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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
About this trend
GSS VARIABLES
|
Variable
|
Question Text |
| Vote for humphrey, nixon, or wallace |
A. Now in 1968, you remember that Humphrey ran for President on the Democratic ticket against Nixon for the Republicans, and Wallace as an Independent. Do you remember for sure whether or not you voted in that election? 1. IF VOTED: Did you vote for Humphrey, Nixon, or Wallace? |
| Vote for mcgovern or nixon |
B. In 1972, you remember that McGovern ran for President on the Democratic ticket against Nixon for the Republicans. Do you remember for sure whether or not you voted in that election? 1. IF VOTED: Did you vote for McGovern or Nixon? |
| Vote for carter or ford |
C. In 1976, you remember that Carter ran for President on the Democratic ticket against Ford for the Republicans. Do you remember for sure whether or not you voted in that election? 1. IF VOTED: Did you vote for Carter or Ford? |
| Vote for carter, reagan or anderson |
D. In 1980, you remember that Carter ran for President on the Democratic ticket against Reagan for the Republicans, and Anderson as an Independent. Do you remember for sure whether or not you voted in that election? 1. IF VOTED: Did you vote for Carter, Reagan, or Anderson? |
| Vote for reagan or mondale |
E. In 1984, you remember that Mondale ran for President on the Democratic ticket against Reagan for the Republicans. Do you remember for sure whether or not you voted in that election? 1. IF VOTED: Did you vote for Mondale or Reagan? |
| Vote for dukakis or bush |
F. In 1988, you remember that Dukakis ran for President on the Democratic ticket against Bush for the Republicans. Do you remember for sure whether or not you voted in that election? 1. IF VOTED: Did you vote for Dukakis or Bush? |
| Vote for clinton, bush, perot |
G. In 1992, you remember that Clinton ran for President on the Democratic ticket against Bush for the Republicans and Perot as an Independent. Do you remember for sure whether or not you voted in that election? 1. IF VOTED: Did you vote for Clinton, Bush, or Perot? |
| Vote for clinton, dole, perot |
H. In 1996, you remember that Clinton ran for President on the Democratic ticket against Dole for the Republicans and Perot for the Reform Party. Do you remember for sure whether or not you voted in that election? 1. IF VOTED: Did you vote for Clinton, Bush, or Perot? |
| Vote for gore, bush, nader |
I. In 2000, you remember that Gore ran for President on the Democratic ticket against Bush for the Republicans . Do you remember for sure whether or not you voted in that election? 1. IF VOTED: Did you vote for Gore or Bush? |
| Vote for kerry, bush, nader |
J. In 2004, you remember that Kerry ran for President on the Democratic ticket against Bush for the Republicans. Do you remember for sure whether or not you voted in that election? 1. IF VOTED: Did you vote for Kerry or Bush? |
| Vote obama or mccain |
K. In 2008, you remember that Obama ran for President on the Democratic ticket against McCain for the Republicans. Do you remember for sure whether or not you voted in that election? 1. IF VOTED: Did you vote for Obama or McCain? |
| Vote obama or romney |
L. In 2012, you remember that Obama ran for President on the Democratic ticket against Romney for the Republicans. Do you remember for sure whether or not you voted in that election? 1. Did you vote for Obama or Romney? |
| Gss year for this respondent |
N/A |
| Age of respondent |
RESPONDENT'S AGE |
| 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? |
| Rs highest degree |
RESPONDENT'S DEGREE |
| Condition of health |
Would you say your own health, in general, is excellent, good, fair, or poor? |
| 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 status |
Are you currently--married, widowed, divorced, separated, or have you never been married? |
| Political party affiliation |
Generally speaking, do you usually think of yourself as a Republican, Democrat, Independent, or what? |
| 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 of interview |
A. REGION OF INTERVIEW |
| Respondents sex |
CODE RESPONDENT'S SEX |
| Is r us citizen |
Now we would like to ask you about U.S. citizenship. Are you… |
| Is r planning/appling for us citizenship or not |
Are you… |
| Labor force status |
Last week were you working full time, part time, going to school, keeping house, or what? |
NOTES
1 The GSS variables PRES68 through PRES12 were combined to produce this visualization. The years along the X-axis represent the election years, not data collection years. For all years, third party and "Other" response categories were combined. "Refused", "Didn't vote for president", "Don't know/Can't remember" were also combined. Please refer to variables PRES68 through PRES12 for the candidate names associated with each election. See GSS Methodological Report No. 21 for more information about reporting bias related to presidential voting. (*)
2 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.
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 Citizenship status°
1 The GSS variables USCITZN and FUCITZN were combined and recoded to produce this visualization. If USCITZN=1,3, or 4, this was coded as "US citizen." If USCITZN=2 and FUCITZN=1 or 2 then this was coded as "Planning/Applying for citizenship." If USCITZN=2 and FUCITZN=3 or 4, then this was coded as "Not planning to apply/Not eligible." Note that US Citizen includes citizens born in Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and children born outside of US to parents who were US citizens at time.
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.