General Social Survey

General Social Survey
Name	General Social Survey
Type	Survey research
Founded	1972
Founder	National Opinion Research Center
Location	United States
Focus	Social trends, attitudes, demographic data

General Social Survey The General Social Survey is a long-running sociological survey capturing attitudes, behaviors, and demographic characteristics of adults in the United States. It serves as a benchmark dataset used in social science research, informing analyses by scholars at institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Michigan, Princeton University, and University of California, Berkeley. Major users include researchers affiliated with the Russell Sage Foundation, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, American Sociological Association, and think tanks such as the Brookings Institution and the Hoover Institution.

Overview

The survey was designed to measure change and stability in public opinion on topics ranging from political behavior to social attitudes, producing data cited alongside other landmark studies like the Census of Population and Housing, the American National Election Studies, the Eurobarometer, and the World Values Survey. It collects information from respondents on topics linked to public policy debates involving institutions such as the United States Congress, the Supreme Court of the United States, the Presidential election of 1972, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Leading scholars and awardees such as Sociological Research Association fellows and recipients of the National Medal of Science have used its data. The dataset is repeatedly referenced in analyses published in outlets associated with The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Science Magazine, and American Journal of Sociology.

History and Development

The survey began in 1972 under the auspices of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Early development drew on methodological innovations from researchers affiliated with Columbia University, Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, and Duke University. Funding and institutional partnerships have included the Carnegie Corporation, the Ford Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation. Over time, operations expanded with contributions from centers such as the ICPSR at University of Michigan and collaborations with projects like the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series and directories maintained by the Library of Congress. Prominent scholars who shaped its trajectory have come from Princeton University, Brown University, New York University, and Cornell University.

Methodology

Fieldwork has typically used probability sampling techniques employing frames developed by agencies such as the United States Census Bureau and contractors akin to private firms used by the RAND Corporation for survey research. Interview modes have included face-to-face interviews, telephone supplements, and mail components, reflecting practices used in surveys conducted by Westat, NORC at the University of Chicago, and vendors that have supported the National Research Council. Questionnaire construction has been influenced by cognitive testing approaches from scholars at Ohio State University and University of Wisconsin–Madison, with modules covering political behavior linked to elections including the United States presidential elections and policy attitudes tied to landmark legislation such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Sampling design, weighting, and variance estimation follow standards promulgated in reports by the American Association for Public Opinion Research and comparative guidelines used in projects like the European Social Survey.

Key Findings and Themes

Analyses of the survey have illuminated long-term trends in partisanship and political alignment related to events such as the Watergate scandal, the Reagan Revolution, the 1994 United States midterm elections, and the 2008 United States presidential election. Research using the data has explored social mobility and stratification drawing on theories advanced at institutions like Columbia University and Harvard University, trends in religiosity referencing institutions such as the Roman Catholic Church and movements studied by scholars connected to Princeton Theological Seminary, and patterns in work and family life compared against findings from the Current Population Survey and the American Time Use Survey. The dataset has been used to document shifts in attitudes toward civil rights issues, marriage and divorce, gender roles, immigration, and trust in institutions including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency.

Data Access and Use

Public-use files and documentation are distributed to researchers and educators in formats compatible with software platforms commonly taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, University of California, Los Angeles, and Johns Hopkins University. The data have been archived by repositories such as the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research and mirrored in collections maintained by the Library of Congress and university libraries at University of Michigan and Duke University. Scholarly output ranges from articles in periodicals like American Sociological Review and Public Opinion Quarterly to monographs published by presses including Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, and policy briefs circulated to stakeholders at organizations such as the United Nations and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Criticism and Limitations

Critiques have focused on issues common to survey research carried out by firms such as Gallup and methodologies debated at forums hosted by the American Association for Public Opinion Research. Scholars from Yale University, Stanford University, and Harvard University have noted concerns about declining response rates, coverage bias relative to frames from the United States Census Bureau, mode effects seen in comparisons with surveys by Pew Research Center, and questions of measurement validity when benchmarking against studies like the European Social Survey. Debates have also addressed weighting practices and subgroup inference discussed at conferences organized by the Population Association of America and the American Statistical Association.

Category:Surveys