO DOUBT IN YOUR MIND. What race do you consider yourself? RECORD VERBATIM AND CODE.

region
Region of interview

A. REGION OF INTERVIEW

sex
Respondents sex

CODE RESPONDENT'S SEX

wrkstat
Labor force status

Last week were you working full time, part time, going to school, keeping house, or what?

NOTES

1 The default weight WTSSALL was applied for all years. Oversampled black respondents (SAMPLE=4,5,7) were excluded to adjust for the oversampling procedures in 1982 and 1987. If performing in-depth or focused analyses, other weights may apply.

2 Beginning in 2004, the GSS began to use a two-stage sub-sampling design for nonresponse. To obtain weighted estimates adjusted for this non-response, users should use the WTSSNR weight in these years.

NOTES for Age°

1 The GSS variable AGE was recoded to produce this visualization. Age was recoded into four age categories: 18-34, 35-49, 50-64, and 65+.

NOTES for Subjective class identification

1 The response "No class (vol.)" was excluded from this breakdown.

NOTES for Highest degree°

1 The GSS variable DEGREE was recoded to produce this visualization. Response categories (2) Associate/Junior college, (3) Bachelor’s, and (4) Graduate have been collapsed into "College +."

NOTES for Hispanic specified°

1 The GSS variable HISPANIC was recoded to produce this visualization. HISPANIC was recoded into two categories: (1) Not Hispanic/Latino/a, Spanish origin; and (2)-(47), (50) Hispanic, Latino/a, Spanish origin.

2 Race and Hispanic origin are reported as separate classifications in alignment with the OMB and Census definition: "Hispanic or Latino" refers to a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central America, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. A cross-classification (Race + Hispanic Origin) may be available as a breakdown category in a future release of this feature.

NOTES for Political affiliation°

1 The GSS variable PARTYID was recoded to produce this visualization. PARTYID was recoded into four categories: (0)-(1) Democrat; (2)-(4),(7) Independent, Other; and (5)-(6) Republican. See GSS Methodological Report No. 56 for more information.

NOTES for Race

1 If planning to perform trend analysis with the variable RACE, see GSS Methodological Report No. 56.

2 Interviewers were instructed to code RACE without asking only if there was no doubt. From 2002 onwards, this item is imputed based on RACECEN1,23; ETHNIC, ETH1,2,3; and HISPANIC. See the GSS Cumulative Codebook for more information.

NOTES for Region of interview°

1 The GSS variable REGION was recoded to produce this visualization. REGION was recoded into four categories: (1)-(2) Northeast; (3)-(4) Midwest; (5)-(7) South; (8)-(9) West. These are in alignment with the Census regional groupings.

NOTES for Sex

1 If planning to perform trend analysis with the variable SEX, see GSS Methodological Report No. 56.

NOTES for Labor force status°

1 The GSS variable WRKSTAT was recoded to produce this visualization. WRKSTAT was recoded into three categories: (1)-(3) Employed, (4) Unemployed, and (5)-(8) Not in labor force/Other. This is in alignment with the Bureau of Labor Statistic's labor force definitions.

2 If planning to perform trend analysis with the variable WRKSTAT, see GSS Methodological Report No. 56.

Share Trend

Copy the link below to share it with other people.

1155 E. 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637 GSSHelp@norc.org
  • Quick Downloads
  • FAQ
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Contact
© Copyright 2021 NORC at the University of Chicago