General Social Survey 2000

Produced By: The National Data Program for Social Sciences, National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

Funding Agency/Sponsor: National Science Foundation

Author:

• Davis, James A.  (National Data Program for the Social Sciences, National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago)
• Smith, Tom W.  (National Data Program for the Social Sciences, National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago)
• Marsden, Peter V.  (National Data Program for the Social Sciences, National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago)

Abstract (CPANDA): The General Social Survey (GSS), conducted annually between 1972 and 1994 (except for 1979, 1981, and 1992) and biennially thereafter by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, collects information from the general public on a wide variety of subjects, including attitudes toward social issues, religion, education, jobs and the economy, government and other institutions, politics, and policy issues. Many questions are asked either in every survey or at various intervals across time, allowing trends to be analyzed. The 2000 GSS is of particular interest to cultural policy researchers because it includes a battery of questions on how people use the World Wide Web to access information about culture and the arts. More specifically, this "Information Society" module asks how people use the Web to learn about music, the visual arts, and literature. Another module, on "Freedom," asks about freedom of expression, among other topics.

Methodology (CPANDA) : In-person interviews were conducted with a national, full probability sample of 2,817 English-speaking persons 18 years of age or over, living in non-institutional arrangements within the United States. Interviews were conducted during February, March, and April of 2000. The response rate was 70 percent. Beginning with the 1994 General Social Survey, two major innovations were introduced. First, the number of traditional core questions was substantially reduced to allow for the creation of mini-modules (i.e., supplemental question blocks devoted to a combination of topics). Second, a new biennial, split-sample design was implemented. The sample consists of two parallel sub-samples of approximately 1,500 cases each. The two sub-samples both contain the identical core questions. They differ in terms of the topical modules included. Thus, sample sizes for questions in specific topic modules will be about half the size of the total sample.

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