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The social sciences rely more on the comparative method than on
experimental data mainly because the latter is difficult to acquire
amongst human populations. The International Social Survey
Programme has played a pioneering role in creating and sustaining
methodologically-sophisticated mass attitude surveys across the
globe. Starting in 1984 with five nations, it now encompasses
forty-five nations spread over five continents, each administering
an identical annual survey to a random sample of their population.
Analyses of the data or descriptions of the methodology already
appear in over 3,000 publications. This book contains new
contributions from three dozen eminent scholars who analyse and
compare the perceptions and attitudes of citizens across all five
continents, nations and over time. Subjects range from inequality
and the role of the state; ethnic, national and global identities;
the changing relevance of religion, beliefs and practices; gender
roles, family values and work orientations; household and society.
Some chapters focus on methodological issues; others focus on
substantive findings. This book sets new standards for
cross-cultural research.
The social sciences rely more on the comparative method than on
experimental data mainly because the latter is difficult to acquire
amongst human populations. The International Social Survey
Programme has played a pioneering role in creating and sustaining
methodologically-sophisticated mass attitude surveys across the
globe. Starting in 1984 with five nations, it now encompasses
forty-five nations spread over five continents, each administering
an identical annual survey to a random sample of their population.
Analyses of the data or descriptions of the methodology already
appear in over 3,000 publications. This book contains new
contributions from three dozen eminent scholars who analyse and
compare the perceptions and attitudes of citizens across all five
continents, nations and over time. Subjects range from inequality
and the role of the state; ethnic, national and global identities;
the changing relevance of religion, beliefs and practices; gender
roles, family values and work orientations; household and society.
Some chapters focus on methodological issues; others focus on
substantive findings. This book sets new standards for
cross-cultural research.
When someone goes public with a simple, straightforward, good idea,
the audience usually scratches its collective head and wonders why
no one thought of it before. That was my reaction as I read James
A. Davis and Tom W. Smith's short volume on the General Social
Survey (GSS), the first of a new Sage series on major social
science data bases. . . . I suspect there isn't a GSS user out
there who wouldn't learn quite a bit from reading this book. . . .
The knowledge it provides is partly historical, partly practical,
and partly inspirational. . . . The practical sections make up a
very readable and thorough discussion of its study design. . . .
The inspirational part of the book, at least for me is Davis and
Smith's narrative on the variety of studies and collaborative
activity that make the GSS a unique source for comparative,
historical, methodological, and cross-sectional research. . . . For
those who wonder whether their interesting questions have been
answered in previous research, Davis and Smith provide basic
guidelines for finding out who has done what with the GSS.
--Contemporary Sociology "This series will lead to more informed
analysis of existing data sources as well as more insightful
interpretation of studies based on them (for series quote). . . .
In this superb first volume for the series, James A. Davis and Tom
W. Smith have provided a lucid introduction to the history,
philosophy, sampling design, and evolving content of the General
Social Survey (GSS). . . . This guide conveys with both cogency and
liveliness the major features of the GSS. . . . The chapter on
sampling design, which describes both the shift from a block-quota
modified probability sample to a full probability sample and the
switch from a 1970 sample frame to a 1980 sample frame, gives
evidence of the commitment to high quality. . . . The book
communicates an abiding responsiveness to the emerging data needs
of a developing social science. . . . The responsiveness of the GSS
to new data needs, amply evident in the book, is one of its most
laudable features. . . . It is a tribute to Davis and Smith that
their book stimulates the reader not only to order the GSS database
straightaway and carry out tests of some intriguing propositions
but also to make testable some previously untestable propositions
by persuading the GSS to collect information on the propositions'
previously unmeasured parts. This book augurs well for the series."
--Journal of the American Statistical Association "All of the
questions my methods students have asked over the years (and all
I've asked myself) are answered, and then some. . . . The guide is
effective in making the data accessible." --Karen Campbell,
Vanderbilt University "I think this series is a very good idea.
Code books are intimidating for many users, and clear, approachable
guides to major social science data sets will be well received. The
User's Guide to the GSS . . . will ultimately be such a resource. .
. . The section on Design Effects . . . is a very good subject to
include in such a guide." --Dan Krymkowski, Dartmouth College "A
fine introduction to an invaluable social science data resource."
--Judith Tanur, State University of New York, Stony Brook "Should
provide helpful assistance to undergraduates whose exposure to the
GSS may be their first experience with survey research and
quantitative analysis. In addition, it should be a useful tool to
more experienced analysts who need to quickly master the
intricacies of the GSS." --Microcase Forum For any researcher,
student, or teacher using the General Social Survey (GSS), this
book is a must. Written by the two researchers who have directed
the GSS since its inception in 1972, this practical, easy-to-use
volume enables you to exploit this large data set more effectively
than ever before. This volume clearly explains the "rotations" and
"split ballots" in the study design, describes available samples
(including the 1982 and 1987 oversamples of black respondents) and
weights, and discusses interviewer training, quality control,
validation, and coding procedures. In addition, it outlines the
topics covered in the GSS, including the recurrent, replicated
"core" items suitable for trend analyses, the annual topical
modules on subjects of current interest, and the international
modules produced in collaboration with the International Social
Survey Program. And, this guidebook covers the various data sets in
which GSS data are accessible, and directs you to the data banks
that disseminate them. Both novice and experienced GSS users will
find The NORC General Social Survey an invaluable tool.
When someone goes public with a simple, straightforward, good idea,
the audience usually scratches its collective head and wonders why
no one thought of it before. That was my reaction as I read James
A. Davis and Tom W. Smith's short volume on the General Social
Survey (GSS), the first of a new Sage series on major social
science data bases. . . . I suspect there isn't a GSS user out
there who wouldn't learn quite a bit from reading this book. . . .
The knowledge it provides is partly historical, partly practical,
and partly inspirational. . . . The practical sections make up a
very readable and thorough discussion of its study design. . . .
The inspirational part of the book, at least for me is Davis and
Smith's narrative on the variety of studies and collaborative
activity that make the GSS a unique source for comparative,
historical, methodological, and cross-sectional research. . . . For
those who wonder whether their interesting questions have been
answered in previous research, Davis and Smith provide basic
guidelines for finding out who has done what with the GSS.
--Contemporary Sociology "This series will lead to more informed
analysis of existing data sources as well as more insightful
interpretation of studies based on them (for series quote). . . .
In this superb first volume for the series, James A. Davis and Tom
W. Smith have provided a lucid introduction to the history,
philosophy, sampling design, and evolving content of the General
Social Survey (GSS). . . . This guide conveys with both cogency and
liveliness the major features of the GSS. . . . The chapter on
sampling design, which describes both the shift from a block-quota
modified probability sample to a full probability sample and the
switch from a 1970 sample frame to a 1980 sample frame, gives
evidence of the commitment to high quality. . . . The book
communicates an abiding responsiveness to the emerging data needs
of a developing social science. . . . The responsiveness of the GSS
to new data needs, amply evident in the book, is one of its most
laudable features. . . . It is a tribute to Davis and Smith that
their book stimulates the reader not only to order the GSS database
straightaway and carry out tests of some intriguing propositions
but also to make testable some previously untestable propositions
by persuading the GSS to collect information on the propositions'
previously unmeasured parts. This book augurs well for the series."
--Journal of the American Statistical Association "All of the
questions my methods students have asked over the years (and all
I've asked myself) are answered, and then some. . . . The guide is
effective in making the data accessible." --Karen Campbell,
Vanderbilt University "I think this series is a very good idea.
Code books are intimidating for many users, and clear, approachable
guides to major social science data sets will be well received. The
User's Guide to the GSS . . . will ultimately be such a resource. .
. . The section on Design Effects . . . is a very good subject to
include in such a guide." --Dan Krymkowski, Dartmouth College "A
fine introduction to an invaluable social science data resource."
--Judith Tanur, State University of New York, Stony Brook "Should
provide helpful assistance to undergraduates whose exposure to the
GSS may be their first experience with survey research and
quantitative analysis. In addition, it should be a useful tool to
more experienced analysts who need to quickly master the
intricacies of the GSS." --Microcase Forum For any researcher,
student, or teacher using the General Social Survey (GSS), this
book is a must. Written by the two researchers who have directed
the GSS since its inception in 1972, this practical, easy-to-use
volume enables you to exploit this large data set more effectively
than ever before. This volume clearly explains the "rotations" and
"split ballots" in the study design, describes available samples
(including the 1982 and 1987 oversamples of black respondents) and
weights, and discusses interviewer training, quality control,
validation, and coding procedures. In addition, it outlines the
topics covered in the GSS, including the recurrent, replicated
"core" items suitable for trend analyses, the annual topical
modules on subjects of current interest, and the international
modules produced in collaboration with the International Social
Survey Program. And, this guidebook covers the various data sets in
which GSS data are accessible, and directs you to the data banks
that disseminate them. Both novice and experienced GSS users will
find The NORC General Social Survey an invaluable tool.
Polls are at their best as indicators of public opinion when they
allow comparisons over extended periods of time. Yet all too often
changes in question working and in questionnare content make
over-time comparisons impossible. This work overcomes this
difficulty by bringing together for the first time a compendium of
results using identically worded questions on a wide range of
social, political, and economic topics of importance to the
American people. Chapter introductions summarize trends in the
various areas surveyed and discuss problems of interpretation. The
chapters on political behavior and attitudes present findings on
party identification, political tolerance, voting, civil liberties,
international affairs, and related issues. Chapters on work, the
family, and sexuality cover such topics as job prestige and
satisfaction, the role of women, divorce, family size, sex
education, abortion, premarital and extramarital sex,
homosexuality, and pornography. Other issues addressed include
crime and violence, race, death and dying, life style, and general
attitudes toward life. Trend analysis based on General Social
Surveys conducted regularly by The National Opinion Research Center
of the University of Chicago since 1972 is supplemented by data
from 25 other sources extending as far back as the 1930s. The
questions chosen are meaningful and standardized and have been
asked in interviews over a significant period. Survey results are
displayed in a highly readable format that facilitates comparisons
over time. An appropriate choice for the library reference
collection, this book is a valuable research tool and source for
scholars in political science, psychology, and sociology, as well
as journalists, policy makers, and other professionals concerned
with public opinion.
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